The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has updated its guidance on the mutual agreement procedure (MAP) framework contained in tax treaties to resolve disputes.

The new guidance represents an update on Taxation Ruling TR 2000/16 Income tax: international transfer pricing and profit reallocation adjustments, relief from double taxation and the Mutual Agreement Procedure, which has been withdrawn.

This guidance was updated to reflect both changes to legislation and recommendations made under the OECD’s Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), which sets a clear framework for dealing with BEPS issues to develop a stronger international tax system. The Action Plan contained a number of minimum standards, and related best practices, which we committed to implement.

The new guidance covers both transfer pricing and non-transfer pricing cases. It also provides updated information on:

  • information requirements for MAP requests
  • contact details for lodging details for MAP requests
  • MAPs arising from self-amendments
  • multilateral MAPs
  • the role of ATO staff in the MAP process
  • the availability of MAP in cases involving Australia’s general anti-avoidance rules
  • mandatory binding arbitration.