Oman’s Tax Authority has announced an extension of the deadline for multinational entities (MNEs) operating in the Sultanate to file their notifications under Country by Country Reporting (CbCR) guidelines – a global standard endorsed by Oman earlier this year in support of the fight against tax evasion.
CbCR rules came into force following their publication in the Official Gazette on September 27, 2020.
They were part of Oman’s commitment to implement four minimum standards under the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Inclusive Framework, which the Sultanate endorsed to secure the country’s removal from an EU blacklist of so-called non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes.
On Tuesday, the Tax Authority extended the deadline to April 30 2021, for specially designated persons (Multinational Entities) to file their notifications for the Reporting Fiscal Year ending on December 31, 2020.
The earlier deadline for the current fiscal year was December 31, 2020. In announcing a four-month grace period, the Authority cited “the exceptional circumstances” prevailing during the year.
Tax experts have welcomed the move as providing a breather to tax resident entities in Oman who had a relatively limited timeframe to file their notifications under the CbCR guidelines.
CbCR rules apply primarily to multinational enterprise (MNE) groups with a consolidated revenue of not less than RO 300 million (approximately $780 million or EUR 670 million) during the year immediately preceding the Reporting Fiscal Year.
Under the rules, each MNE Group operating in the country has to clarify whether it’s a Ultimate Parent Entity (UPE) or a Surrogate Parent Entity (SPE), based on which its tax residency will be ascertained under the rules.
In case they are neither, the MNE is still required to notify the Tax Authority about the identity and tax residency of the entity undertaking the CbCR reporting in its home jurisdiction.
According to tax experts, CbCR includes aggregate financial information such as revenues, profits/losses before income tax, income tax paid, number of employees, tangible assets other than cash or cash equivalents, and so on, as well as relevant details about each entity of the MNE across the countries in which the MNE operates.
CONRAD PRABHU
@conradprabhu
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