01/02/2023-OECD. In line with the Forum on Tax Administration’s (FTA) tax certainty agenda, the OECD has published a Manual on the Handling of Multilateral Mutual Agreement Procedures (MAPs) and Advance Pricing Arrangements (APAs), intended to be abbreviated as the MoMA.

It is widely acknowledged that multilateral MAPs and APAs offer greater tax certainty to both taxpayers and tax administrations where different parts of the same transaction or arrangement involving a multinational enterprise are covered by multiple bilateral tax treaties. However, most jurisdictions have limited experience in coordinating bilateral MAP and APA cases to offer multilateral certainty. Accordingly, the MoMA is intended as a guide to multilateral MAP and APA processes from both a legal and procedural perspective and suggests different approaches based on the practices of jurisdictions, without imposing a set of binding rules.

The MoMA allows tax administrations to explore whether implementation of these procedures is appropriate considering the circumstances of their own MAP and APA programmes and to consider whether the guidance therein may be incorporated in their domestic guidance on MAP or APA processes to provide additional clarity. The MoMA also outlines the actions and cooperation expected from taxpayers to allow tax administrations to consider MAP and APA cases multilaterally. The MoMA is the result of the work done within the FTA MAP Forum.

Source:https://www.oecd.org/tax/oecd-releases-manual-on-the-handling-of-multilateral-mutual-agreement-procedures-and-advance-pricing-arrangements-pursuant-to-tax-certainty-agenda.htm