Country-by-country reporting adopted in more than 100 jurisdictions, OECD reports

More than 100 jurisdictions have in place a domestic legal framework for requiring country-by-country reporting by large multinational enterprises, according to an OECD report released October 18. The report – the OECD’s fourth annual comprehensive peer-review under Action 13 of its base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) action plan – notes that additional jurisdictions have approved final legislation that is awaiting official publication.

Of those jurisdictions with country-by-country reporting, 83 jurisdictions have in place multilateral or bilateral competent authority agreements for the related exchange of information. In addition, a total of 89 of the jurisdictions have had their related confidentiality safeguards reviewed without further recommendations, and 84 have provided sufficient information to establish appropriate use of the country-by-country reports.

The fourth annual peer review of BEPS Action 13 covers 132 jurisdictions out of the 140 currently in the Inclusive Framework. It reviews for each jurisdiction the legislation and regulations in place, the framework for exchange of information, and provisions on confidentiality and appropriate use. The review includes recommendations to the jurisdictions to adopt these frameworks where not adopted and for improvements to existing rules, where applicable. 

There are eight Inclusive Framework countries not reviewed in the report either because they joined the Inclusive Framework too late to be included or they have no resident ultimate parent entities of in-scope multinational groups. These jurisdictions are Albania, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cook Islands, Montenegro, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Samoa, and Togo.

The OECD’s BEPS Action 13 establishes the annual country-by-country reporting requirement as a “minimum standard” for Inclusive Framework countries. The reporting requirement applies for multinational groups with consolidated group revenue of EUR 750 million (approximately USD 870 million) or more.

Generally, the ultimate parent entity of the group prepares and files the country-by-country report with the tax administration in its jurisdiction of residence. Under international agreements, the tax administration of the parent entity jurisdiction exchanges the report with other jurisdictions in which the group has constituent entities.