Dispute prevention and resolution is a key theme of the OECD's annual "Tax Certainty Day". The 2024 edition took place in Athens on 15 November 2024. Mutual agreement procedure (MAP) and advance pricing agreement (APA) statistics were published, and awards announced.
The OECD also delivered on an action point agreed by the Tax Administration MAP Forum in December 2022: it collated published information concerning MAP for all Inclusive Framework Members into a single report.
The report "Consolidated Information on Mutual Agreement Procedures 2024" provides overview information on MAP for over 140 jurisdictions, arranged in alphabetical order. With links to official guidance, the report will be a useful starting point when searching for information on a particular jurisdiction (although it should not necessarily be relied on without cross-checking the information provided).
MAP statistics and awards
The MAP statistics for 2023 show (for the first time) a slight decrease in the caseload. The OECD notes a 3.5% reduction in end-of-year cases and a 16% reduction in new transfer pricing MAP cases (although there was a 2.8% increase in other cases) and concludes that a slight increase in average resolution time may mean that tax authorities are prioritising older cases. It is thought that 4% of cases being closed without agreement could be due to "long-standing unresolved cases being closed". The same percentage of cases were denied MAP access.
The UK won three MAP "medals" and achieved two further mentions in fourth place for average closing time for transfer pricing cases (25.3 months; in first-placed Netherlands, it takes 22 months) and caseload management in the category of jurisdiction with a large inventory (for a 45% closing ratio, taking into account case outcomes; first-placed Netherlands had a ratio of 52%).
The UK's medals were for co-operation ("Most number of MAP cases fully resolved through agreement by a pair of jurisdictions as compared to their total MAP caseload as determined by the agreement score"). Together with Italy, the UK won bronze in the category for transfer pricing cases. Together with Australia and Germany, respectively silver and bronze for other cases.
46 jurisdictions provided data. During the reporting period 975 cases were closed. In 860 of those cases (i.e. 88%), an APA was granted. The APA inventory at the end of the reporting period (4080 cases) was slightly higher than at the start (3919 cases), suggesting that APA applications are submitted at a faster rate than cases are being closed. The average time to grant an APA during the reporting period was just under 37 months.
The "APA Award for Focus on Dispute Resolution" went to Japan. At 84.7%, Japan had the highest proportion of APA cases compared to transfer pricing MAP cases. Singapore had next the highest percentage (66.1%).