The OECD has released revisions to the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) Action 5 minimum standard on the spontaneous exchange of information on tax rulings, as part of its ongoing monitoring of the effectiveness of the transparency framework.

The OECD’s BEPS Action 5 relates specifically to harmful tax practices, with the transparency framework forming a part of this minimum standard. The latest statistics show that, to date since the start of the BEPS project, over 58,000 information exchanges have taken place concerning more than 26,000 tax rulings.

‘The purpose of the exchange of information on rulings is not only for tax administrations to quickly identify risk areas, but it is also essential to enable tax administrations to address BEPS concerns’, the report noted.

The review sought to assess the scope of tax rulings covered by the transparency framework and ask if the information provided by tax administrations appropriately balances the need to identify BEPS risks with the administrative burden on jurisdictions.

Accordingly, the OECD agreed on several changes that apply to exchanges on future rulings issued for or after the 2025 review year.

The revisions include a clarification of the purpose of the exchanges on tax rulings; a decision to refrain from expanding the scope of the sixth category of rulings until 2028; the definition and scope of, and timelines for the exchanges of, past and future rulings; and clarifications on the exchange of information expectations under the second step of the two-step process.

Further, the OECD has provided a revised template for information exchange with additional and optional information, as well as best practice recommendations for completing the template for information exchange. The report also sets out an ‘Exchange on Tax Rulings Schema’ and user guide reflecting the technical changes. The schema will be used for all exchanges from 1 January 2027.

新聞連結：【2025/9/8 OECD】