AUSTRIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Raphael Holzinger, Matthias Jancura and Claudia Synek, Grant Thornton Austria
bear the characteristics of a penalty; however, they may nevertheless prove disadvantageous for the tax - payer. Additional penalties might arise in the case of transfer pricing adjustments. 8.2 Transfer Pricing Documentation The TPDA is responsible for the regulation of transfer pricing documentation for Austrian business units. Within the scope of the TPDA, the preparation of transfer pricing documentation (master file and local file) as well as the preparation and filing of a CbCR or CbCR notification is mandatory. Consequently, the Austrian rules regarding transfer pricing documenta - tion are in accordance with the OECD Guidelines. In 2025, public country‑by‑country reporting (Public CbCR) was introduced under the CbCR Implementa - tion Act (CBCR‑VG). Certain enterprises are required to publish an Income Tax Information Report with the aim of increasing transparency in respect of multina - tional groups. The obligation to file a CbCR or CbCR notification arises in instances where a group has generated rev - enue in excess of EUR750 million during the previ - ous business year. The threshold for the obligation to prepare a master file and local file is set at revenues exceeding EUR50 million across the two preceding business years. In instances where the ATA request transfer pricing documentation in accordance with the TPDA, the taxpayer is typically granted a deadline of 30 days to provide a response after the request for submission of the documentation. Further, the CbCR must be filed electronically within 12 months after the end of the respective financial year. If the Austrian entity is not obliged to file a CbCR but is a member of a group of companies where a CbCR must be filed, it needs to inform the competent tax office about the identity and residence of the reporting entity by the last day of the financial year for which a CbCR must be filed. In the event that the thresholds for the TPDA are not fulfilled, the filing of a CbCR/master file and local file is not mandatory – although master files and local files can be submitted, usually upon request during the course of a tax audit, in order to fulfil the general documentation obligations according to the FFC. The documentation is required to “provide an expert third
party with an overview of the business transactions within a reasonable period of time” (as the reasonable period of time is not defined, the period may depend on the facts, circumstances and complexity of each case). In accordance with the provisions stipulated by the TPDA and the FFC, the setting-up of transfer pricing documentation is permitted in both the German and English languages, as outlined in the ATPG. However, it should be noted that – for documentations derived from the FFC – there may be instances where trans - lation of specific components of the documentation into German is required, contingent upon the request of the relevant parties. 9. Alignment With OECD Guidelines 9.1 Alignment and Differences It is evident that the ATPG generally adhere to the OECD Guidelines. Although minor discrepancies may be observed, these are deemed to be insignificant. 9.2 Arm’s Length Principle The arm’s length principle under Austrian tax law is, in general, based on the arm’s length principle as per Article 9 of the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and Capital ‒ ie, it follows the OECD Guide - lines. 9.3 Impact of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project The OECD’s BEPS project exerts a considerable influ - ence on domestic transfer pricing regulations – a fact that is evidenced by Austria’s general reliance on the OECD’s initiatives. In particular, the ATPG make con - tinuous reference to the OECD Guidelines and the OECD’s transfer pricing initiatives. 9.4 Impact of BEPS 2.0 The Austrian government has expressed a preference for a multilateral solution to the issues at hand, as evidenced by its active involvement in OECD delib - erations concerning the digitalisation of the econo - my. Consequently, the initiatives under discussion are expected to exert a substantial influence on both domestic tax legislation and national guidelines.
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