On October 20, 2016 the OECD launched the global review of Mutual Agreement Procedures (MAP) programmes by releasing key documents, approved by the Inclusive Framework on BEPS, that will form the basis of the Mutual Agreement Procedure peer review and monitoring process under Action 14 of the BEPS Action Plan. (For further information we refer to our article from October 20, 2016). The peer review and monitoring process will be conducted by the Forum on Tax Administration MAP Forum (FTA MAP FORUM), with all members participating on an equal footing.
On October 31, 2016 the OECD subsequently released a questionnaire for taxpayers and an Assessment Schedule for Stage 1 Peer Reviews.
The peer reviews will be conducted in batches, with the first batch of Stage 1 peer reviews commencing in December 2016. The OECD has made a first schedule of reviews is available. The schedule shows 8 batches in which the peer reviews will be conducted. The schedule also identifies the developing countries for which the review has been deferred. The OECD states that schedule will be updated periodically to include the remaining Inclusive Framework members.
According to the OECD during the first batch, commencing in December 2016, peer reviews of the MAP programmes of Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States will be conducted. The second batch, commencing in April 2017, includes peer reviews of the MAP programmes of Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Sweden. The second batch, commencing in August 2017, includes peer reviews of the MAP programmes of the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Korea, Norway, Poland, Singapore and Spain. The full schedule (all 8 batches) can be found in the Assessment Schedule for Stage 1 Peer Reviews as released by the OECD on October 31, 2016.
Click here to be forwarded to the Assessment Schedule for Stage 1 Peer Reviews as released by the OECD on October 31, 2016.
In preparation for the first batch of reviews and in recognition that taxpayers are the main users of the MAP, the FTA MAP Forum invites taxpayers to provide input on specific areas. In this respect the OECD has released a Questionnaire for taxpayers concerning MAP experiences regarding a specific country that is being assessed. From a press release issued by the OECD in this respect, seems that at this time the OECD is only looking for input on the jurisdictions that are included in the first batch (Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States) The questionnaire comes in the form of a downloadable Word-document. A separate questionnaire should be filled in and submitted for each respective jurisdiction separately.
The questionnaire contains three areas for which the OECD is asking input:
· Access to MAP
· Clarity and Availability of MAP Guidance
· Implementation of MAP Agreements
Completed questionnaires should be sent in Word format to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. at the latest by November 28, 2016.
Click here to download the Questionnaire from the OECD website.
The press release as issued by the OECD on October 31, 2016 can be found here.
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