Un Practical Manual Transfer Pricing

Transfer Pricing Manual

Transfer Pricing

Any contemporary Chinese transfer pricing assessment needs to consider the United Nation (UN) Practical Manual on Transfer Pricing for Developing Countries released in May 2013. In particular, Chapter 10 discusses Country Practices and presents China's most up to date transfer pricing policy statement. China is not an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member nor has it formally adopted the OECD's Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations. Chapter 10 makes it very clear that China is charting a different transfer pricing course in at least nine important areas. China believes that: 1. significant comparability adjustments are needed when comparable sets are drawn from developed countries; 2. the transactional net margin (TNMM) is considered overused and inaccurate; 3. location savings must be reflected in the costs; 4. toll manufacturers will be converted into contract manufacturers; 5. limited risk distributor status is denied for brand building distributors; 6. market premiums must be reflected in Chinese profits; 7. tax haven based IP ownership can be “looked through” or denied; 8. cost-plus methodology is rejected for “high and new technology status” (HNTS) entities; 9. royalty adjustments over time are necessary.The Chinese approach to transfer pricing or at least the approach presented in the Practical Manual uses familiar OECD terminology but it places a very different emphasis on some basic concepts in the OECD Guidelines. Thus, the Chinese market economics strengthens the State Administration of Taxation's hand and encourages more forceful transfer pricing policies. This is the case even though these policies diverge from OECD norms. This paper considers the nine major areas where the Chinese position in the UN Practical Manual differs from positions in the OECD Guidelines.

Fundamentals of Transfer Pricing

Transfer pricing continues to be one of the most significant areas of heightened controversy in international taxation for multinational enterprises and tax administrations. Due to its far-reaching consequences, tax professionals and individual tax jurisdictions are required to understand the fundamentals of the topic, which is often caught in a maze of literature. Emerging from the joint research conducted by the WU Transfer Pricing Center at the Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law at WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business), the international tax law firm L&P - Ludovici Piccone & Partners, and the experiences from the annual advanced transfer pricing courses and conferences, this first edition of the book acts as a manual for understanding transfer pricing principles and their practical application. It provides a balanced approach by first detailing the basics of transfer pricing and second proceeding to specific topics that are highly relevant in today's tax environment. In analysing the topics, the work undertaken by the OECD, UN, EU, World Customs Organization, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other international organizations is considered. Moreover, the book contains several practical examples, judicial precedents and illustrative explanations to complement the understanding.