France
Penalty for Documentation FailureThe Finance Act, 2015 provides that for tax audits initiated from 1 January 2015 penalties for inadequate documentation are the higher of EUR 10,000 per entity per period under audit; 0.5% of the total volume of the transactions for which the entity failed to provide adequate documentation; or 5% of the reassessed profits. These penalties apply to the taxpayers who must prepare full transfer pricing documentation. For failure to submit the abridged documentation there is a fixed penalty of EUR 150.See the Story in Regfollower
Iceland 
Transfer Pricing RuleThe Ministry of Finance issued the final regulation on transfer pricing (Regulation No. 1180/2014) on 16 December 2014, which entered into force on 1 January 2015.See the Story in Regfollower
Singapore
Related PartyThe IRAS updated the related party section to provide clear guidance on the application of the arm’s length principle to related party services and the use of the “benefits test”.See the Story in Regfollower
US
Transfer Pricing Filing RequirementFinal regulations (TD 9707) effective from 24 December 2014 provide guidance on the filing requirements for Form 5472 which is the information return for a 25% foreign owned US corporation or a foreign corporation engaged in a US trade or business.TD 9707 is effective from 24 December 2014.See the Story in Regfollower
Chile

Penalty in Case of Adjustments

The Tax Reform Bill which was published in the Official Gazette on September 29, 2014 as Law 20.780 has modified Article 21 of the Chilean ITL, which has increased penalty from 35% to 40% from 2015. This rate is applicable in cases, where the tax authority has determined a transfer pricing adjustment in accordance with the law.

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Spain
Documentation Requirement and Penalty Under the new Corporate Income Tax Law, related person or entities with turnover below €45 million (previously €10 million) now have an option to simplify transfer pricing documentation, with certain exceptions. The Law 27/2014, effective from 1 January 2015, has decreased penalty for documentation to EUR 1,000 for each item of data (before EUR 1,500) and EUR 10,000 (before 15,000) for each mislaid or untrue data set.See the Story in Regfollower
Greece
Related Party TransactionAs per  Letter Ruling of The Public Revenue Administration dated 9th January 2015, a related person is who owns at least 33% of equity shares or voting rights and having a direct or indirect administrative power over another person.See the Story in Regfollower
Indonesia
Guidance on Advance Pricing AgreementThe Regulation No. 7/PMK.03/2015 (PMK-07) which was released on 12 January 2015 provides guidance on the processes that the Directorate General of Taxation (DGT) should use to implement advance pricing agreement, as well as changes to prior advance pricing related criteria released by the DGT. Advance pricing agreement can cover only 3 fiscal years for a unilateral 4 fiscal years for a bilateral agreement.See the Story in Regfollower
India

Comparable Data Range

In case of all international transactions and specified domestic transactions undertaken after 1 April 2014  the arm’s length price shall be determined based on interquartile range as incorporated by 2014 Budget bill.

Transfer Pricing Documentation Requirement

The “simplified” transfer pricing documentation rules were released by a notification dated 4 February 2015 for domestic transactions of electric companies owned by the government.

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Luxembourg
Arm’s Length PrincipleThe 2015 budget announcements include a proposal to specifically refer to the arm’s length principle in Article 56 of the LIR, and to apply the principle in the case of both residents and non-residents.Transfer Pricing Documentation Requirement-From 1 January 2015, normal disclosure and documentation requirements apply to transactions between related parties.

Advance Rulings -A new Article 29a of the General Tax Law gives a specific legal basis to the system of advance rulings. The new legislation provides that no advance ruling may be given for purely theoretical or illegal transactions and it  may only be requested by the concerned taxpayer. The legislation confirms that the tax authorities are bound by the advance rulings they issue.

Fees-Article 3 of Bill no 6722 will if passed provide for a tax of up to EUR 10,000 in consideration of the administrative and operating costs of dealing with a taxpayer’s request for obtaining information and other services. This provision is likely to apply to any requests for advance rulings, such as advance tax agreements (ATAs) and to APAs.

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 Taiwan
Exemption from Transfer Pricing Documentation Tax Ruling no. 10304578300 (2 February 2015) made some amendments and decreases the threshold requirement. This allows waiver of the separate analysis requirement for controlled transactions. It is applicable for the income tax returns filed for the 2014 tax year and after.See the Story in Regfollower
South Africa

Transfer Pricing Adjustment

Under the provisions of the Tax Laws Amendment Bill 2014 the amount of the transfer pricing adjustment will be treated as a dividend in specie, with effect from 1 January 2015, this includes a ‘transitional rule’ to disregard deemed loans paid by 28 February 2015.

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OECD
Intangible PropertyA discussion draft on cost contribution arrangements (CCAs), intangibles, profit splits and financial transactions will be released in April to June 2015, with a public consultation in early July 2015.Cost Contribution Arrangements

A discussion draft on cost contribution arrangements, will be released in April to June 2015, with a public consultation in early July 2015.

Financial Services

A discussion draft on base erosion through interest and equivalent financial payments was issued in December 2014 and work is also continuing on combating base erosion involving hybrid mismatch arrangements.

Transfer Pricing Method

The use of the profit split method is to be further clarified as part of the BEPS project. Further discussion draft on the issue is to be published between April and June 2015.

Transfer Pricing Documentation Requirement

Guidance issued on 6 February 2015 indicates that CbC reports will be required for fiscal years ending on or after 1 January 2016. As MNE groups will be given one year to prepare the reports.

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