14/11/2023 – The 2022 Mutual Agreement Procedures (MAP) Statistics, the 2022 MAP Awards and the 2023 Consolidated Information on MAP were released during the fifth OECD Tax Certainty Day where tax officials and stakeholders took stock of the tax certainty agenda and discussed ways to further improve dispute prevention and resolution.

 

The latest mutual agreement procedure (MAP) statistics* cover a record 133 jurisdictions and practically all MAP cases worldwide. These statistics form part of the BEPS Action 14 Minimum Standard and the wider G20/OECD tax certainty agenda to improve the effectiveness and timeliness of tax-related dispute resolution mechanisms. The MAP Statistics provide an objective and global frame of reference, as well as a country-specific view, which together allow measurement of progress but also show where further work is needed.

 

The 2022 MAP Statistics show the following trends:

• Taxpayers are engaging with MAP more than ever. The number of new MAP cases opened in 2022 increased (almost +3%) (see trends since 2016) compared to 2021. This represents that MAP is back to "business as usual" for many competent authorities after a decrease in cases opened in 2021 and it is encouraging to see that taxpayers have increasing faith in MAP owing to greater availability and access, a by-product of the BEPS Action 14 Minimum Standard.

 

• Fewer MAP cases were closed in 2022. Approximately 4% less MAP cases were closed in 2022 than in 2021, which concerns both transfer pricing cases (-0.5%) and other cases (almost -6.5%) closed. While 2021 was a stellar year for case closures (up +13% from 2020) as many competent authorities prioritised simpler cases, the 2022 result was a return to baseline for MAP case closures and still represents a significant increase compared to 2020 (nearly +9%) and 2019 (+3.5%).

 

• Outcomes remain generally positive. Around 73% of the MAPs concluded in 2022 fully resolved the issue both for transfer pricing and other cases. Approximately 2% of MAP cases were closed with no agreement. Both of these numbers remain similar to 2021.

 

• Average case times start to close in on the 24-month target. On average, MAP cases closed in 2022 took 25.3 months compared to 26 months in 2021, moving one step closer to the target. In particular, transfer pricing cases that took 29 months, down from 32.3 months in 2021, which is the first time this number has been below 30 months. These results are positive and show that even though taxpayers are requesting MAP more than ever, competent authorities are rising to the challenge through greater resources and better case management. While there is more work to be done, this highlights the significant investment made by jurisdictions into their competent authority functions in spite of the increasing strain on resources in general.

 

This year's MAP Awards, given in recognition of efforts by competent authorities, saw the following winners: Netherlands and New Zealand for the shortest time in closing transfer pricing cases and other cases respectively; Canada for the smallest proportion of pre-2016 cases in end inventory; and Luxembourg and Norway for the most effective caseload management. The award for the pairs of jurisdictions that dealt the most effectively with their joint caseload went to Denmark-Ireland for transfer pricing cases and to Germany-Ireland for other cases. Finally, the award for the most improved jurisdiction went to the Netherlands, which closed an additional 102 cases with positive outcomes compared to 2021 with increases for both transfer pricing and other cases.

 

The OECD also released today Making Dispute Resolution Mechanisms More Effective – Consolidated Information on Mutual Agreement Procedures 2023, the first-ever edition, that provides stakeholders with an overview of published information on MAP in each member jurisdiction of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS in a clear and simple manner. Although member jurisdictions have published more information concerning MAP than ever before owing to BEPS Action 14, this information has now been compiled in one place. The 2023 Consolidated Information on MAP summarises and consolidates this information in a single publication, which will be released annually with updates, if any, along with the MAP Statistics for the year.

 

Media enquiries should be directed to Manal Corwin, Director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration (+33 1 45 24 18 80) or Achim Pross, Deputy Director of CTPA (+33 1 45 24 98 92).

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