The second stage peer review report on the implementation of the Action 14 minimum standard (making dispute resolution mechanisms more effective) by Qatar was published by the OECD’s Inclusive Framework on 13 September 2022.

The report notes that Qatar has an extensive tax treaty network consisting of more than 80 tax treaties and has a small inventory of mutual agreement procedure (MAP) cases, with a small number of new cases submitted each year. The first stage peer review report noted that Qatar met the majority of the elements of the Action 14 minimum standard. The government has been working to address the remaining issues, and the second stage peer review report concludes that Qatar has resolved most of the issues identified.

The report notes that all but five of Qatar’s tax treaties contain a provision relating to the MAP, and generally the MAP articles are in line with paragraphs 1 to 3 of Article 25 of the OECD Model Tax Convention.

Qatar’s treaty network is mainly in line with the requirements of the Action 14 minimum standard, but almost 40% of the treaties do not contain the equivalent of the second sentence of Article 25(1) of the OECD Model as the timeline to file a MAP request is shorter than the required three years from the first notification of the relevant action. Almost 45% of the treaties do not include a provision for mutual agreements to be implemented regardless of any time limits in domestic law; or the alternative provisions for Article 9(1) and Article 7(2) to set a time limit for transfer pricing adjustments. Also, almost 10% of the treaties do not contain a provision allowing the competent authorities to consult together to eliminate double taxation in cases not provided for in the treaty.

Qatar has signed and ratified the multilateral instrument (MLI) to implement treaty-based provisions arising from the OECD project on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). The MLI can be used to update some of the treaties to bring them in line with the minimum standard. In the case of treaties that cannot be modified using the MLI, Qatar intends to update the treaties through bilateral negotiations. The bilateral negotiations have already been initiated, or are being planned, for the treaties that need to be updated.

Qatar is considered to meet the minimum standard with regard to the prevention of disputes and has an advance pricing agreement (APA) program in place. This includes the possibility of rolling back APAs to previous periods although no taxpayers requested this during the period under review.

In the years from 2017 to 2020 Qatar completed MAP cases within an average time of 18.64 months, which is within the time period of 24 months required by the minimum standard. The peer review report considers that Qatar is adequately resourced for this purpose.

The report notes that Qatar provides access to the MAP in all eligible cases; and has clear and comprehensive guidance on the availability of the MAP and its practical application. Qatar has also put in place a documented bilateral consultation process for situations where the competent authority considers that the issue raised by taxpayers in a MAP request is not justified.

The report notes that Qatar’s competent authority operates fully independently from the audit function of the tax authorities and adopts a co-operative approach to resolving MAP cases in an effective and efficient manner. The organisation is adequate and appropriate performance indicators are used for performing the MAP function. Qatar meets the minimum standard in relation to the implementation of MAP agreements and monitors the implementation of the agreements.