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Dispute Resolution: How to obtain reasonable outcomes 8-9 May 2013 Chair: Mukesh Butani – Taxand India Panelists: Chinapat Vissutipat – Taxand Thailand.

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Presentation on theme: "Dispute Resolution: How to obtain reasonable outcomes 8-9 May 2013 Chair: Mukesh Butani – Taxand India Panelists: Chinapat Vissutipat – Taxand Thailand."— Presentation transcript:

1 Dispute Resolution: How to obtain reasonable outcomes 8-9 May 2013 Chair: Mukesh Butani – Taxand India Panelists: Chinapat Vissutipat – Taxand Thailand David Weisner – Citigroup Gokul Chaudhri – Taxand India

2 1.Developments on Managing Disputes 2.Administrative & Judicial Litigation: Fresh Rules 3.New Methods to Avoid the Courtroom 4.Strategies for Jurisdictions where Court is Most Likely 5.Key Court Cases and Learnings for Taxpayers 6.Taxand’s Take 7.Key Contacts & About Taxand Contents

3 Developments on Managing Disputes 8-9 May 2013

4 India Protracted litigation straining Court infrastructure Retrospective amendments unsettling settled positions Special courts/ bench, e-courts for tax disputes, international tax & transfer pricing Introduction of APA Introduction of Dispute Resolution Panel Advance Rulings open to challenge Developments on Managing Disputes 1 3

5 1 4 Other key developments in Asia Targets of tax collection not consistent with economic reality Ever increasing data requests even on simple transactions

6 Developments on Managing Disputes 1 5 Thailand Trend of current tax collection Deficit government budget Incremental tax disputes Administrative level: Tax collectors Judicial level: tax court and Supreme Court Alternative tax dispute resolution Conciliation process in tax court No tax arbitration methods No associate judge

7 Administrative & Judicial Litigation: Fresh Rules 8-9 May 2013

8 India Strict rules of evidence Effectiveness of ADRs (AAR/MAP/APA) Effectiveness of DRP Planning, preparation and legal counsels/ firm’s advice Impact of GAAR Administrative & Judicial Litigation: Fresh Rules 7 2

9 Experience in other countries: Australia – New transfer pricing rules Australia – Risk rating taxpayers Korea – “Selling” of APAs 8 2 Administrative & Judicial Litigation: Fresh Rules

10 9 2 Thailand Tax assessment: No burden of proof Burden of proof in court: Shift to taxpayer Flexible court hearing: Continuing procedures Conciliation on facts: Not on tax laws Anti-avoidance rule: TP/TC/TS/CFC/GAAR Administrative & Judicial Litigation: Fresh Rules

11 New Methods to Avoid Courtroom 8-9 May 2013

12 New Methods to Avoid the Courtroom 11 3 New Methods to Avoid the Courtroom Alternative forms of dispute resolution Arbitration Conciliation Mediation MAP APA Settlement

13 New Methods to Avoid the Courtroom 12 3 New Methods to Avoid the Courtroom India Is MAP an option? Reality check: Roughly 150 – 200 MAPs between India and US only on TP Impasse between Indian and US CA for past 12 – 18 months India’s views on OECD and UN chapter on transfer pricing has increased the anxiety levels APA – A smooth beginning so far Guidelines notified on August 31, 2012 Encouraging response: around 150 pre-filings

14 3 13 New Methods to Avoid the Courtroom Country specific experiences Australia – Franchise issues Korea – MAP

15 Thailand Negotiation: Administrative level Facts and business knowledge Settlement to reduce penalty and surcharge Avoid wasting time and lawyer’s cost No way out after tax assessment Unable to negotiate during tax appeal Conciliation in tax court: Only facts issue 14 3 New Methods to Avoid the Courtroom

16 Strategies for Jurisdictions Where Court is Most Likely 8-9 May 2013

17 Strategies for Jurisdictions where Court is Most Likely 16 4 Strategies for Jurisdictions where Court is Most Likely Timely expert advice and engaging counsels Preparing for uncertainty and dispute life cycle Strategies for mitigating interest and penal exposure Keeping management informed – governance issues Endeavor for early disposal Media management

18 4 Strategies for Jurisdictions where Court is Most Likely 17 Strategies for Jurisdictions where Court is Most Likely India Evaluation of alternative remedies Strategy for stay of demand Avoiding multiple parallel proceedings Mitigating penalty exposure – robust documentation and disclosure Filing caveats Tribunal to state High Court and Supreme Court – facts vs substantial question of law

19 4 Strategies for Jurisdictions where Court is Most Likely 18 Strategies for Jurisdictions where Court is Most Likely Other country experiences Australia – Choosing a law firm wisely. Law firms considered “intermediaries”. Korea – Keeping it simple

20 4 19 Strategies for Jurisdictions where Court is Most Likely Thailand Litigation team Appropriate tax lawyer / tax litigator / tax advisor Supporting tax team in the courtroom Tax appeal is not a tax deferral Pay tax first: To reduce monthly surcharge Refund tax paid after winning the case: With interest 1% per month (12% per year) Burden of proof Documentation with reasonable grounds

21 Key Court Cases & Learnings for Taxpayers 8-9 May 2013

22 Key Court Cases & Learnings for Taxpayers 21 5 Key Court Cases & Learnings for Taxpayers India Sanofi Pasteur Holding (Andhra Pradesh HC Ruling) Nokia Networks OY (Delhi HC Ruling) LG Electronics (Special Bench Delhi Tribunal Ruling)

