Dubai, UAE, January 14, 2019:  Deloitte Middle East has launched the first volume of its whitepaper series to help businesses best prepare for Transfer Pricing (TP) Legislation in the Middle East. The first volume of the series covers the results of a Transfer Pricing client survey of businesses operating in the region. The whitepaper also provides key guidelines that businesses need to take into consideration when assessing the risks and opportunities arising from new transfer pricing regulations.

 

Transfer Pricing (TP) is a practice that allows for pricing transactions internally within businesses and between companies that operate under common control or ownership, including cross border transactions. A number of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have started adopting transfer pricing regulations. Authorities from GGC countries have already signed the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Inclusive Framework (IF) and have committed to applying four minimum standards. Other IF Signatories for the Middle East include Egypt and Tunisia with Kuwait signing the Multilateral Convention (MC) and Lebanon expected to sign soon. 

 

“With 82% of respondents of the Deloitte survey agreeing that transfer pricing structures are under critical evaluation in the MENA region, the opportunities are endless for businesses investing in the region. At Deloitte, we have an efficient transfer pricing structure that can assist companies manage risks and provide solutions to support their transfer pricing practices to achieve their tax objectives,” said Shiv Mahalingham, Deloitte Middle East Transfer Pricing Leader. 

 

Key findings from the survey 

 

The Deloitte survey was conducted with CFOs and key tax leaders in the region and the main findings included the following:

“With a number of transfer pricing regulations going to be introduced in MENA over the next few years, this should be viewed as opportunity to introduce a structured intra-group pricing framework to align with investment strategies and overcoming risks by implementing technology solutions that align with existing business systems,” said Nauman Ahmed, Deloitte Middle East Tax Leader.