Irish Revenue has updated its tax manual to provide for strict time limits on the duration of bilateral advance pricing agreements (APAs) signed with other nations, but has declined to specify that any firm limits will be imposed on tax rulings granted to large taxpayers that unilaterally seek to confirm the tax treatment of future transactions.
The tax agency, on September 29, updated its tax and duty manual to provide that in no case will Revenue agree to a period for a bilateral APA that extends more than 5 years.
Previously, the manual only said that bilateral APAs were typically granted for periods between 3–5 years.
Unlike the new strict time limit for bilateral APAs, no such limit has been placed on opinions or confirmations granted by Irish Revenue to large taxpayers that unilaterally seek guidance on a proposed transaction, according to an update announced just a few days earlier.
According to a September 23 update to its tax and duty manual, “where appropriate” an opinion/confirmation granted to a large taxpayer will contain a provision setting out the period for which the opinion/confirmation will apply.
That period will “normally be” 5 years or the equivalent length of time in accounting periods of the taxpayer, the update states. The “normal period” was previously set at 7 years.
The lack of any time limit in tax rulings granted by Ireland to Apple has been cited by the European Commission as one reason in support of its view that the tax rulings amounted to state aid.
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