One question that arises when putting the need for comparability analyses into perspective is the extent of the burden and costs that should be borne by a taxpayer to identify possible comparables and obtain detailed information thereon. It is recognised that the cost of information can be a real concern, especially for small to medium sized operations, but also for those MNEs that deal with a very large number of controlled transactions in many countries. Paragraph 4.28 and Chapter V contain explicit recognition of the need for a reasonable application of the requirement to document comparability.
TPG2022 Chapter III paragraph 3.80
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By OECD
Category: OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines (2022), TPG2022 Chapter III: Comparability Analysis | Tag: Administrative-/compliance burden, Comparability analysis, Compliance issues, Documentation
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- TPG2022 Chapter III paragraph 3.83Small to medium sized enterprises are entering into the area of transfer pricing and the number of cross-border transactions is ever increasing. Although the arm’s length principle applies equally to small and medium sized enterprises and transactions, pragmatic solutions may be appropriate in order to make it possible to find...
- TPG2022 Chapter III paragraph 3.82It is a good practice for taxpayers to set up a process to establish, monitor and review their transfer prices, taking into account the size of the transactions, their complexity, level of risk involved, and whether they are performed in a stable or changing environment. Such a practical approach would...
- TPG2022 Chapter III paragraph 3.81When undertaking a comparability analysis, there is no requirement for an exhaustive search of all possible relevant sources of information. Taxpayers and tax administrations should exercise judgment to determine whether particular comparables are reliable....
- TPG2022 Chapter III paragraph 3.33Use of commercial databases should not encourage quantity over quality. In practice, performing a comparability analysis using a commercial database alone may give rise to concerns about the reliability of the analysis, given the quality of the information relevant to assessing comparability that is typically obtainable from a database. To...
- OECD COVID-19 TPG paragraph 9The unprecedented change in the economic environment following the outbreak of COVID-19 creates unique challenges for performing comparability analysis. The pandemic may have a significant impact on the pricing of some transactions between independent enterprises and may reduce the reliance that can be placed on historical data when performing comparability...
- OECD COVID-19 TPG paragraph 10The challenges associated with performing a comparability analysis may vary depending on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economically relevant characteristics of the accurately delineated transaction. For example, if a controlled transaction is covered by a pre-existing intercompany agreement (for example, if in 2018 it was determined that...
- OECD COVID-19 TPG paragraph 11In principle, any form of publicly available information regarding the effect of COVID-19 on the business, industry and controlled transaction may be relevant in ascertaining the arm’s length nature of an enterprise’s transfer pricing policy implemented for FY 2020. The following sources of information may support that determination through the...
- OECD COVID-19 TPG paragraph 12Another potential approach to utilise in setting transfer prices is to compare budgeted or forecast financial results to those actually achieved, to approximate the specific effects of COVID-19 on revenues, costs and margins. The financial outcomes that taxpayers within a controlled transaction would have achieved ‘but for’ the impact of...
- OECD COVID-19 TPG paragraph 13Such a review may be performed as part of a more general set of approaches utilised to evaluate the context and the factors that may impact the arm’s length nature of prices....
- OECD COVID-19 TPG paragraph 14Information relating to the conditions of comparable uncontrolled transactions undertaken during the same period as the controlled transaction (“contemporaneous uncontrolled transactions”) is the most reliable information to use in a comparability analysis. Such information reflects how independent parties behave in an economic environment that is the same as or substantially...
