The side-by-side package reaches domestic law, and the ATO sets out its Part IVA view.

Ireland and Sweden have introduced bills extending the transitional CbCR safe harbour and adding the new safe harbours. Singapore has listed its 18 qualified tax incentives.

A 2 per cent royalty to a Mauritian trade mark owner was disallowed because the owner was not shown to perform or control the DEMPE functions.

The ATO agrees with Hilton that there can be several reasonable alternative postulates and the tax benefit is the highest amount any of them produces.

Public CbC reports for the 2025 calendar year are now due on 29 January 2027. Register at least four weeks before lodging.

Ireland's Finance (No.2) Bill 2026 (19 October) and a Swedish bill (13 October) implement the OECD side-by-side package of 5 January 2026. Both extend the transitional CbCR safe harbour by a year and add the new side-by-side and substance-based tax incentive safe harbours. Singapore published its list of 18 qualified tax incentives on 14 October. Uruguay issued its domestic top-up tax regulations on 16 October, with returns and payment due 15 months after year end (18 months for the first year, at the tax authority's discretion), and the OECD released version 2.0 of the GloBE information return XML schema, which applies to exchanges from 25 June 2028.

Groups with Singapore incentives may wish to check each one against the published list, since income-based incentives will not qualify. Groups with Uruguayan entities may wish to add the new deadline to their filing calendar.

In Mini Bakeries Uganda Ltd v Uganda Revenue Authority (judgment of 21 August 2026), the Tax Appeals Tribunal upheld the disallowance of a 2 per cent royalty paid to a Mauritian trade mark owner that was not shown to perform or control the DEMPE functions. It also rejected interest rates on unsecured intra-group loans that were benchmarked to general bank rates rather than a credit analysis of the borrower.

This is consistent with the OECD Guidelines, which the ATO also applies. It would be sensible to check that the group's functional analysis records who performs and controls each DEMPE function for any IP holding company.

On 21 October 2026 the ATO issued decision impact statements on Hilton International Australia Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation (No 2) [2026] FCA 1325 (under appeal) and Commissioner of Taxation v Hicks [2025] FCAFC 171. The ATO agrees with Hilton that there can be more than one reasonable alternative postulate, that the tax benefit is the highest amount any of them produces, and that an alternative which would itself attract Part IVA is not reasonable. On Hicks, it warns that introducing a trust to fit within that decision may itself form part of a scheme for section 45B.

For any restructure or exit under review, it would be sensible to test the position against every reasonable alternative the ATO could put, not only the most likely one.

The ATO has deferred the due date for public country-by-country reports for the period 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 from 31 December 2026 to Friday 29 January 2027. The deferral applies automatically.

Registration must be done at least four weeks before the first report is lodged, so it would be sensible to register now if that has not been done.

Pereira Consulting is an independent tax advisory practice founded by Neil Pereira, advising multinational groups operating into and out of Australia on international tax, Pillar Two readiness, transfer pricing, anti-avoidance, ATO disputes and corporate income tax compliance. Neil is a Chartered Tax Adviser, Registered Tax Agent and Solicitor.

Disclaimer. This newsletter is general information only and does not constitute tax or legal advice. It is current as at the issue date. Pereira Consulting accepts no liability for any decision made in reliance on its contents. Please contact Neil Pereira to discuss the application of these developments to your specific circumstances.