On 16 February 2026, the South African Revenue Services (Sars) published updated reporting specifications for Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI), covering both the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and the United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).

According to Sars’s updated jurisdiction and currency code appendices, reporting now operates across 253 jurisdictions, and financial reporting can occur in 178 different currencies.

This includes not only traditional “countries,” but also smaller financial territories and jurisdictions that have historically been associated with offshore banking, such as Jersey and Guernsey.

The message is unmistakable: offshore financial secrecy is over.

The publication of the updated specifications, coming into effect on 1 March 2026, reinforces what taxpayers globally have been learning over the past decade: international financial reporting is extensive and no longer limited to a handful of major jurisdictions. It is now global, systematic, and standardised. 

Financial institutions worldwide are required to participate in AEOI reporting. South Africa is firmly embedded in this global reporting network, which captures offshore financial interests through structured, automatic information exchange between tax authorities as part of the ongoing fight against tax evasion.

The practical implication is clear: there is no longer any realistic place to hide money in a bank or financial institution without it being reportable somewhere in the global exchange system.

This effectively ends the era where offshore bank accounts could be used as secrecy tools. Offshore accounts may still exist, but they are no longer invisible.

A Global Reporting Net Without Gaps

AEOI provides for the systematic and periodic transmission of “bulk” taxpayer information between jurisdictions under a common reporting framework. This includes various categories of income, account balances, and information concerning the acquisition of significant assets.

Tax authorities use this data to assess the net worth of an individual and check its tax records to verify that taxpayers have accurately reported their foreign-sourced income or assets. In this way AEOI deters tax evasion and promotes voluntary compliance.

These global initiatives apply across the world as a uniform standard. The CRS framework is designed to ensure reporting consistency, quality, and predictability of information exchanged between tax authorities. It also requires financial institutions to look through certain entities, including trusts and similar arrangements, to identify controlling persons.

Sars explains this results in significant opportunities for the resident country to enhance compliance and make optimal use of the information (e.g. through automatic matching with domestic compliance information and data analysis).

Do Not Let Your Wealth Become Trapped in Outdated Offshore Structures

A major consequence of this global transparency shift is that many offshore structures have become outdated. Wealth could be “stuck” inside legacy structures that were designed for a very different compliance environment.

Beneficiaries often hesitate to access funds for fear of triggering tax exposure — a concern that is not unfounded. Moving money from an offshore structure into a personal bank account can result in unexplained wealth, triggering serious questions about source of funds and historic compliance. 

If not handled correctly, supported properly, and structured in a defensible way, such a transfer can end in unexpected, expensive tax liabilities. 

Waiting is Not a Strategy 

For taxpayers with undeclared offshore accounts or legacy offshore structures established in an earlier era of secrecy, the risk landscape has fundamentally changed.

Automatic reporting means relevant information may already be accessible by tax authorities.

Proactive engagement with expert advisors is essential. Legacy arrangements should be reviewed and where necessary, converted into more modern, fit-for-purpose vehicles that align with today’s compliance reality and the realities of internationally connected families.

Offshore wealth itself is not unlawful. But undisclosed offshore wealth and undeclared income are increasingly indefensible.

Written by Gabrielle Kaufmann, Operations Coordinator at Boolell Advisory Mauritius