OECD 2022 Mutual Agreement Procedure Statistics Released

OECD 2022 Mutual Agreement Procedure Statistics Released

During the course of their fifth “Tax Certainty Day” held on 14th November last, the OECD released details of the 2022 mutual agreement procedure (“MAP”) statistics together with details of winners of MAP awards recognising competent authority efforts to resolve double tax disputes. Also released was a new publication summarising and consolidated MAP information for all member jurisdictions of the Inclusive Framework on BEPS.

Overview of 2022 MAP Statistics

The 2022 MAP statistics cover 133 jurisdictions and almost all MAP cases worldwide, and include details on each jurisdiction as well as aggregated information. Some notable trends in the OECD announcement include the following:

• The number of new MAP cases opened in 2022 increased by almost 3% compared to 2021. According to the OECD announcement, the increase “represents that MAP is back to ‘business as usual’ for many competent authorities after a decrease in cases opened in 2021.”
• Approximately 4% fewer MAP cases were closed in 2022 than in 2021; however, according to the OECD announcement, this represents a “return to baseline” for case closures following a “stellar year” in 2021 when many competent authorities prioritized simpler cases.
• Where MAPs were concluded in 2022, they fully resolved the relevant issue in around 73% of all cases (similar to the percentage in 2021). The competent authorities failed to reach a mutual agreement in approximately 2% of cases closed (similar to the percentage in 2021).
• The average time to close MAP cases in 2022 was 25.3 months (compared to 26 months in 2021).
• For transfer pricing cases specifically, the average time was around 29 months (compared to 32.3 months in 2021), which is the first time the average for these cases has been below 30 months.
• Each year, the OECD awards the efforts and contributions of the best performing jurisdictions. In 2022, the Netherlands won the award for shortest average time to close transfer pricing MAP cases, while New Zealand won the award for shortest average time to close cases other than transfer pricing, in MAP. Denmark and Ireland won the award for pair of jurisdictions which fully resolved MAP cases through an agreement.

2022 MAP Statistics - Ireland

In 2022, 103 MAP cases were completed and agreed with Competent Authorities of other tax jurisdictions, of which 37 related to transfer pricing matters.

Table: Mutual Agreement Procedures for 2022

Some notable statistics in relation to Ireland’s transfer pricing MAP data include the following:

• The average time to close transfer pricing cases that commenced post 1 January 2016 was 24.6 months (35.49 months in 2021);
• 92% of transfer pricing MAP cases are resolved by agreement to fully eliminate double taxation representing a 10% increase on the 2021 outcome;
• No transfer pricing cases were denied access to MAP during 2022;
• At the end of 2022, Ireland had 77 open MAP cases (86 in 2021);
• Similar to 2021, the country with which Ireland has the highest number of MAP cases is Denmark with Italy a close second.

The 2022 statistics are noteworthy in that Ireland continues to process MAP cases efficiently and has converged on the BEPS Action 14 recommended timeframe to reach conclusion on MAP cases of 24 months. With the general upward trend in the number of MAP cases that require tax authority involvement to mitigate double taxation, the importance of continued investment and resourcing of competent authorities is evident.

Deloitte Ireland LLP
December 2023