Following the announcement by the Ministry of Financial Services on 19 March 2015 that Cabinet had given approval to amend the mandatory nil return requirement for FATCA reporting, industry is now advised that the necessary amendments giving effect to this change were gazetted on 29 May 2015.

The filing of nil returns is non-mandatory under the Regulations, although there is the facility for financial institutions to submit nil returns via the AEOI Portal at their own option. Financial institutions with no reportable accounts will still need to complete the notification requirement via the AEOI Portal.