LithuaniaVMI
FATCA registration alone does not establish financial-institution status for CRS
VMI says reporting institutions must assess the available information before classifying an entity under CRS; a GIIN or FATCA-list entry is insufficient on its own.
By Taxxa AI OyPublished 22 August 2026
Lithuania’s State Tax Inspectorate (VMI) has clarified that an account holder’s FATCA registration does not, by itself, establish that the entity is a financial institution under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). The clarification addresses institutions checking the status of entity account holders.
A Global Intermediary Identification Number, or GIIN, is assigned by the US Internal Revenue Service to institutions registered under FATCA. VMI says neither presentation of that identifier nor inclusion on the FATCA financial-institution list is sufficient on its own for the CRS classificationVMI. The reporting institution must consider all information it holds or that is publicly available
VMI and establish that the evidence is sufficient to determine the entity’s CRS status reasonably.
VMI points to the due-diligence provisions for both pre-existing and new entity accounts. Those provisions generally call for an account-holder self-certification to determine whether the holder is a passive non-financial entity. They allow an institution to rely instead on information it holds or that is publicly available where it can reasonably determine that the holder is an active non-financial entity or a financial institution. The specified category of investment entity outside a participating jurisdiction is excluded from that exception.
The distinction matters for identifying reportable accounts. For a passive non-financial entity, the rules require the reporting institution to establish whether any controlling person is reportable. Where at least one controlling person is reportable, the account is treated as reportable. Establishing the entity’s status is therefore part of the due-diligence process, rather than a conclusion that follows automatically from a FATCA identifier.
The legal basis is point 4.2.1 of Annex 3 and point 2.1 of Annex 4 to the CRS rules approved by VMI Order VA-102.
Check entity status using sufficient CRS evidence rather than relying solely on a GIIN or FATCA-list entry.