Section 277 — Income Tax Act: Special due diligence rules

A reporting financial institution may not rely on a self-certification or documentary evidence if the reporting financial institution knows or has reason to know that the self-certification or documentary evidence is incorrect or unreliable. A reporting financial institution may presume that an individual beneficiary (other than the owner) of a cash value insurance contract or an annuity contract receiving a death benefit is not a reportable person and may treat the financial account as other than a reportable account unless it has actual knowledge, or reason to know, that the beneficiary is a reportable person. For the purposes of determining the aggregate balance or value of financial accounts held by an individual or entity, a reporting financial institution is required to aggregate all financial accounts maintained by the reporting financial institution, or by a related entity, but only to the extent that the reporting financial institution’s computerized systems link the financial accounts by reference to a data element such as a client number or TIN, and allow account balances or values to be aggregated, and each holder of a jointly held financial account shall be attributed the entire balance or value of the jointly held financial account; and determining the aggregate balance or value of financial accounts held by an individual in order to determine whether a financial account is a high value account, a reporting financial institution is also required —

in the case of any financial accounts that a relationship manager knows, or has reason to know, are directly or indirectly owned, controlled or established (other than in a fiduciary capacity) by the same individual —

to aggregate all such accounts. Subsection (5) applies to a reporting financial institution in respect of a client name account maintained by the institution if property recorded in the account is also recorded in a financial account (in this subsection and subsection (5) referred to as the related account ) maintained by a financial institution (in this subsection and subsection (5) referred to as the dealer ) that is authorized under provincial legislation to engage in the business of dealing in securities or any other financial instrument, or to provide portfolio management or investment advising services, and the dealer has advised the institution whether the related account is a reportable account; and does not apply, despite paragraph (a), if it can reasonably be concluded by the institution that the dealer has failed to comply with its obligations under this Part. If this subsection applies to a reporting financial institution in respect of a client name account, sections 272 to 276 do not apply to the institution in respect of the account; and the institution shall rely on the determination of the dealer in respect of the related account in determining whether the account is a reportable account. A reporting financial institution may treat a financial account that is a member’s interest in a group cash value insurance contract or group annuity contract as a financial account that is not a reportable account until the day on which an amount becomes payable to the employee, certificate holder or beneficiary, if the financial account meets the following requirements: the group cash value insurance contract or group annuity contract is issued to an employer and covers 25 or more employees or certificate holders; the employees or certificate holders are entitled to receive any contract value related to their interest, and name beneficiaries for the benefit payable upon the employee’s or certificate holder’s death; and the aggregate amount payable to any employee or certificate holder or beneficiary does not exceed 1 million USD.