B.6. COST CONTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS   B .6 .1 .       Introduction B.6.1.1.                         This chapter provides guidance on the use of cost contribution arrangements (CCAs) and the application of the arm’s length principle to CCAs for transfer pricing purposes. CCAs are contractual agreements between associated enterprises in an MNE group in which the participants share certain costs and risks in return for having a proportionate interest in the expected outcomes arising from the CCA. CCAs may also include independent parties. CCAs may be used for a broad range of purposes such as acquiring or creating tangible assets, acquiring or creating intangibles, and providing intra-group services. In relation to intangibles, the CCA will set out the interest of each participant in the intangibles to be developed. For services, the CCA will set out the services that each participant is entitled to receive. For CCAs involving tangible assets, the CCA will set out the interest of each participant in the tangible assets. B.6.1.2.                         A CCA will satisfy the arm’s length principle if a participant’s share of contributions to the CCA is in proportion to its share of expected benefits under the CCA. B.6.1.3.                         CCAs offer significant administrative advantages. As associated enterprises perform intra-group services for other group members and also benefit from intra-group services provided by other group members, a CCA can provide a mechanism for replacing a web of separate intra-group arm’s length payments with streamlined net payments based on aggregated benefits and aggregated costs associated with the services. Similarly, a CCA for sharing in intangibles development can eliminate the need for complicated cross-licensing payments and replace it with a more streamlined sharing of contributions and risks, effectively achieving joint ownership of the resulting intangible. B.6.1.4.                         CCAs are used to develop future benefits such as tangible assets or intangibles, or to provide intra-group services. MNE groups use CCAs to share the costs and risks of developing intangibles. These activities involve risk as the expected benefits may not be realized. For example, it is uncertain whether research and development will result in the creation of an intangible which can be exploited by the participants. Given the degree of risk involved, the sharing of costs and expected benefits may be a preferred approach. Moreover, a single associated enterprise may not have the resources or the capacity to individually carry out the development by itself. Another advantage of a CCA is the flexibility to make contributions in the form of tangible assets, intangibles and services. A CCA may provide that the participants are allowed the exclusive right to exploit the intangible in specific countries or regions. A participant in a CCA must be able to use its interest in the intangibles and thus the participants cannot be required to pay royalties for the use of intangibles developed under the CCA. B.6.1.5.                         Broadly, there are two distinct categories of CCAs: arrangements for sharing in the costs and benefits of intercompany services (service sharing arrangements), and arrangements established for the development, production, or obtaining of intangibles or tangible assets (development arrangements, most typically intangibles development arrangements). Both types of arrangements involve the sharing of contributions and the sharing of anticipated benefits. Contributions may be in the form of cash, tangible assets, intangibles, and services. While both types of CCAs derive from the same underlying frame work of sharing relative contributions in proportion to relative benefits, the motivation for these arrangements and some of the practical issues of implementing the arrangements may not be the same. B.6.1.6.                         In service sharing arrangements, for example, an MNE may decide to centralize its human resources operations or information technology (IT) function in an associated enterprise so the participants will share the costs of providing these services. The advantage of intra-group service CCAs is that they provide for economies of scale to the participants, resulting in a lower proportional cost for these services than if each participant were providing the services in-house. For example, an MNE group may decide to have its IT services provided by a participant in a low cost country which has an established history of being an international leader in IT. The centralization of IT provides the group with access to high quality IT services provided at a lower cost through economies of scale and potential location savings. B.6.1.7.                         Some of the savings from centralizing functions may arise from preventing unnecessary duplication of functions within an MNE group. The savings that arise from centralizing services provided in an associated enterprise will usually be immediate. The services that may be the subject of a CCA include management, administrative and technical services, marketing and purchasing of raw materials or products. B.6.1.8.                         On the other hand, for example in an intangibles development CCA, participants within an MNE may decide to share in the costs, risks and potential benefits from undertaking a project to develop a new product such as a pharmaceutical product. Contributions may include patents and other existing intangibles relevant to the development, research and development services, and use of laboratories. Potential benefits might include the exclusive rights for each of the participants to exploit the intangible in its own market. There may be a significant time lag between development activities and the creation and exploitation of intangibles. B .6 .2 .       CCA features B.6.2.1.              The key characteristic of CCAs is that the participants agree to share the proportionate costs of creating or acquiring tangible assets, creating or acquiring intangibles or providing services. They accordingly agree to have corresponding proportionate interests in the tangible assets, intangibles, or services created by the CCA. Participants should thus share the benefits in a way that is consistent with their contributions to the CCA. The predictability of the bene fits of participating in CCAs varies. In some CCAs the benefits may be predictable at the outset but in other cases there may be uncertainty about the outcome. For example, it may be highly uncertain whether research and development will result in the creation of intangibles such as patents, know-how or IT software. In relation to services,