Companies Mull Gaps in Brazil's Transfer Pricing Rules

Brazilian taxpayers and practitioners continue to clamor for more guidance on the country's new transfer pricing regime implemented last year.

The country switched from a mathematical model to an arm's-length principle for transfer pricing last year, bringing it in line with global standards.

That pivot left a lot of questions for the Receita Federal, the country’s revenue authority, to answer through guidance, and it's been working to issue rules ever since. Most recently, Brazil issued instructions requiring extensive reporting and documentation of transactions involving commodities and how companies calculate their transfer pricing positions.

Transfer pricing involves valuation of transactions between entities within a corporate group. Intragroup transactions must be conducted at arm’s length—priced similarly to transactions between unrelated companies.

The country’s auditors are gearing up to enforce Brazil's new rules, sparking some concerns among practitioners that many new auditors will be learning on the job and that these early examinations won’t go smoothly.

RSM US senior tax manager Nina Baumbach spoke with reporter Caleb Harshberger about the changes and what they mean for companies. She said companies need more guidance and clarity from the government on intangibles and other topics.

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