18/12/2014 - Public comments are invited on a discussion draft which deals with the work on Action 14 ("Make dispute resolution mechanisms more effective") of the BEPS Action Plan.

 

In July 2013, the OECD published its Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting. The Action Plan identifies 15 actions to address BEPS in a comprehensive manner and sets deadlines to implement these actions.

 

The Action Plan recognises that the actions to counter BEPS must be complemented with actions that ensure certainty and predictability for business. Work to improve the effectiveness of the mutual agreement procedure (MAP) in resolving treaty-related disputes is thus an important component of the work on BEPS issues. Action 14 reads as follows:

Action 14 - Make dispute resolution mechanisms more effective

Develop solutions to address obstacles that prevent countries from solving treaty-related disputes under MAP, including the absence of arbitration provisions in most treaties and the fact that access to MAP and arbitration may be denied in certain cases.

 

As part of the transparent and inclusive consultation process mandated by the Action Plan, the Committee on Fiscal Affairs (CFA) invites interested parties to send comments on this discussion draft, which includes the preliminary results of the work carried out pursuant to Action 14.

 

The views and proposals included in this discussion document do not represent the consensus views of either the Committee on Fiscal Affairs or its subsidiary bodies but rather are intended to provide stakeholders with substantive proposals for analysis and comment.

 

Comments should be sent by 16 January 2015 at the latest (no extension will be granted) and should be sent in Word format by email to taxtreaties@oecd.org (in order to facilitate their distribution to government officials). Comments should be addressed to: Marlies de Ruiter, Head, Tax Treaties, Transfer Pricing and Financial Transactions Division, OECD/CTPA.

 

Please note that all comments received regarding this consultation draft will be made publicly available. Comments submitted in the name of a collective “grouping” or “coalition”, or by any person submitting comments on behalf of another person or group of persons, should identify all enterprises or individuals who are members of that collective grouping or coalition, or the person(s) on whose behalf the commentator(s) are acting.

 

Public consultation meeting

Persons and organisations who will send comments on this discussion document are invited to indicate whether they wish to speak in support of their comments at a public consultation meeting on Action 14 that is scheduled to be held in Paris at the OECD Conference Centre on 23 January 2015. Persons selected as speakers will be informed by email by 16 January at the latest.

This consultation meeting will be open to the public and the press.

Due to space limitations, priority will be given to persons and organisations who register first (we reserve the right to limit the number of participants from the same organisations).

Persons wishing to attend this public consultation meeting are asked to register on line. Requests for registration should be made not later than 9 January 2015, after which date requests will not be accepted.

Confirmation of participation, including venue access details, will be sent by email to participants by 16 January at the latest.

This meeting will also be broadcast live on the Internet and can be accessed on line. No advance registration will be required for this Internet access.