On 27 July 2020 the OECD issued the ninth round of stage 1 peer review reports assessing efforts made by jurisdictions to implement the minimum standard in relation to dispute resolution mechanisms as set out in the report on BEPS Action 14.
The peer review reports relate to Andorra, the Bahamas, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Faroe Islands, Macau (China), Morocco and Tunisia.
The reports make recommendations to each country on changes that could be made to align their systems with the minimum standard. The extent to which those changes are implemented will be examined in the stage 2 peer reviews.
One aspect of the minimum standard is that jurisdictions are required to provide timely reporting of MAP statistics under the agreed template and reporting framework. The peer review reports include statistics on the mutual agreement procedure (MAP) in the years from 2016 to 2019 that have been reported under the MAP Statistics Reporting Framework.
The agreed reporting framework outlines details of the MAP procedure such as the start date, end date and outcome of the competent authority process. These agreed definitions are used in producing the statistics for the number of MAP cases; the average time required to finalise a MAP case; the types of cases concerned; and the outcomes of the procedure. The minimum standard under Action 14 requires countries to try to resolve MAP cases within 24 months on average.
