TPR Return – Clarifications by the Ministry of Finance

6 November 2020

Taxpayers with a tax year corresponding to the calendar year should file their first transfer pricing information return (i.e. TPR return) by the end of December 2020. This deadline follows from transfer pricing regulations in force since 2 January 2019. The statutory deadline for filing the TPR return is 9 months after the end of the tax year, however, due to the current pandemic situation, this deadline has been extended until the end of the year as part of the so-called anti-crisis package 4.0.

TPR returns should be filed with the tax office by means of electronic communication, using forms published on the website of the Ministry of Finance, i.e. TPR-C form for legal entities and TPR-P form for individuals.

Hints from the Ministry of Finance

As the deadline for filing the TPR return is coming, the Ministry of Finance has published “TPR Return – Frequently Asked Questions”, which contains answers to the most recent questions about filing the form. Below you will find a summary of the most interesting issues:

1. Arm's length transaction – the mere fact that the transaction profit(loss) falls outside the interquartile (arm’s length) range on the TPR form does not mean that the transaction in question is a non-arm's length transaction. The Ministry of Finance has explained that deviations from the arm’s length range may be justified by providing explanations in section F of the TPR form.
2. TPR return for a permanent establishment – the Ministry of Finance has confirmed that a permanent establishment also has to file the form and that the rules of filling in the TPR form are the same as for other transactions.
3. TPR form for foreign entities – the issue of providing the Polish Classification of Activities (PKD) code for foreign entities, which should describe the main business activity of foreign entities, has been clarified.
4. Complex transaction and its disclosure in the TPR return (e.g. sale of finished goods and related recharge of transport costs or provision of lease services and related recharge of utility costs) – such transactions should be included in one category only, which should correspond to the main subject matter of the transaction; the Ministry of Finance has clarified that a complex transaction should not be divided into separate events.
5. Procedure for the application of several transfer pricing verification indicators and methods – the Ministry of Finance has clarified that in the analysed situation one main indicator and one main method should be selected for the transaction.
6. Procedure for the conformity analysis – if the conformity analysis is carried out on the TPR form, another method should be indicated as the transfer pricing verification method. On the other hand, if it is not possible to provide the data required in the form (i.e. comparable minimum price and comparable maximum price), the value “0” should be entered each time.
7. Recharge in the TPR return – recharge transactions should not be combined as a whole into one category if they are not uniform transactions. On the other hand, if recharges are part of a complex transaction (i.e. they are made in connection with another underlying transaction), you should follow the procedure described in item 4 above.

Other information

The Ministry of Finance has also clarified how taxpayers should proceed when dealing with acquisitions, how the value of transactions should be calculated or into which categories they should be classified with respect to individual types of transactions.

To sum up, the set of questions and answers concerning the TPR return certainly contains many helpful hints on how to fill in the form and dispels doubts that have arisen so far. Thus, it is advisable to refer to the published document before starting to prepare the TPR return.