On September 29, 2016 the Irish Revenue published an updated version of its Revenue Operational Manual Bilateral Advance Pricing Agreement Guidelines. According to the Irish Revenue it updated Paragraph 32 of the Guidelines. Paragraph 32 sets out the term, or period, for which an APA will be granted - typically between 3 and 5 years. The guidelines have been updated to indicate that in no case will Revenue agree to a period that extends more than 5 years beyond the date of agreement of the bilateral APA with the competent authority of the other tax administration.
The updated Paragraph 32 reads as follows:
“An APA will be granted in respect of a specific fixed period of time, typically between 3 and 5 years (excluding any roll-back years). Revenue is willing to consider other fixed periods subject to the agreement of the other tax administration. However, in no case will Revenue agree to a period that extends more than 5 years beyond the date of agreement of the bilateral APA with the competent authority of the other tax administration. In its APA application, the taxpayer must propose a term to be covered by the APA.”
Other subjects discussed in the guidelines include a.o.:
· INTRODUCTION
· BILATERAL APA PROGRAMME OVERVIEW
· PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF APA
o What is an APA?
o Cases suitable for APA
o APA term & roll-back
· APA PROCESS
o Pre-filing
o Formal APA application
o Evaluation of APA application and negotiation of APA
o Formal agreement
o Annual reporting
· ADMINISTERING AN APA
o Audit
o Consequences of non-compliance
o Revoking or Cancelling the APA
o Revising the APA
o Renewing an APA
· CONFIDENTIALITY & PROTECTION OF INFORMATION
o Council Directive (EU) 2015/2376 of 8 December 2015
The Guidelines also contain the following appendices:
· Appendix 1: Indicative list of items to be discussed at APA pre-filing meeting
· Appendix 2: Indicative list of information to be included as part of APA application
· Appendix 3: Information to be automatically exchanged under Council Directive (EU) 2015/2376 of 8 December 2015
Click here to download the Guidelines from the website of the Irish Revenue. (The Guidelines come in a downloadable PDF-format)
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