Category: TPG2017 Annex IV to Chapter V – Legal implementation of CbC-R

TPG2017 Chapter V Annex IV

Annex IV to Chapter V Country-by-Country Reporting Implementation Package Introduction In order to facilitate a consistent and swift implementation of the Country-by-Country Reporting developed under Action 13 of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Action Plan (BEPS Action Plan, OECD, 2013), a Country-by-Country Reporting Implementation Package has been agreed by countries participating in the OECD/G20 BEPS Project. This implementation package consists of (i) model legislation which could be used by countries to require the ultimate parent entity of an MNE group to file the Country-by-Country Report in its jurisdiction of residence including backup filing requirements and (ii) three model Competent Authority Agreements that are to be used to facilitate implementation of the exchange of Country-by-Country Reports, respectively based on the 1) Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, 2) bilateral tax conventions and 3) Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs). It is recognised that developing countries may require support for the effective implementation of Country-by-Country Reporting. Model legislation The model legislation contained in the Country-by-Country Reporting Implementation Package takes into account neither the constitutional law and legal system, nor the structure and wording of the tax legislation of any particular jurisdiction. Jurisdictions will be able to adapt this model legislation to their own legal systems, where changes to current legislation are required. Competent Authority Agreements The Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (the “Convention’), by virtue of its Article 6, requires the Competent Authorities of the Parties to the Convention to mutually agree on the scope of the automatic exchange of information and the procedure to be complied with. In the context of the Common Reporting Standard, this requirement has been translated into a Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement, which defines the scope, timing, procedures and safeguards according to which the automatic exchange should take place. As the implementation of the automatic exchange of information by means of a Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement in the context of the Common Reporting Standard has proven both time- and resource-efficient, the same approach could be used for the purpose of putting the automatic exchange of information in relation to Country-by-Country Reports in place. Therefore, the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Exchange of Country-by-Country Reports (the “CbC MCAAâ€) has been developed, based on the Convention and inspired by the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement concluded in the context of the implementation of the Common Reporting Standard. In addition, two further model competent authority agreements have been developed for exchanges of Country-by-Country Reports, one for exchanges under Double Tax Conventions and one for exchanges under Tax Information Exchange Agreements. In line with paragraph 5 of Chapter V of these Guidelines, one of the three objectives of transfer pricing documentation is to provide tax administrations with the information necessary to conduct an informed transfer pricing risk assessment, while paragraph 10 of Chapter V of these Guidelines states that effective risk identification and assessment constitute an essential early stage in the process of selecting appropriate cases for transfer pricing audit. The Country-by-Country Reports exchanged on the basis of the model competent authority agreements contained in the present Country-by-Country Reporting Implementation Package, represent one of the three tiers of the transfer pricing documentation and will, in accordance with paragraphs 16, 17 and 25 of Chapter V of these Guidelines, provide tax administrations with relevant and reliable information to perform an efficient and robust transfer pricing risk assessment analysis. Against that background, the model competent authority agreements aim to provide the framework to make the information contained in the Country-by-Country Report available to concerned tax authorities, such information being foreseeably relevant for the administration and enforcement of their tax laws through the automatic exchange of information. The purpose of the CbC MCAA is to set forth rules and procedures as may be necessary for Competent Authorities of jurisdictions implementing BEPS Action 13 to automatically exchange Country-by-Country Reports prepared by the Reporting Entity of an MNE Group and filed on an annual basis with the tax authorities of the jurisdiction of tax residence of that entity with the tax authorities of all jurisdictions in which the MNE Group operates. For most provisions, the wording is substantially the same as the text of the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement for the purpose of exchanges under the Common Reporting Standard. Where appropriate, the wording has been complemented or amended to reflect the Guidance on Country-by-Country Reporting set out in Chapter V of these Guidelines. As a next step, it is intended that an XML Schema and a related User Guide will be developed with a view to accommodating the electronic exchange of Country-by-Country Reports. Model legislation related to Country-by-Country Reporting Article 1 Definitions For purposes of this [title of the law] the following terms have the following meanings: The term “Group†means a collection of enterprises related through ownership or control such that it is either required to prepare Consolidated Financial Statements for financial reporting purposes under applicable accounting principles or would be so required if equity interests in any of the enterprises were traded on a public securities exchange. The term “MNE Group†means any Group that (i) includes two or more enterprises the tax residence for which is in different jurisdictions, or includes an enterprise that is resident for tax purposes in one jurisdiction and is subject to tax with respect to the business carried out through a permanent establishment in another jurisdiction, and (ii) is not an Excluded MNE Group. The term “Excluded MNE Group†means, with respect to any Fiscal Year of the Group, a Group having total consolidated group revenue of less than [750 million Euro]/[insert an amount in local currency approximately equivalent to 750 million Euro as of January 2015] during the Fiscal Year immediately preceding the Reporting Fiscal Year as reflected in its Consolidated Financial Statements for such preceding Fiscal Year. The term “Constituent Entity†means (i) any separate business unit of an MNE Group that is included in the Consolidated Financial Statements of the MNE Group for financial reporting purposes, or would be so