Arcotia Hatsidimitris - International Tax Dialogue

48 – 5. MAINTAINING PROGRESS, TACKLING DELAY
advisors knew what to expect from the tax administration and publication could help demonstrate
consistency of approach and therefore support actions taken by the tax administration. Tax
administrations, business and their advisors noted that where guidance is published it can be very
helpful, both to business and the tax administration, to consult with external stakeholders whilst the
guidance is still in draft so that issues or concerns can be addressed by the tax administration before
the guidance is finalised, usually leading to a much better product.
Deliberate obstruction
Most tax administrations recognise the need to regularly reassess the scope of their audits and
enquiries to ensure that they remain relevant. In a similar way they need to ensure the reasonableness
of their requests, particularly where they set tight deadlines. However, sometimes despite all efforts to
do this and engage with a business, tax administrations can be faced with outright opposition to their
attempts to undertake an audit or enquiry. Where this happens they need to have ready strategies that
can be deployed to counter such obstruction; for many tax administrations this can involve the use of
information powers, the ability to estimate assessments and to close cases using legal processes.
Having the ability to use all of the means of tackling delay outlined in this chapter should, however,
mean that these are only strategies of last resort and seldom need to be used.
Key thoughts for chapter
Most tax administrations have experience of transfer pricing audits or enquiries that run for many
years. Often the cause of delay lies in the fact intensive nature of transfer pricing work and
disagreements over the provision of business records. Early discussion about the aspects of the
business to be reviewed, carefully focused requests for records and agreed timetabling can ensure a
speedy and effective outcome to audits or enquiries. The development of alternative dispute resolution
techniques in several countries suggest that this approach may be of use in transfer pricing cases.
DEALING EFFECTIVELY WITH THE CHALLENGES OF TRANSFER PRICING © OECD 2012