Strategizing Multinational Tax Risks

APAs, MAP, Self-Assessment: Vietnam update & Best Practice ideas

Vietnam has recently adopted regulations on Mutual Agreement Procedures (MAP) and Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs), with additional transfer pricing measures.    A link to the informative summary prepared by KPMG is provided as reference:

http://www.internationaltaxreview.com/Article/3319685/Vietnam-Getting-up-to-speed-in-Vietnam.html

Key Highlights:

• The APA negotiation and conclusion procedures, consisting of five steps, is expected to take nine months from submission to a concluded APA.
• Formal guidance has been issued for MAP implementation.
• Related party transaction disclosure is to be submitted with 2014 tax returns, based on a self-assessment process with contemporaneous documentation to effectively shift the burden of proof to the tax authorities.

Re: Best Practices, transfer pricing opportunities and documentation requirements, by Vietnam as well as all other countries, should be mapped to formulate new audit defense strategies, cooperative compliance ideas and transfer pricing governance guidelines.

In today’s volitive transfer pricing environment, a member of every multinational company’s global tax department should have responsibility for a real-time assessment of all new developments, thereby providing a significant value-add for legal structuring, debt financing, transfer pricing documentation, and audit defense strategies to avoid double taxation.  To the extent such resources are not being focused, a cost/benefit analysis of missed opportunities may be helpful to achieve additional Best Practice methodologies.