On 13 February 2013, the Federal Government introduced legislation on 13 February containing new Australian Transfer Pricing Laws.  These are largely consistent with the Exposure Draft (ED), released in November 2012.

The new enactment adjusts the Australian rules more nearly with the provisions of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines. The rules essentially show the suitability of utilizing methodology in given circumstances and there are two groups of methodologies – the “traditional” transaction methods, and the profit methods. The new rule does not give point by point direction on documentation necessities. Nonetheless, citizens will need to keep contemporaneous documentation to help their exchange estimating position.

The new rules will be applicable to income years beginning on or after the earlier of 1 July 2013 or the date the Bill receives the Royal Assent.