Global Intermediary Identification Number

GIIN, the abbreviation for Global Intermediary Identification Number, is a unique number assigned to foreign financial institutions, their branches, non-financial institutions, and sponsored subsidies and entities. This helps them to be identified by the withholding agents and the tax administrators. It is formatted as XXXXXX.XXXXX.XX.XXX, in the form of a 19-character identification number, was made using several identifiers. A unique factor of these numbers is that they do not include the number ‘O’. The first 06 characters would be the FATCA ID, followed by 05 characters that determine the institutions’ type. Then comes a dual character which would specify their category code and then the last 03 characters determine the country/jurisdiction code.

Registration of GIIN

The registration is a prime action that needs to be taken in order to show compliance. The FATCA Online Registration System has been introduced as this secure, web-based system that could be used not only to register themselves but even to renew their agreements and certify their associated entities. From the FATCA Registration Landing Page, via which one could click on ‘Register’ or ‘Login’ in order to be directed to the FATCA Financial Institution Account User Login Page. Along with being a portal for registration, the system even provides a set of guidelines and links on how to register. Some answers to frequently asked questions and the process of documentation and formalities are provided there. The registration could be done only in one language, English. It updates regularly and hence, if any financial institution or a non-financial entity tries to register themselves, they could click on “Others” as their jurisdiction when not listed.

An individual from a financial institution cannot create his/her own FATCA account. This part needs to be taken care of by the financial institution themselves where they create an account and provide the login credentials to their members. They, however, can individually take over the responsibility of completing the registration procedure for their institution. Creation of the main account of the lead, the financial institution would be considered as part one of the registration. They can start adding members as part two of the procedure. This, when submitted, would help in getting the FATCA IDs and the temporary access codes for the members. Once the registration is done, the institute can log in and check their registration status on the homepage. Thereon, all the changes made in the account or intimation of the required changes would be conveyed via emails sent to the responsible officer or the RO. These messages would also be displayed on the account’s message board that could be accessed from the homepage again. Apart from this, a list of statuses and their definitions could be found in the user guide too. An auto-generated email is sent to the responsible officer post registration.