South Africa’s tax authority on July 25 published general guidance on the mutual agreement procedure (MAP) framework incorporated in tax treaties to resolve disputes.
The guidance sets out the instances in which MAP would apply such as cases where taxation is not in accordance with the tax treaty, cases of dual residency, cases that require determination of the place of effective management, cases where tax has been wrongly withheld, and in transfer pricing matters.
A MAP request will be denied it is not submitted within the deadline stipulated in the tax treaty or in the applicable domestic tax law, the guidance notes.
Guidance is also provided on making a MAP request, including the format of the request, minimum information requirements, and withdrawing a MAP request.