FRANCE LAW AND PRACTICE Contributed by: Caroline Silberztein, Benoît Granel, Jean-Baptiste Tristram, Lionel Ochs and Laura Nguyên-Lapierre, Baker McKenzie
the head office and one or more of its permanent establishments. 7.2 Administration of Programmes APA programmes are handled by a specific bureau within the FTA called Bureau SJCF 4B Prévention et résolution des différends interna - tionaux . 7.3 Co-Ordination Between the APA Process and Mutual Agreement Procedures The APA process and mutual agreement proce - dures (MAPs) are dealt with by the same bureau. APAs and MAPs usually do not follow the same process, do not concern the same years and are not co-ordinated. However, when the pro - cedures are interlinked, coordination is possible (see 7.8 Retroactive Effect for APAs ). 7.4 Limits on Taxpayers/Transactions Eligible for an APA Bilateral APAs may only be concluded with states with which France has signed a tax convention containing a provision of the type found in Article 25(3) of the OECD Model Tax Convention (FTA guidelines: BOI-SJ-RES-20-10 §20). Unilateral APAs can be requested where the other state does not have an APA procedure, where the transactions involve too many states or where transactions concern specific issues or issues of limited complexity, but are a recurring source of divergent assessments (FTA guide - lines: BOI-SJ-RES-20-20 §20). 7.5 APA Application Deadlines The APA procedure starts with a preliminary meeting (ie, before the official APA request), during which the taxpayer and the French CA discuss the conditions in which an arrangement could be requested and examined. This prelimi -
nary meeting notably aims to review the oppor - tunity for such APA, the type of APA considered, the potential scope of application, the documen - tation requirements and the provisional timing. The APA application should be filed at least six months before the first fiscal year in which the APA would become effective. However, upon express request, the French CAs can agree for the APA to apply to the fiscal year during which the application has been filed (and possibly to prior years; see 7.8 Retroactive Effect for APAs). The French CAs enter into discussions with the foreign CA. During the course of the APA pro - cess, access to all necessary documents must be given, enabling both CAs to understand the proposed TP policy. 7.6 APA User Fees There is no user fee charged by the French CA. 7.7 Duration of APA Cover If accepted, the agreement is generally conclud - ed for five years and can be renewed upon the enterprise’s request at least six months before the expiration of the initial agreement. See also An APA can have retroactive effect provided that it is “expressly stipulated by the competent authorities” (FTA guidelines: BOI-SJ-RES-20-10 §220) – in practice, for a maximum of three years. Additionally, in practice, if after the conclusion of a bilateral APA an adjustment is made in France or abroad that concerns an earlier period not covered by the bilateral APA, France would likely agree to open a MAP and apply in this procedure the elements on which it has agreed with the other jurisdiction involved in the bilateral APA, provided that the facts and circumstances are similar; see Making Dispute Resolution More 7.8 Retroactive Effect for APAs . 7.8 Retroactive Effect for APAs
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