Quantera Global Newsletter – February 2026

In this edition of the newsletter, you will find the most important national and global developments in tax law that are (closely) related to the transfer pricing world.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

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Quantera Global news, developments, and blogs

• Our international alliance network is open to new partners. We welcome transfer pricing specialists and independent professionals, along with accounting, audit, tax, and legal firms, and other like-minded organisations that value quality, clarity, and care.
  
  More information is available here, including the option to schedule an introductory call. 

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Quantera Global Specialties

In the past month, we successfully completed several challenging and noteworthy projects, including: 

• Resolving a multi-year tax audit for a multinational, reducing a multi-million euro proposed adjustment to €0.
• Performing a fresh review of the TP policy of a large multinational, quoted by the CFO as “Really refreshing, concrete and helpful ideas, something we did not hear from other providers and great out-of-the-box thinking”.
• Supporting a small scale-up in setting up of their TP policy in a simple, scalable manner while increasing compliance.

If you would like to know more about these topics, please feel free to contact us. 

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News from around the world:

Brazil 

The following update has been provided by our network partner, Castro Barros.  

Recently, Brazil joined the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS Multilateral Instrument – MLI). Brazil became the 106th jurisdiction to join the instrument, which currently covers approximately two thousand bilateral treaties worldwide. 

Once ratified, the MLI will enable automatic and synchronized updates to double taxation agreements (DTAs) without the need for individual bilateral renegotiations. In Brazil’s case, up to 26 DTAs may currently be impacted, provided that the respective counterparties are also MLI signatories and have mutually listed the agreement in question. Among the jurisdictions indicated by Brazil are the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Canada, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, South Korea, Japan, Israel, and Luxembourg. 

Older DTAs that do not include more modern anti-treaty abuse clauses are likely to be impacted the most, with the incorporation of rules such as the Principal Purpose Test (PPT), the Limitation on Benefits (LOB) rule, as well as more restrictive definitions of permanent establishment. DTAs recently signed by Brazil already include such provisions, and the MLI will enable harmonization of the older treaty network, consolidating a more modern international tax policy standard for the country. 

In this context, the signature represents an important milestone in Brazilian international tax policy, signalling greater alignment with OECD standards and progress in the process of institutional rapprochement with the organization. 

For the convention to take effect in the Brazilian legal system, ratification by the National Congress will be required. Only after the deposit of the instrument of ratification with the OECD will the MLI provisions be effectively applicable to the treaties listed by Brazil.  

Cyprus 

In Cyprus, amendments to the Income Tax Law came into effect on 1 January 2026. These amendments increased the Local File thresholds and expanded the definition of connected persons. Taxpayers below the thresholds must still submit the Summarized Information Table and mainstain minimum transfer pricing documentation. 

European Union 

• On 1 January, Cyprus assumed the European Union Council Presidency and setting priorities that include fax simplification and international tax cooperation. Member states were required to transpose DAC9 and DAC8 by 31 December 2025. The EU public CbCr is now in force, with the first disclosures due at the end of 2026 for most in-scope MNEs.  

• On 12 January, the European Commission confirmed the application of the Pillar Two “side-by-side” package under the EU Minimum Tax Directive. Subject to local implementation, the measures generally apply to fiscal years starting on or after 1 January 2026. 
   

• On 15 January, the European Court ruled in a case whether an ex-post transfer pricing adjustment, made to ensure a minimum profit margin and implemented via credit and debit notes, had VAT implications despite no change to the original transaction prices. The Court held that where a contractually agreed price adjustment is directly linked to a specific supply of goods, it results in an adjustment of the VAT taxable amount and does not constitute a separate taxable supply of services. 

Latvia 

On 1 January, new rules introduced a Controlled Transactions Report requirement for companies exceeding €250,000 in transactions with related non-resident parties. For the 2025 reporting year, the filing deadline is 31 December 2026, and penalties will be applied for non-compliance. 

Luxembourg 

On 6 January, the tax authorities released Pillar Two registration, GIR, and local Pillar Two tax return forms and opened e-filing on MyGuichet. The framework covers registration, GIR filing and local Pillar Two returns, with filings due 15 months after year-end (18 months for the transitional year). Calendar-year groups are required to file for the first time by 30 June 2026 in respect of FY 2024. 

Netherlands 

The Dutch Tax Authorities have issued several transfer pricing policy memoranda: 

• Transfer pricing points of interest 
• Coordination Group Transfer Pricing (CGVP) annual overview 2024 
• Application of the cost-plus method 
• