Pillar Two deadlines keep moving, and the evidence prepared at the time keeps deciding cases.

Belgium's Chamber adopted a law moving the domestic top-up tax return to 15 months after year end, and filings due around 31 October now have until 16 November. The UK and Ireland are moving to legislate side-by-side.

Where a related-party service provider uses TNMM with a full-cost mark-up, share-based compensation belongs in the cost base from YA 2026. A one-off concession covers YA 2022 to 2025; YA 2022 is due by 15 November 2026.

From 1 July 2028 the Bill would increase core offset rates by up to 50 per cent and lift the refundable offset threshold to $50 million aggregated turnover, but would remove supporting R&D and add an age limit for the refundable offset.

In AusNet, payments of about $16 million to customers were not adjustment events, and Division 134 did not apply because the distributor supplied customers directly.

On 22 October 2026 the Belgian Chamber adopted the law implementing DAC9. It moves the domestic top-up tax return deadline from the last day of the 11th month to the last day of the 15th month after year end, with 18 months for a first fiscal year starting no later than 31 December 2024. For a calendar year group, the 2025 return will move from 30 November 2026 to 31 March 2027 once the law is published in the Official Gazette, which has not yet happened. Following the cyberattack on the Belgian tax administration, Belgium announced an extension to 16 November 2026 for returns due around 31 October. Belgian advisers report that the extension includes Pillar Two returns and notifications. In the UK, Budget 2026 (28 October 2026) confirmed that Finance Bill 2026-27 will amend the multinational and domestic top-up taxes to implement the side-by-side package, for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026. Ireland's Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026 would do the same and would extend the transitional CbCR safe harbour to fiscal years beginning on or before 31 December 2027 and ending by 30 June 2029.

Groups with Belgian entities can plan on 31 March 2027 for the 2025 return once the law is published. No source yet confirms whether payment dates move with the return. Groups with Pillar Two returns or notifications that were due on 31 October should confirm that the 16 November extension applies to their particular filing, and check any separate payment obligation.

The Singapore tax authority has clarified, in line with paragraph 5.120 of its Transfer Pricing Guidelines (9th edition, 4 June 2026), that, where a related-party service provider applies the transactional net margin method (TNMM) using a full-cost mark-up, the cost base should include share-based compensation for employees performing the services, including uncharged or notional amounts. The revised treatment applies from YA 2026. On 25 September 2026 the authority offered a one-off concession for YA 2022 to 2025, including a waiver of the 5 per cent surcharge under section 34E of the Income Tax Act 1947, where the required revised computations are submitted by the applicable deadlines. The deadline is 15 November 2026 for YA 2022 (which becomes time-barred on 31 December 2026) and 28 February 2027 for YA 2023 to 2025.

Groups with Singapore service hubs priced under TNMM should check whether share-based awards to the employees performing the services were left out of the cost base. Where they were, it would be sensible to decide before 15 November whether to use the concession. The additional mark-up may be taxed twice unless the paying jurisdiction, including Australia, allows a corresponding adjustment, which depends on that jurisdiction's rules and the facts.

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No 4) Bill 2026 was introduced on 27 October 2026. From 1 July 2028 the Bill would increase the core R&D offset rates by up to 50 per cent (an increase in the rates, not an offset rate of 50 per cent), lift the aggregated turnover threshold for the refundable offset from $20 million to $50 million, and require claims below $50,000 to involve a Research Service Provider or Cooperative Research Centre partnership. The reforms would also remove eligibility for supporting R&D activities and generally limit the refundable offset to eligible firms within 10 years of commencing business, with an extended period of up to 15 years for eligible therapeutic-goods R&D. It would also let quarterly PAYG instalment payers elect to pay monthly, and let the Commissioner require monthly instalments from taxpayers with a demonstrated history of non-compliance. The full FBT exemption for electric cars would continue from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2029 only for cars valued up to $75,000, with a 25 per cent discount on the statutory rate from 1 April 2029.

Groups that claim the R&D incentive should assess both the higher rates and the effect of the narrower eligibility rules for 2028-29 and later years, since the change will affect project budgets now being set. Further consultation on the activities that count as integral to core R&D is expected in early 2027. Fleet policies for electric cars committed to from 1 April 2027 should also be checked.

In AusNet Services Limited v Commissioner of Taxation [2026] FCA 1609 (29 October 2026), Moshinsky J held that guaranteed service level payments of about $16 million, made by an electricity distributor to customers, did not give rise to GST decreasing adjustments of about $1.4 million. The Court found the distributor supplied its services directly to customers, not through retailers, so Division 134 could not apply. Under Division 19, the payments did not change the consideration for the supply, so they were not an adjustment event.

Groups that make compensation, rebate or service-credit payments should not assume these reduce GST. The answer depends on who supplies what to whom, so it would be sensible to map the supply chain before claiming an adjustment.

Food for thought.

For most groups the risk this month was not a new rule. It was a date or a document that no longer matched what the group was doing. I would check the compliance calendar against the latest local notices before the end of the year, rather than the version prepared when the rules were first enacted.

The same applies to transfer pricing and restructures. The cases this month turned largely on what the group did and recorded at the time. It would be sensible to record the commercial reason for each intra-group change when it is made, in terms an independent party would accept.

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.