SECTION 5. APPLICATION FOR QI

STATUS

.01 Prospective QI (Including a QI Acting as a QDD). Prior to submitting the information specified in Form 14345, Application for Qualified Intermediary, Withholding Foreign Partnership, or Withholding Foreign Trust Status, a prospective QI (other than an NFFE that is acting as an intermediary on behalf of persons other than its shareholders and certain foreign central banks of issue) must have submitted the information specified in Form 8957, Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Registra- tion, through the FATCA registration website available at www.irs.gov/FATCA, and obtained its chapter 4 status as a participating FFI (including a reporting Model 2 FFI), registered deemedcompliant FFI (including a reporting Model 1 FFI and a nonreporting Model 2 FFI treated as registered deemedcompliant), registered deemed-compliant Model 1 IGA FFI, or sponsoring entity of a direct reporting NFFE, as applicable, along with a global intermediary identification number (GIIN) to be used to identify itself to withholding agents and to tax administrators for FATCA reporting (the GIIN is separate from the QI-EIN).

January 17, 2017 448 Bulletin No. 2017–3

The IRS will not enter into a QI agreement with an FFI if the IRS has not approved the know-your-customer practices and procedures for opening accounts of the jurisdiction where the FFI is located because the QI agreement as applicable to an FFI allows for the use of documentary evidence obtained under a jurisdiction’s know-your-customer practices. A list of jurisdictions for which the IRS has received know-your-customer information and for which the know-your-customer rules have been approved is available at: http://www. irs.gov/Businesses/International-Businesses/ List-of-Approved-KYC-Rules . To request approval of a jurisdiction’s know-yourcustomer rules, contact the KYC coordinator in the Foreign Intermediaries Program at lbi.fi.qiwpissues@irs.gov.

A QI that is an NFFE generally is not required to be located in an approved KYC jurisdiction because an NFFE is required to collect Forms W-8 and W-9 and may not use KYC documentation. See section 5.01(B)(2) of the 2017 QI Agreement for the documentation requirements applicable to a QI that is an NFFE.

To become a QI, a prospective QI must submit the information specified in Form 14345 through the QI/WP/WT Application and Accounts Management System accessible through the QI landing page available at: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/ corporations/qualified-intermediary-system . An application must also include any additional information and documentation requested by the IRS. The application must establish to the satisfaction of the IRS that the applicant has adequate resources and procedures to comply with the terms of the agreement. An entity that would like to become a QI to act as a QDD must apply to enter into a QI agreement and include the information on the application relating to QDDs.

If the IRS approves the QI application, it will notify the QI of its approval. The approval notice will include a QI-EIN for fulfilling the requirements of a QI (including a QI acting as a QDD if approved for such purpose) under the QI Agreement.

.02 Existing QI . An FFI that seeks to renew its QI agreement must do so through the QI/WP/WT Application and Accounts Management System. The QI will retain its QI-EIN to fulfill the requirements of a QI under chapters 3, 4, and 61

and sections 871, 881, and 3406, including making tax deposits and filing Forms 945, 1042, 1042-S, 1099, and 8966. A QI that seeks to renew its QI agreement and also seeks to act as a QDD must supplement the renewal request by providing all of the information required by the application relating to a QDD.

.03 Effective Date . The QI agreement provided in section 6 of this Revenue Procedure is effective on or after January 1, 2017. The effective date of the QI agreement for a new QI applicant will depend on when the QI submits its application and whether the QI has received any reportable payments prior to when it submits its application. Beginning on January 1, 2017, a prospective QI that applies for QI status on or before March 31 of a calendar year and is approved will have a QI agreement with an effective date of January 1 of that year. If a prospective QI applies for QI status after March 31 of a calendar year and has not received a reportable payment prior to the date it applies for QI status and is approved, it will have a QI agreement with an effective date of January 1 of that year. If a prospective QI applies for QI status after March 31 and has received a reportable payment prior to the date it applies and is approved, it will have a QI agreement with an effective date of the first of the month in which its QI application is approved and the prospective QI is issued a QI-EIN. A QI that seeks to renew its QI agreement must renew prior to March 31, 2017 for its renewed QI agreement to have an effective date of January 1, 2017.

.04 Contact Information . For questions regarding the QI application process, contact the Foreign Intermediaries Program at lbi.fi.qiwpissues@irs.gov.