Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institute: Supports mandatory registration implementation of CARF, recommends simplifying zero declaration and introducing API automated reporting mechanism

Mars Finance reports that on January 19, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Professionals Association submitted comments on the implementation of the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) and CRS revisions in Hong Kong, supporting mandatory registration for RCASP and RFI to align with OECD standards and maintain Hong Kong’s status as a financial center. The association recommends providing simplified or lightweight registration and reporting mechanisms for “zero declaration” institutions to reduce compliance costs, while supporting administrative fines to replace criminal accountability. Additionally, the association supports a “dual declaration” default scheme for CARF and CRS to reduce system complexity and underreporting risks, and calls for the provision of API reporting interfaces to meet the automated compliance needs of large crypto institutions.