Aruba Country-by-Country reporting
- Introduction
On 16 December 2019 Aruba introduced legislation with respect to Country-by-Country-reporting (hereinafter referred to as “CbCR”) in its Profit Tax Ordinance with effect from 1 January 2020 and is applicable to fiscal years commencing on or after 1 January 2019[1]
- Country-by-Country Reporting
Aruba legal entities that are or can be deemed to be the (ultimate) parent company within an international group of companies whose consolidated turnover exceeds AWG 1,500,000,000 (approx. USD 842,696,629) in the preceding fiscal year, shall provide a so-called CbC-report to the Inspector of Taxes within twelve months of the end of the fiscal year (“the reporting entity”). The CbC-report concerning the tax year 2019, should be provided to the Tax Authorities no later than 31 December 2020 (provided that the Aruba legal entity’s fiscal year is concurrent to the calendar year).
If another group company has been designated as the reporting entity for a particular group, the Aruba entity must notify the Aruba Tax Department of such surrogate parent company’s fiscal residence and contact details no later than the last day of each fiscal year, starting with the 2020 tax year. For the 2019 fiscal year (commencing on or after 1 January), the notification must be submitted no later than 31 March 2020. Presumably, fiscal years which began on or after 1 April 2019, will have to submit the aforementioned notification no later than the last day of their current fiscal year.
All non-reporting Aruba legal entities must also submit a notification to the Aruba Tax Authorities informing them which entity within the group will file the CbC-report. The deadline for said notification is the same as that mentioned directly above.
- Master file and local file requirements
Aruba legal entities, that are part of a multinational group of companies having a consolidated annual turnover in excess of AWG 100,000,000 (approx. USD 56,179,775), must include in their administration a master file and a local file before the term to file the profit tax return expires.
Master File
The master file must contain:
- an overview of the business of the multinational group, including a description of the nature of the business activities;
- its general transfer pricing policy; and
- the worldwide allocation of income and economic activities.
Local File
The local file must contain information that is relevant for the transfer pricing analysis relating to intercompany transactions where Aruba legal entities are involved.
The Ministry of Finance published guidance regarding the contents of both the master and the local file on 23 December 2019[2].
Both the master file and the local file must be included in the Aruba legal entity’s records within the term established for filing its corporate income tax return. This means that the master file and local file for 2019 must be ready by 31 May 2020 at the earliest, if and in so far as, the Aruba legal entities’ fiscal year equals the calendar year. If the entity opts to file a provisional tax return in May, thereby making the final tax return due no later than 30 November, the master file and local file will have to be included in the entity’s administration by the latter date.
- Sanctions
If an Aruba legal entity willfully or as a result of gross negligence does not provide the required documentation or does not provide it in time or provides incomplete documentation, a maximum fine of AWG 100,000 (USD 56,179) may be imposed for each infraction. The authority to impose a fine expires five years after the end of the fiscal year in which the obligation arose.
For further information, please contact:
Anjli Finessi, tax adviser, finessi@bakertillycuracao.com
Jeroen Diekerhof, tax adviser, diekerhof@bakertillycuracao.com
Arthur van Aalst, tax attorney, vanaalst@bakertillycuracao.com
[1] AB 2019 no. 79
[2] AB 2019 no. 86