The OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes on 28 March 2023 released 7 new peer reviews on the exchange of information on request (EOIR) by 6 Forum members (Albania, Czech Republic, Mexico, Nigeria, Saint Lucia and Togo) and one non-member country (Nicaragua). The findings of the peer reviews are summarized as follows:

Albania

Rated as “largely compliant” (unchanged from the previous 2016 rating). Areas of improvement identified by the report include the definition of beneficial owner under the introduced ultimate beneficial ownership register and, more generally, increasing stakeholder awareness about the register.

Czech Republic

Rated as “largely compliant” (unchanged from the previous 2015 rating). Areas of improvement identified by the report include the timeliness of responses to EOIR requests and the supervision of the introduced ultimate beneficial ownership register.

Mexico

Rated as “largely compliant” (downgraded from “compliant” under the previous 2014 rating). Areas of improvement identified by the report are staffing of the country’s EOI unit (high turnaround thought to have negatively impacted the timeliness of exchange), and ensuring the availability of adequate, accurate and up-to-date information under the introduced ultimate beneficial ownership register.

Nicaragua

Rated as “non-compliant”. Nicaragua is not a Forum member but has been included in the review as a “jurisdiction of relevance” to the Forum’s work on EOIR. The country did introduce an ultimate beneficial ownership register in 2020 but the supervision and enforcement of the framework need to be improved. The main shortcomings identified are bank secrecy which affects the only exchange mechanism the country has (Convention on Mutual Assistance and Technical Cooperation among the Central American Tax and Customs Administrations), and the inadequate retention period for accounting records under the tax law framework.

Nigeria

Rated as “largely compliant” (unchanged from the previous 2016 rating). The main area of improvement identified by the Report is ensuring the reporting of legal and beneficial ownership to the Central Registry in all cases.

Saint Lucia

Rated as “largely compliant” (unchanged from the previous 2016 rating). The main area of improvement identified by the report is the refinement and monitoring of the introduced beneficial ownership information register.

Togo

Rated “overall compliant”. This is a preliminary rating in expectation of a phase 2 review by 2026 at the latest, this being Togo’s first review under the EOIR and the country needing more time to effectively implement recently adopted transparency and exchange of information frameworks. The areas of improvement identified by the report include updating beneficial ownership information on bank accounts, and an effective exchange of information network (Togo signed the OECD Mutual Assistance Convention in 2020 but the Convention has not yet entered into force).