In applying a cost-based transactional net margin method, fully loaded costs are often used, including all the direct and indirect costs attributable to the activity or transaction, together with an appropriate allocation in respect of the overheads of the business. The question can arise whether and to what extent it is acceptable at arm’s length to treat a significant portion of the taxpayer’s costs as pass-through costs to which no profit element is attributed (i.e. as costs which are potentially excludable from the denominator of the net profit indicator). This depends on the extent to which an independent party in comparable circumstances would agree not to earn a mark-up on part of the costs it incurs. The response should not be based on the classification of costs as “internal” or “external” costs, but rather on a comparability (including functional) analysis. See paragraph 7.34.
TPG2017 Chapter II paragraph 2.99
Posted on |
By OECD
Category: OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines (2017) | Tag: Denominator - costs, Denominator - full costs, Key is to compare like with like, Pass through costs, Profit Level Indicator (PLI), Transactional net margin method (TNMM), Transactional profit method, Transfer pricing methods
« Prev |
Next » Related Guidelines
- TPG2022 Chapter II Annex I paragraph 1[See Chapter II, Part III, Section B of these Guidelines for general guidance on the application of the transactional net margin method. The assumptions about arm’s length arrangements in the following examples are intended for illustrative purposes only and should not be taken as prescribing adjustments and arm’s length arrangements...
- TPG2022 Chapter II paragraph 2.100Where treating costs as pass-through costs is found to be arm’s length, a second question arises as to the consequences on comparability and on the determination of the arm’s length range. Because it is necessary to compare like with like, if pass-through costs are excluded from the denominator of the...
- TPG2022 Chapter II Annex II example 1259. Company A, resident in Country A, Company B, resident in Country B, and Company C, resident in Country C, are members of an MNE group. Companies A and B undertake the design and manufacturing of products and their activities in this regard are highly integrated. Additionally, Company A and...
- TPG2022 Chapter VI Annex I example 1135. The facts in this example are the same as in Example 9, except that Company S now enters into a three-year royalty-free agreement to market and distribute the watches in the country Y market, with no option to renew. At the end of the three-year period, Company S does...
- TPG2022 Chapter II Annex II example 1580. Company A, resident in Country A, and Company B, resident in Country B, are members of an MNE group. Both companies undertake the design and manufacturing of products and their activities in this regard are highly integrated. Additionally, Company A and Company B are responsible for the marketing and...
- TPG2022 Chapter II paragraph 2.99In applying a cost-based transactional net margin method, fully loaded costs are often used, including all the direct and indirect costs attributable to the activity or transaction, together with an appropriate allocation in respect of the overheads of the business. The question can arise whether and to what extent it...
- TPG2022 Chapter II paragraph 2.77Net profit indicators may be directly affected by such forces operating in the industry as follows: threat of new entrants, competitive position, management efficiency and individual strategies, threat of substitute products, varying cost structures (as reflected, for example, in the age of plant and equipment), differences in the cost of...
- TPG2022 Chapter II paragraph 2.101Depending on the facts and circumstances of the case, actual costs, as well as standard or budgeted costs, may be appropriate to use as the cost base. Using actual costs may raise an issue because the tested party may have no incentive to carefully monitor the costs. In arrangements between...
- TPG2022 Chapter II paragraph 2.95The denominator should be one that is capable of being measured in a reliable and consistent manner at the level of the taxpayer’s controlled transactions. In addition, the appropriate base should be one that is capable of being measured in a reliable and consistent manner at the level of the...
- TPG2022 Chapter II paragraph 2.83As a matter of principle, only those items that (a) directly or indirectly relate to the controlled transaction at hand and (b) are of an operating nature should be taken into account in the determination of the net profit indicator for the application of the transactional net margin method....