Delaware Settles 1st VDA Submission Under New Program
June 12, 2013 – Blog post by Moyer & Osibodu
It’s been almost a year since our first blog on the Delaware new voluntary disclosure agreement (VDA) program.
We are pleased to report that the first submission under the new program has been finalized and settled. The success of this 1st submission is a reflection of what can be accomplished when the State, Client and Advocate are all committed and work together towards a common goal.
Moyer & Osibodu’s client (a Pennsylvania based company) wanted to comply with the states’ unclaimed property laws. The new Delaware Secretary of State VDA program, started in July 2012, provided the perfect opportunity for our client to accomplish their unclaimed property compliance objective. After a few months of working with the client to prepare and provide the necessary information and documentation, the Delaware VDA Administrator and his team of forensic accountants performed their due diligence. After responding to follow-up requests for information the parties reached a mutually acceptable conclusion. The VDA documentation package was prepared, applicable forms were signed by the parties and payment was made by the client within the stipulated period of time. The outcome of this submission was specifically based on our client’s facts and circumstance, and the same outcome cannot be guaranteed for other program participants partly because of the various inherent differences from one company to another.
In conclusion, the new Delaware VDA program worked as presented. Our client was committed to the program and we were all pleased to complete the submission before the 1st deadline to sign up for the VDA expired on June 30, 2013. In order to reach back to 1996, companies should sign up by this deadline. However, after this deadline but before the 2nd deadline on June 30, 2014, the reach back extends to 1993 if companies choose to wait before signing up. Regardless of when companies sign up, this new Delaware VDA program is scheduled to sunset on June 30, 2015.