TP Disputes, Tribunal & Expert Support
01. Audit Defense & Technical Rebuttals
We act as the primary shield between the taxpayer and the Revenue Authority
- Farm-Out & Joint Venture Accounting Reviews: Specialized audits of farm-out arrangements to ensure that the carried interest and profit-sharing ratios comply with both the Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) and international transfer pricing standards.
- Ring-Fencing Compliance: Analyzing whether profits and costs are correctly allocated between different petroleum blocks or mining licenses to prevent illegal tax leakage across projects.
02. Tribunal & Litigation Support
As a team of accountants, lawyers and economists, when disputes escalate to the Tax Appeals Tribunal (TAT) or High Court, we provide specialized support that standard firms cannot:
- Hearing & Submission Support: We assist legal counsel in drafting technical pleadings and submissions, ensuring that the economic substance of the transfer pricing model is accurately translated into legal arguments.
- Expert Witness Services: We provide independent, expert-style technical reports that can be admitted as evidence. We are prepared to undergo cross-examination to defend the validity of the TP methodology used.
- Cross-Examination Preparation: We prepare the company’s factual witnesses (CFOs, Tax Managers) for questioning, ensuring they understand the TP implications of their operational testimonies.
03. Adjustment Analysis and Correlative Relief
A TP adjustment in one country often leads to double taxation. We manage the aftermath:
- Secondary Adjustment Analysis: We advise on the implications of deemed dividends or deemed loans that often follow a primary TP adjustment.
- Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP): We support the invocation of MAP under Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs) to seek relief from double taxation through government-to-government negotiations.
- Correlative Adjustments: Our presence in various African jurisdictions assists in filing for corresponding downward adjustments in the counterparty jurisdiction to ensure the group is not taxed twice on the same profit.
04. Customs & Transfer Pricing Overlap
This is a high-risk area where low TP prices for imports (to save on income tax) conflict with high customs values (to collect more import duty). We provide:
- Valuation Convergence Audits: We reconcile the values used for customs declarations with the arm’s length prices documented in the TP study.
- Refund & Assessment Defense: We defend clients when Customs authorities challenge the transaction value of imports based on the existence of a related-party relationship.
05. Independent Technical Reviews (The Second Opinion)
For high-value or high-risk transactions, we provide an objective cold review:
- Litigation Risk Assessment: We audit existing TP documentation to provide a probability of success rating should the matter go to court.
- Red-Flag Identification: We identify weaknesses in current policies that are likely to be targeted by specialized International Tax units, allowing for pre-emptive correction.
06. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
In jurisdictions moving toward ADR, we facilitate:
- Structured Mediation: Acting as technical mediators or advisors during the ADR process to find a middle ground that respects the arm’s length principle while avoiding protracted litigation.
- Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs): For future certainty, we assist in negotiating APAs with tax authorities to agree on a TP methodology for a fixed period (e.g., 3–5 years).