Newsletter January 2025

In this edition of the newsletter, you will find the most important national and global developments in tax law that are (closely) related to the transfer pricing world.? ?

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.?

Quantera Global news, developments, and blogs??

• We have officially launched our podcast “The Transfer Pricing Method”. The first two episodes on APAs and on Public CbCR are now available on Spotify, YouTube, and our website.?

• The implementation of public CbCR represents a significant milestone in corporate transparency and accountability across the EU. Romania’s early adoption showcases the challenges of premature implementation. For more information on this topic, you can read our blog here.?

Quantera Global specialties

In the past month, several challenging and noteworthy projects were successfully completed, including:?

• We have assisted multiple clients with meeting their Country by Country Reporting (CbCR) requirements and deadlines.?

• We developed a new global TP policy for a midsized multinational.?

• We have performed a full financial transactions and treasury analysis for a large stock-quoted company, supporting both their treasury and tax department.??

If you would like to know more about these topics, please feel free to?contact?us.?

News from around the world

Australia?

The Australian Parliament has approved legislation to implement public country-by-country reporting. Under this scheme, large multinational enterprises with Australian-sourced income exceeding AU$10 million will be required to disclose specified information on a country-by-country basis. The first public reports are due by 30 June 2026.?

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Belgium?

On 13 December, Belgium’s federal government published administrative guidance concerning the application of Belgian Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) legislation. The legislation will be effective from assessment year 2024, applying to financial years ending on or after 31 December 2023.?

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Brazil?

• The Brazilian Federal Revenue Service (RFB) has issued Normative Instruction RFB No. 2,246/2024, introducing comprehensive changes to the framework governing the registration of commodity transactions. These new regulations, effective January 2025, aim to strengthen oversight and transparency in such operations while aligning Brazil's transfer pricing rules with internationally recognized standards.?

• Additionally, our Brazilian alliance partner (Castro Barros Advogados), published the following regarding Brazilian APAs:?

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“The Brazilian Federal Revenue Service (RFB) submitted for public consultation the draft regulation of the Brazilian APA established in the recent TP legislation (article 38 of Law No. 14,596/2023), with the objective of aligning the country’s legislation with the OECD's international standard. The proposed regulation calls these agreements as “Unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements”.?

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In general terms, the Proposal's guidelines are in line with the international standard. However, some aspects diverging from those envisaged by the OECD have been identified, provoking critical comments from taxpayers (e.g. the unilateral nature of the contract and the fact that there is no right to appeal or request reconsideration of RFB decisions handed down in the APA process).??

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Regarding the APA procedure, the RFB presents 4 phases (preliminary, analysis, conclusion, and formalization), as well as the possibility of extending the agreement.?

Since this is a public consultation on the regulation of the matter, it is expected that the final version of the rules will be more in line with OECD standards.”?

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Cyprus?

The Cypriot Tax Department has announced that the pending bilateral Competent Authority Agreement (CAA) for Country-by-Country (CbC) report exchange between Cyprus and the United States is expected to apply to Fiscal Years starting on or after 1 January 2024.?

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European Commission?

The European Commission has published draft Implementing Regulation 2024/2952 to standardise information disclosure for public country-by-country reporting (CbCR). The regulation introduces a common template, electronic format and a taxonomy for reportable data.??

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France?

On 5 December, a decree was published in the official gazette outlining the filing and notification obligations for entities subject to France's Pillar Two global minimum tax law.?

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Germany?

On 12 December, the Ministry of Finance published the latest administrative principles for Transfer Pricing. This publication includes the interpretation of the new regulations on intercompany financial transactions and the inclusive framework concerning Pillar One Amount B.??

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Gibraltar?

Gibraltar’s Tax Authorities has published draft legislation for the implementation of the Pillar Two global minimum tax rules. The new legislation applies for financial years starting on or after 31 December 2023.?

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Hong Kong?

On 27 December, the government published draft legislation regarding the implementation of Pillar Two global minimum tax rules. The draft legislation will be applicable for fiscal years starting on or after 1 January 2025.?

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Luxembourg?

On 19 December, Luxembourg’s Parliament approved legislation implementing further aspects of the Pillar Two (global minimum taxation) guidance. Once published, the amendments will apply to tax years beginning on or after 31 December 2023, aligning with the initial application of already-implemented Pillar Two rules.??

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Malaysia?

The Malaysian Inland Revenue Board (MIRB) has issued guidance concerning the interpretation and administration of the Pillar Two global minimum tax, applicable per 1 January 2025. The guidance addresses scope, filing obligations, transitional penalty relief and safe harbours.??

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Netherlands?

• On 4 December, the Dutch State Secretary of Finance published a decree concerning the implementation of Pillar One Amount B. This decree becomes effective as of 1 January 2025. For more information, you can read our blog here.??

• On 13 December, the Dutch State Secretary of Finance published a decree on withholding tax on interest and royalties, updating the previous decree of 2021.??

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Nigeria?

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has issued guidelines on advance pricing agreements in Nigeria, covering both application procedures and the administration of executed APAs.?

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OECD?

On 19 December, the OECD released a Pricing Automation Tool and fact sheets to simplify the application of "Amount B," a streamlined approach to transfer pricing for baseline marketing and distribution activities, especially beneficial for low-capacity countries. The fact sheets offer an overview of Amount B's mechanics, while the Pricing Automation Tool calculates the Amount B return with minimal data input, streamlining administration for both taxpayers and tax authorities.?

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United States?

On 18 December, the IRS and the Department of Treasury released a simplified and streamlined approach under section 482 for pricing certain controlled transactions involving baseline marketing and distribution activities, with the intention to implement the OECD’s simplified and streamlined approach. This initiative aims to reduce administrative burden and enhance cross-border tax compliance.?

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Final words?

Thank you for taking the time to read this edition of our newsletter. I hope you found the insights and updates valuable. If you have any questions or would like further information on any of the topics covered, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.?

If you have not already done so, subscribe to our Quantera Global newsletter here and join over 2,000 finance and tax leaders in receiving our newsletter, webinar invitations, latest trends, and sneak peeks into the world of transfer pricing in your inbox every month.??

Best regards,?

Adriaan van der Heijden?

Director at Quantera Global?