On 6 May 2022, the Ministry of Finance issued new guidelines on mutual agreement and arbitration procedures (MAP) under the Austrian double taxation agreements, the EU Arbitration Convention, the BEPS Multilateral Instrument (MLI), and the EU Tax Dispute Settlement Act. The guidance replaces the previous guidance no. BMF-010221/0237 of 24 July 2019.
The new guideline includes:
-The application procedure for the initiation of MAP, completion, and implementation of the MAP.
-Competent authority’s procedures;
-Application requirements and deadlines;
-The implementation of MAPs;
-Agreements containing provisions of the OECD model convention;
-The initiation of arbitration, the course of arbitration, and the completion of arbitration and implementation;
-The general principles and types of APAs as well as the steps of the APA process; and
-In addition to the main guidance, annexes are also provided on the OECD minimum standards on dispute resolution, the specifics of the Austrian tax treaties in relation to MAP, and the specific arbitration clauses in the Austrian tax treaties.
