Expertise
Ireland Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year
International Tax Review European Tax Awards 2020
The Matheson transfer pricing team delivers practical, commercial and legally robust pricing advice and solutions to our clients. We provide a unique combination of top-class international tax lawyers working with experienced teams in our corporate, IP, life sciences, IT and banking Groups. With personnel based in Ireland, the UK and the US, the Matheson team offers clients commercially grounded advice, with an internationally informed perspective.
We have advised international companies doing business in Ireland on Irish transfer pricing matters for many years. Typically we advise on:
Dispute
Audits and Litigation
The Irish Revenue Commissioners are increasingly engaging in aspect queries and audits in relation to group transfer pricing policies and the application of transfer pricing to specific transactions. Transfer pricing disputes may also make their way to the Appeals Commissioners, and national and European courts.
In addition to our specialist transfer pricing team, we have the advantage of having a leading Irish tax disputes practice who are regularly instructed on Irish tax cases before the Appeal Commissioners, the High Court and the Supreme Court. We regularly coordinate with our tax disputes practice when assisting clients on potentially contentious transfer pricing matters.
Mutual Agreement Procedures and Correlative Adjustment
The Mutual Agreement Procedure (“MAP”) and correlative adjustments are designed to allow taxpayers to obtain relief from double taxation. Generally, taxpayers request MAP, or correlative relief, for a transfer pricing adjustment raised in another jurisdiction. As taxpayers are increasingly facing worldwide transfer pricing audits, and under Irish rules, taxpayers cannot take a deduction for transfer pricing adjustments until relief under a double tax treaty has been claimed, MAP and correlative adjustments are increasing in importance.
Advance Pricing Agreements
Ireland’s Advance Pricing Agreement (“APA”) programme replaces the Irish Revenue Commissioners’ ad hoc approach to agreeing APAs and provides for the initiation by taxpayers of APAs in Ireland. APAs determine, in advance, the criteria for determining transfer pricing for a transaction for a fixed period of time. The conclusion of APAs involves discussions and negotiations with the Irish Revenue Commissioners and tax authorities in other relevant jurisdictions.
Documentation
Taxpayers are obliged to retain and have available for inspection sufficient documentation and records to demonstrate the taxpayer’s compliance with the transfer pricing rules. We help clients with all aspects of Irish transfer pricing documentation requirements including key legal documentation underpinning group transfer pricing policies. We also assist multinational clients in complying with the Irish and OECD Country-by-Country reporting obligations.
Our team has significant experience in advising clients on the impact of the OECD’s BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) project on transfer pricing documentation and its implementation in Irish law. As lawyers, we ensure that as well as reflecting arm’s length practice and supporting your transfer pricing policy, your intercompany legal agreements provide your business the legal protection it needs, particularly in commercial and intellectual property matters.
Strategies and Restructuring
Our transfer pricing team has experience leading international transfer pricing strategies for multinational enterprises (“MNEs”) operating in or from Ireland, including corporate headquarters, sales principals, manufacturers, service centres, R&D centres, and IP holding and exploitation companies.
We regularly work with tax and legal advisors across a large number of different jurisdictions coordinating and managing transfer pricing strategies for MNEs. As a full-service corporate law firm, we also leverage off the experience and knowledge of our Matheson colleagues in our corporate, finance and IP groups when advising on the tax and transfer pricing aspects of business restructurings, supply chain remodelling and intra-group financing.
Our Team
The largest tax practice group amongst Irish law firms with over 40 lawyers and tax advisers and 16 partners and tax principals:
View AllFormal transfer pricing legislation was introduced in Ireland for accounting periods commencing on or after 1 January 2011. However, we have advised international companies doing business in Ireland on Irish transfer pricing matters for many years.
- Matheson advised on the first transfer pricing adjustment completed under Irish law.
- Matheson advised on the first multi-lateral transfer pricing adjustment completed under Irish law.
- Matheson advised on a ground-breaking claim by a non-treaty resident company to correlative relief under an Irish tax treaty.
- Matheson advised on Irish transfer pricing aspects relating to the withdrawal of the judgment of the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal in Xilinx v CIR.
The depth of experience of our tax team, combined with our colleagues from practice areas across the firm and our international connections, ensures that Matheson delivers practical, commercial and legally robust transfer pricing advice and solutions to our clients. Our experience includes advising:
- A large technology company on a successful multi-jurisdictional correlative relief claim (one of the first of its kind in Ireland).
- A number of clients on transfer pricing audits and aspect queries from the Irish Revenue Commissioners.
- Clients seeking APAs with the US and other territories.
- On transfer pricing aspects of stand-alone State Aid investigations with our Competition and Litigation colleagues.
- Multinational clients across a number of sectors on Intellectual Property reorganisations involving complex transfer pricing issues.
- A multinational client on the transfer pricing aspects of a complex refinancing and related financial transactions.
- Clients on complying with Country-by-Country reporting obligations, and completing filings with the Irish Revenue Commissioners.