The manual is intended as a guide to tax administrations and taxpayers for streamlining the bilateral APA process.
On September 28, 2022, the OECD Forum on Tax Administration (FTA) released a detailed manual on bilateral advance pricing agreements (APAs).
The manual provides tax administrations and taxpayers with information on the operation of BAPAs and identifies 29 best practices for BAPAs without imposing a set of binding rules. The manual is intended as a guide to tax administrations and taxpayers for streamlining the bilateral APA process through increased transparency and collaboration between competent authorities and taxpayers and mitigating delays created by differences in individual jurisdiction’s bilateral APA processes.
In addition to detailing several best practices for engaging in bilateral APAs, it also includes practical resources for tax administrations and taxpayers, such as templates and examples. The best practices identified in this Manual aim to streamline the BAPA process through:
- Mitigating delays created by differences in the BAPA processes in each jurisdiction, where possible
- Avoiding information asymmetries between competent authorities by ensuring they have access to the same information, in the same form and at the same time
- Increasing transparency between competent authorities and taxpayers throughout the BAPA process
- Ensuring that there are realistic expectations for competent authorities and taxpayers at each stage of the BAPA process as to the resources required and the expected timeframes to come to an agreement.
The manual has been produced jointly by members of the FTA Mutual Agreement Procedure Forum and its focus group on Identifying Improvements to the Advance Pricing Agreement Process.
The FTA, created in 2002, is a unique body bringing together tax commissioners from over 50 advanced and emerging economies from across the globe.
The manual is available on the OECD’s website.