The High Court rules on Part IVA and payroll tax, while Pillar Two filing dates move again.

Belgium published its 15-month return period, and Qatar extended registration. Oman added criminal penalties, and Greece opened filing of its top-up tax returns.

A local notification is enough only where the foreign authority has an activated exchange relationship with Singapore for that year. A list for FY 2025 will follow.

All seven judges upheld the cancellation of a capital loss on a related-party sale at market value. By 4 to 3, the Court rejected the section 177E assessment.

Fares remitted to drivers, so far as attributable to work, were deemed wages under the NSW contractor provisions. The result may be relevant to other contractor models.

The Belgian law implementing DAC9 was published in the Official Gazette on 30 October 2026. The tax administration confirmed that the domestic top-up tax return is now due on the last day of the 15th month after year end, or the 18th month for a fiscal year that began no later than 31 December 2024. For a calendar 2025 year, the return is due by 31 March 2027. After the cyberattack, it also confirmed on 29 October that Pillar Two declarations, notifications and information reports are extended to 16 November 2026. Qatar extended registration to 31 January 2027 for groups in scope, through the Dhareeba platform. Oman's Royal Decree No. 101/2026, in force from 2 November 2026, requires registration within 120 days of coming into scope and filing within 15 months after year end. It adds a late-payment charge of 1 per cent a month, criminal penalties and 10-year record keeping. Greece has published rules for its IIR and UTPR return and its domestic top-up tax return, and filing opened on 2 November 2026. The IIR and UTPR return is generally due by the last working day of the month after the GloBE information return deadline, and must be filed even where no top-up tax is due. For reporting fiscal years ending on or before 31 March 2025, returns are due by 30 November 2026, with payment due by 31 December 2026.

Groups with a presence in these countries should update their compliance calendars. It would be sensible to check who holds the local registration and filing role in Qatar and Oman, since both require a designated filing entity. We have not yet seen confirmation of Belgian payment dates, and the 16 November date is close.

The Singapore tax authority issued the third edition of its e-Tax Guide on the multinational and domestic top-up taxes on 30 October 2026. A group that files its GloBE information return centrally needs only a local notification if the foreign authority has an activated exchange relationship with Singapore for that year. Without an activated exchange relationship, the local filing entity must file the relevant GIR sections in Singapore under the agreed dissemination approach. Separate MTT and DTT return obligations continue to apply. The authority will publish a list of activated relationships for FY 2025 once it is final. The guide also describes the side-by-side, substance-based tax incentive and simplified effective tax rate safe harbours, which are to be legislated. It also gives early guidance on a proposed relaxation of the local financial accounting standards rule for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2026, with an election for early application from FY 2025. The revised period-matching condition compares each Singapore entity's accounting period with the period used for it in the ultimate parent's consolidated accounts. The other LFAS conditions continue to apply.

Groups with Singapore entities should check that list against their central filing jurisdiction when it is published. Groups relying on the local accounting standard rule should check whether the proposed FY 2025 election would help.

On 4 November 2026 the OECD published its 2025 mutual agreement procedure (MAP) and advance pricing arrangement (APA) statistics. Competent authorities closed 2,971 MAP cases, up 17.6 per cent, and the average time fell from 27.37 to 25.66 months. Jurisdictions granted 943 bilateral APAs, up 11.6 per cent, but the APA inventory rose 3.2 per cent to 4,334 cases, and the average time to complete an APA was 40.19 months. Separately, Israel published Ruling No. 5007/26 on 20 October 2026, approving a 13 per cent mark-up on total costs for limited-risk R&D services provided to a foreign parent.

Groups considering an APA should allow for a process of more than three years on average when planning cover for future years. The Israeli ruling depends on its facts, including the parent's control of development risk, so it may not transfer to other R&D centres.

In Commissioner of Taxation v Merchant [2026] HCA 39 (4 November 2026), all seven judges held that Part IVA applied to cancel a capital loss of $56,561,940. A family trust had sold Billabong shares at market value to a related superannuation fund, on tax advice and in anticipation of selling another company at a large capital gain. Control of the shares did not change, the purchase was inconsistent with the fund's investment strategy, and the fund stopped paying a pension. Gordon, Edelman, Steward and Gleeson JJ said the sale achieved no other meaningful or realistic commercial objective and was explicable only by its tax consequences ([159], [167]). The Commissioner accepted that a sale to a third party to realise a loss against a gain does not attract Part IVA, but those judges said such a sale would have had real commercial outcomes ([164]). By 4 to 3, the Court rejected the section 177E assessment on related debt forgiveness of about $54.4 million. The same four judges held that the historical characteristics of dividend stripping are essential, and that section 177E reaches only limited deviations from them ([192], [194]). They also held that the cancelled loss had to be taken into account in deciding whether that assessment was excessive ([224]).

The four judges repeated that a tax benefit alone does not engage Part IVA ([143]). The Commissioner's concession concerning third-party sales should be read in the context of this case. Internal transfers that preserve ultimate economic ownership and control warrant particular scrutiny. Assess the objective factors in section 177D and the transaction's commercial substance; documenting a commercial rationale does not by itself prevent Part IVA applying. The Commissioner may be less able to use section 177E for arrangements that only resemble dividend stripping, although they noted that these may still fall under the general Part IVA rules ([192]).

In Uber Australia Pty Ltd v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue [2026] HCA 40 (4 November 2026), the High Court held by 6 to 1, with Steward J dissenting, that fares Uber remitted to drivers, so far as attributable to the performance of work, were deemed wages under the contractor provisions of the Payroll Tax Act 2007 (NSW) ([91]). The assessments were about $81 million for the financial years ended 30 June 2015 to 30 June 2020 ([22]). The Court held that drivers supplied services to Uber as well as to riders, since the driver contract set obligations owed to Uber once a trip began ([68]). The joint reasons said the limited payment collection agent label did not reflect the substance, because Uber could adjust or cancel fares and deduct its fee ([88], [90]). Gageler CJ reached the same result while accepting that Uber collected as the driver's agent ([17]). The deeming applies for payroll tax only. The Court was not asked whether drivers are employees at common law, and the decision does not settle their status under other laws.

Businesses whose contracts oblige contractors to perform work for the business's customers, or set standards for that work, may wish to review those arrangements, particularly where the business also collects or controls the customer payment. Victoria's provisions are in comparable terms, and we understand the contractor provisions are largely harmonised outside Western Australia, so the decision may also be relevant outside NSW and for prior years.

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.