Key Findings
The Phase 2 review rates Brunei Darussalam overall as largely compliant with the international standard. Brunei Darussalam’s legal framework ensures that ownership information, accounting and banking information is available and can be obtained in line with the standard, although some deficiencies have been identified in relation to oversight of obligations to maintain information in practice. Brunei Darussalam is recommended to ensure that the monitoring and enforcement of ownership and accounting information is strengthened. Brunei Darussalam has taken action to address key recommendations made in its Phase 1 peer review regarding allowing Brunei Darussalam’s authorities to have the power to obtain and provide information in accordance with the standard. However, Brunei Darussalam should ensure that its domestic law provisions regarding confidentiality or secrecy duties, in particular regarding access to information on international trusts, do not prevent effective exchange of information for tax purposes. In practice, Brunei Darussalam had made efforts to bring its EOI agreements into force expeditiously. Brunei Darussalam should continue to respond to all requests to negotiate EOI agreements (regardless of their form) in a timely manner. Finally, Brunei Darussalam has created a dedicated unit and a detailed process to manage exchange of information requests, however this has not been tested in practice. For further information on Brunei Darussalam’s legal and regulatory framework in the field of transparency and exchange of information and its implementation in practice please access the full report here.