Netherlands: New transfer pricing documentation rules enacted; country-by-country reporting
Legislation amending the rules governing transfer pricing documentation—to include country-by-country reporting, as well as master file and local file provisions—has been enacted and has an effective date of 1 January 2016.
The Dutch Upper House (Eerste Kamer) on 22 December 2015 passed the legislation (the bill is referred to in English as “2016 Other Tax Measures”). The legislation adds new standardized documentation requirements to the Dutch corporate tax law (known in English as the “Corporate Income Tax Act 1969” or CITA 1969). With this legislation, the Netherlands has implemented recommendations from the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) final report, under BEPS Action 13, Transfer pricing documentation and country-by-country reporting.
The new legislative requirements “enlarge” what were the existing legal requirements under Section 8b CITA 1969. Read TaxNewsFlash-Transfer Pricing
Implementing regulation
The Dutch Deputy Minister of Finance on 30 December 2015 issued a regulation (no. DB/2015/462M) concerning the additional transfer pricing documentation requirements. The regulation, as published in the government gazette, provides further elaboration of the additional documentation requirements for multinational enterprises.
With the regulation, the Netherlands implements the rules under Sections 29e(2) and 29g(5) CITA 1969.
KPMG observation
With enactment of the new transfer pricing documentation rules, multinational groups with cross-border operations must timely act in complying with the new regulatory requirements.
- Companies that are part of a group with a minimum consolidated turnover of €750 million must file a notification with the Dutch tax authorities by 31 December 2016, to announce which group member company will be filing the country-by-country (CbC) report.
- If the fiscal year of the group commences 1 January 2016, the group companies will need to file the CbC report by 31 December 2017.
Penalties will be imposed in instances of intentional non-compliance or “serious misconduct” of the reporting entity regarding its obligation to file the CbC report, with a potential maximum penalty in the amount of €20,250, in addition to possible criminal prosecution.
Master file, local file
Furthermore, all group entities that are tax resident in the Netherlands and that are part of a group with a minimum consolidated turnover of €50 million must have a master file and local file as part of their administration records at the time when they file their tax returns. Non-compliance with the master file and local file documentation requirements will result in a reversal of the burden of proof.
Read a January 2016 report prepared by the KPMG member firm in the Netherlands: New transfer pricing documentation rules enacted
