When an associated enterprise is acting only as an agent or intermediary in the provision of services, it is important in applying a cost based method that the return or mark-up is appropriate for the performance of an agency function rather than for the performance of the services themselves. In such a case, it may not be appropriate to determine arm’s length pricing as a mark-up on the cost of the services but rather on the costs of the agency function itself. For example, an associated enterprise may incur the costs of renting advertising space on behalf of group members, costs that the group members would have incurred directly had they been independent. In such a case, it may well be appropriate to pass on these costs to the group recipients without a mark-up, and to apply a mark-up only to the costs incurred by the intermediary in performing its agency function.
TPG2022 Chapter VII paragraph 7.34
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By OECD
Category: OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines (2022), TPG2022 Chapter VII: Special Considerations for Intra-group Services | Tag: Cost base, Cost plus method, Intra-group services, Pass through costs, Service fee, Services
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