CIMB Group complies with tax laws and pays all taxes legally due in all jurisdictions in which we operate. We are committed to timely and accurate registration, filing of tax returns by their due dates and payment of taxes, appropriate documentation and tax reporting.
We apply professional due care when adopting any tax technical positions on areas of uncertainties, including seeking written opinion from third party advisors/legal counsels or ruling/confirmation from tax authorities where necessary to ensure that position taken is supportable and defendable in a tax audit.
We manage our relationships with tax authorities and regulators in a transparent and professional manner. CIMB Group contributes to the development of tax policy and legislation, typically through direct engagement with tax authorities, public consultation processes or in our role as a member of an industry group.
The Board of Directors formally reviews and approves the CIMB Group’s Tax Policy, whenever there are required changes which will be triggered upon a review by Group Tax of the said Policy which takes place at least once in every two years. Subject to the degree of risks or nature of the transactions involved, tax related decisions will be referred to the relevant Board of Directors or Delegated Authority for approval and guidance.
CIMB Group employs an Enterprise-Wide Risk Management (EWRM) framework with Three Lines-of-Defence model as a standardised approach to effectively manage our risks and opportunities including tax risks. The system of internal controls is designed to mitigate these risks by identifying and assessing, measuring, managing and controlling, monitoring and reporting risks, including operational tax risk.
CIMB Group Tax also works together with business units and business enablers to provide advice and guidance on tax related areas in strategic implementations or changes, significant business transactions, new products, implementation of new tax laws etc as part of efforts to ensure that the implementation of the said Policy is embedded into the organisation.
Tax is considered part of relevant business decisions and we only engage in tax planning or utilize tax incentives that supports a genuine business purpose and commercial activity and in line with the intended policy objectives of the Governments which introduced the incentives. We do not enter into transactions whose sole purpose is to minimise or reduce tax cost. Similarly, we do not promote products to our customers where the tax treatment is contrary to the intent of the law. We are committed not to use secrecy jurisdictions or so-called “tax havens” for tax avoidance. We fully support and will always comply with tax laws aimed at preventing the facilitation of tax avoidance and fraud.
Transactions between group entities are priced on an arm’s length basis, reflecting the economic reality of the transaction in accordance with international standards and local government law. We pay our share of taxes in each jurisdiction in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations. We adhere to the OECD transfer pricing guidelines in accordance with local and international tax law and prevailing standards. We do not artificially divert profits to low tax jurisdictions. To further enhance tax transparency, the Group has also been filing its Country-by-Country-Report (CbCR) annually with aggregate data on the global allocation of income, profits, taxes paid and economic activities among tax jurisdictions in which we operate. This CbCR Report is shared with tax administrations in these jurisdictions for use in high level transfer pricing and tax risk assessments.
We also support tax authorities in their efforts to tackle tax evasion by complying with client tax information regimes such as FATCA and the Common Reporting Standard. Our reported tax data are subject to independent external verification as part of the annual financial audits. Paying taxes is one of the many ways we contribute to sustainable growth in local economies.
