OECD’s Manual on Effective Mutual Agreement Procedures (MEMAP)

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The OECD Manual on Effective Mutual Agreement Procedures (MEMAP) is part of a broader project to improve the functioning of existing international tax dispute procedures and to develop supplementary dispute resolution mechanisms. More information about the project, the proposed supplementary dispute resolution mechanism, and other suggested improvements to the Mutual Agreement Procedures (MAP) process can be found at www.oecd.org under Dispute Resolution.

The Manual is intended as a guide to increase awareness of the MAP process and how it should function. It will provide tax administrations and taxpayers with basic information on the operation of MAP and identify best practices for MAP without imposing a set of binding rules upon Member countries.

The following points are important elements to consider in understanding the status of the manual and its interaction with other OECD guidance:

  • The manual does not, and is not intended to, modify, restrict or expand any rights or obligations contained in the provision of any tax convention.
  • Information contained in this manual complements, and should not be considered a substitute for, the criteria, procedures, and guidance specified in the current versions of the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and Capital (OECD Model Tax Convention) and the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations (OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines).
  • To the extent that there are any statements or information in the MEMAP which appear to conflict, or to be incompatible with a convention, domestic guidance provided by a country, the OECD Model Tax Convention, its Commentary, or the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines, then the latter guidance is controlling.
  • “Best practice†is the term used in this manual to describe what is generally thought to be the most appropriate manner to deal with a MAP process or procedural issue. There is no priority or significance associated with their order or with the length of discussion of a particular practice. Although taxpayers and tax administrations should ideally strive towards implementing these best practices, it is recognised that it may not always be possible to apply a best practice as described in the manual or there may be situations where their application may not be appropriate.
OECD MEMAP





Related Guidelines

  1. TPG2022 Chapter IV paragraph 4.41Taxpayers have also expressed fears that their cases may be settled not on their individual merits but by reference to a balance of the results in other cases. An established good practice is that, in the resolution of mutual agreement cases, a competent...
  2. TPG2022 Chapter IV paragraph 4.30Article 25 sets out three different areas where mutual agreement procedures are generally used. The first area includes instances of “taxation not in accordance with the provisions of the Convention†and is covered in paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Article. Procedures in...
  3. TPG2022 Chapter IV paragraph 4.32To eliminate double taxation in transfer pricing cases, tax administrations may consider requests for corresponding adjustments as described in paragraph 2 of Article 9. A corresponding adjustment, which in practice may be undertaken as part of the mutual agreement procedure, can mitigate or...
  4. TPG2022 Chapter IV paragraph 4.63The work on Action 14 also addresses a number of other aspects related to the content of mutual agreement procedure programme guidance: Element 3.2 of the Action 14 minimum standard states that countries should identify in their mutual agreement procedure programme guidance the...
  5. TPG2022 Chapter IV paragraph 4.56Whilst the time taken to resolve a mutual agreement procedure case may vary according to its complexity, most competent authorities endeavour to reach bilateral agreement for the resolution of a mutual agreement procedure case within 24 months. Accordingly, in order to ensure the...
  6. TPG2022 Chapter IV paragraph 4.45Relief under paragraph 2 of Article 9 may be unavailable if the time limit provided by treaty or domestic law for making corresponding adjustments has expired. Paragraph 2 of Article 9 does not specify whether there should be a time limit after which...
  7. TPG2022 Preface paragraph 17These Guidelines are also intended primarily to govern the resolution of transfer pricing cases in mutual agreement proceedings between OECD member countries and, where appropriate, arbitration proceedings. They further provide guidance when a corresponding adjustment request has been made. The Commentary on paragraph...
  8. TPG2022 Chapter IV paragraph 4.31Paragraph 5 of Article 25, which was incorporated in the OECD Model Tax Convention in 2008, provides that, in mutual agreement procedure cases in which the competent authorities are unable to reach an agreement within two years of the initiation of the case...
  1. A Toolkit on the Taxation of Offshore Indirect TransfersThe Platform for Collaboration on Tax (IMF, OECD, UN and the WBG) has published a toolkit on the taxation of Offshore Indirect Transfers. The tax treatment of ‘offshore indirect transfers’ (OITs) – in essence, the sale of an entity owning an asset located...
  2. Report on the Use of Comparables in the EU (2017)In March 2017 the JTPF agreed the Report on the Use of Comparables in the EU. The report establishes best practices and pragmatic solutions by issuing various recommendations for both taxpayers and tax administrations in the EU and aims at increasing in practice...

Related Case Law

  1. Denmark vs “Fashion Seller A/S”, November 2021, High Court, Case No SKM2021.582.OLRIn order to avoid double taxation, “Fashion Distributor A/S” had requested the Danish Tax Authorities, in parallel to the review of a transfer pricing assessment, to conduct a mutual agreement procedure under Article 6 of the EC Arbitration Convention 1990. The Danish Tax...