One stop solution for Country-by-Country-Reporting (CbCR)

Transparency for tax practices and administrative procedures is in focus in current times. This is because governments intend to understand the jurisdiction of the financials of an MNE group. They intend to have a closer look at the jurisdictions for generation of revenues and payment of taxes.

With a CBC report, local tax authorities get complete visibility of:
 

• Revenues
• Income
• Retained earnings
• Capital
• Tangible assets
• Employees
• Tax paid and accrued
• Business activities in which the MNE Group operates

Details on all these data points give a clear picture to the tax authorities. They understand the global allocation of income and taxes in a group. This is how they can detect any possibility of transfer pricing practices in a group. If there exist any such practices, the relevant authorities can conduct further audits.

Thus, with such CBCR requirements, tax authorities are fully aware of the jurisdiction for generation of the economic value. They match this information with that MNE Group’s profits allocation and tax payments. If the jurisdiction is the same, then transfer pricing concerns are not there. If jurisdictions do not match, the authorities need to study the gaps and find the reasons.

The MNE (Multinational Group of Enterprises) Group is a group that includes:
 

• Two or more companies with tax residence in different jurisdictions, or one single company having its tax residence in one country but being subject to tax in another country for the activity it carries out through a permanent entity in that another country.
• Having a total consolidated group revenue equal to or more than AED3.15 billion during the fiscal year immediately preceding the reporting fiscal year as indicated in the consolidated financial statements for that preceding fiscal year.

An Ultimate Parent Entity (UPE) is defined as the Constituent Entity (CE) in the MNE Group that fulfills the following conditions:
 

• Owns directly or indirectly a sufficient interest in one or more CEs of such MNE Group such as it is required to prepare Consolidated Financial Statements under the accounting principles generally applicable in its jurisdiction of tax residence, or be so required if its equity interests were traded on a public securities exchange in its jurisdiction of tax residence;
• Its Group does not include any other CE that owns directly or indirectly an interest described in the above point in such entity.

Compliance with CBCR requirements is essential for any UAE entity fulfilling the eligibility conditions. If the applicable entities do not comply with the requirements, the government levies a penalty on them. The various penalties are:
 

• If the UPE fails to submit the CBCR notification before the deadlines, it has to pay an administrative penalty of AED1.0 million. If the entity still fails to submit the notification, a per-day penalty of AED10,000.0 is imposed, up to a maximum of AED250,000.0.
• If the reporting entity fails to submit the CBC report before the deadlines, it has to pay an administrative penalty of AED1.0 million. If the entity still fails to submit the report, a per-day penalty of AED10,000.0 is imposed, up to a maximum of AED250,000.0.
• If the reporting entity fails to maintain the records and documents for at least five years after the reporting to the Competent Authority, the administrative penalty amount is AED100,000.0.
• If the reporting entity fails to provide the relevant information as requested to the Competent Authority, the penalty amount is AED100,000.0.
• If the reporting entity provides inaccurate or incomplete information, the penalty amount is AED50,000.0 to a maximum of AED500,000.0.