27/09/2023 – Today, Eswatini signed the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the BEPS Convention), at a signing ceremony held in Paris. Eswatini has become the 101^st jurisdiction to join the BEPS Convention, which now covers around 1 900 bilateral tax treaties. This represents an important milestone in the implementation of treaty-related BEPS measures and the strengthening of the global tax treaty network.

 

 ^{L-R: Ms Xolile NGWENYA (Counsellor, Embassy of Eswatini in Brussels), His Excellency Ambassador Sibusisiwe MNGOMEZULU (Embassy of Eswatini in Brussels), Honourable Neal RIJKENBERG (Minister of Finance (signatory)), Ms. Fabrizia LAPECORELLA (Deputy Secretary-General, OECD), Mr. David BRADBURY (Deputy Director (OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration (master of ceremony))}

 

In addition, Serbia has deposited a notification to extend the application of the BEPS Convention on its existing treaties.

 

On 25 September 2023, Armenia and Côte d'Ivoire deposited their instrument of ratification for the BEPS Convention, underlining their strong commitment to prevent the abuse of tax treaties and base erosion and profit shifting by multinational enterprises. The BEPS Convention will enter into force on 1 January 2024 for Armenia and Côte d'Ivoire.

 

As of today, around 1 200 treaties concluded among the 85 jurisdictions which have ratified, accepted or approved the BEPS Convention have already been modified by the BEPS Convention. Around 700 additional treaties will be modified once the BEPS Convention will have been ratified by all Signatories.

 

The BEPS Convention, negotiated by more than 100 countries and jurisdictions under a mandate from the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, is one of the most prominent results of the OECD/G20 BEPS Project. It is the world's leading instrument for updating bilateral tax treaties and reducing opportunities for tax avoidance by multinational enterprises. Measures included in the BEPS Convention address treaty abuse, strategies to avoid the creation of a “permanent establishment”, and hybrid mismatch arrangements. The BEPS Convention also enhances the dispute resolution mechanism, especially through the addition of an optional provision on mandatory binding arbitration, which has been taken up by 33 jurisdictions.

 

The text of the BEPS Convention, the explanatory statement, background information, database, and positions of each signatory and party are available at https://oe.cd/mli.