23 Sanofi Pasteur Holding Court re- affirms principle of legitimate tax planning within four corners of law – Vodafone followed No unilateral Treaty override Treaty shopping – sighted as an additional factor to attract foreign investments Importance of underlying commercial substance Impact of GAAR in treaty interpretation 5 22 Key Court Cases & Learnings for Taxpayers

24 Nokia Networks OY Software payments not taxable as royalty under treaty Acknowledged distinction between “copyright” & “copyrighted article” Retrospective amendments cannot be read into treaty Matter sub-judice before Supreme Court 5 23 Key Court Cases & Learnings for Taxpayers

25 LG Electronics TP adjustment on excessive AMP upheld Factors – need for proper comparables, FAR profile, business model, business and product life cycle etc Battle to continue before multiple forums MNC’s in India need: to be more cautious while undertaking FAR analysis / selection of comparables to maintain proper documentation incorporating detailed functional analysis to review their current arrangements with AEs on AMP 5 24 Key Court Cases & Learnings for Taxpayers

26 Other countries’ experiences: Australia – TPG case Australia - Project Wickenby cases continues Korea - Supreme Court endorses application of domestic “substance over form” principle to deny tax treaty benefits Korea – Look out for cases on management service fees 5 25 Key Court Cases & Learnings for Taxpayers

27 26 5 Thailand Pizza Hut Inc. (Marketing expense of franchise) ABB (Subsidy as a deemed dividend) NEC (Share premium as a subsidy) Key Court Cases & Learnings for Taxpayers

28 27 5 Key Court Cases & Learnings for Taxpayers Pizza Hut Inc. (Marketing expense of franchise) Controlling power of franchisor in marketing collateral Marketing costs linked to gross sales and paid by franchisee directly to 3 rd party suppliers Withholding tax on marketing (franchise) expense 15% on marketing costs paid / Late penalty and surcharge

29 28 5 Key Court Cases & Learnings for Taxpayers VAT on marketing (franchise) expense 7% on marketing costs paid / Late penalty and surcharge Tax interpretation by the Supreme Court Tax avoidance: Substance over form

30 29 5 ABB (Subsidy as a deemed dividend) Key Court Cases & Learnings for Taxpayers

31 30 5 Key Court Cases & Learnings for Taxpayers NEC (Share premium as a subsidy) NEC Thailand: 67% of total shares owned by NEC Engineering Thailand and 33% owned by NEC Japan Retained loss with negative NBV of shares Increase capital of THB 410,000,000 NEC Japan: 1 preference share (par 1,000) with share premium (409,999,000) Central Tax Court’s view: Substantial transaction: Subsidy

32 Taxand’s Take 8-9 May 2013

33 Taxand’s Take 32 6 Taxand’s Take Choice of Counsels / law firms for expert advice and representation Planning ahead Efficacy of alternate dispute resolution mechanisms Strategise how to approach under APAs Effective housekeeping – robust documentation Gearing up for changing tax landscape

34 Key Contacts Key Contacts & About Taxand 33 7 Mukesh Butani Taxand India E. Mukesh.Butani@bmrlegal.in T. +91124 339 5011 David Weisner Citigroup E. david.weisner@citi.com T. +852 3961 1232 Chinapat Visuttipat Taxand Thailand E. Chinapat.vs@hnpcounsel.com T. +66 2632 1800 Gokul Chaudhry Taxand India E. Gokul.Chaudhri@bmradvisors.com T. +91124 339 5040

35 Understanding and managing the tax consequences of cross- border tax transactions Considering organisational (re)structuring options in full awareness of the tax implications Realising tax, supply chain and overall operational efficiencies Interpreting technical tax provisions Our Global Service Commitment 34 7 Key Contacts & About Taxand Lowering effective tax rates Addressing and preventing tax leakages Ensuring tax compliance Managing relationships with tax authorities

36 Global Coverage Key Contacts & About Taxand 35 7 From 9 to 48 countries in just 7 years 59 ITR awards won since 2009 95% recommended in World Tax 2012 ArgentinaIrelandPuerto Rico AustraliaItalyRomania AustriaJapanRussia BelgiumKoreaSingapore BrazilLuxembourgSouth Africa CanadaMalaysia Spain ChileMalta Sweden ChinaMauritiusSwitzerland ColombiaMexicoThailand CyprusNetherlandsTurkey DenmarkNorwayUK FinlandPakistanUkraine FrancePanamaUSA GermanyPeruVenezuela GreecePhilippines IndiaPoland IndonesiaPortugal

37 Dedicated to tax Independence advantage – conflict free, un-bureaucratic, best practice Local knowledge, global view Partner led from start to finish Complex problems, customised advice Passionate about working together Practical advice, responsively delivered Why Taxand? 36 7 Key Contacts & About Taxand

38 ABOUT TAXAND Taxand provides high quality, integrated tax advice worldwide. Our tax professionals, more than 400 tax partners and over 2,000 tax advisors in nearly 50 countries - grasp both the fine points of tax and the broader strategic implications, helping you mitigate risk, manage your tax burden and drive the performance of your business. We're passionate about tax. We collaborate and share knowledge, capitalising on our expertise to provide you with high quality, tailored advice that helps relieve the pressures associated with making complex tax decisions. We're also independent—ensuring that you adhere both to best practice and to tax law and that we remain free from time- consuming audit-based conflict checks. This enables us to deliver practical advice, responsively. Taxand is a global organisation of tax advisory firms. Each firm in each country is a separate and independent legal entity responsible for delivering client services. © Copyright Taxand Economic Interest Grouping 2013 Registered office: 1B Heienhaff, L-1736 Senningerberg – RCS Luxembourg C68


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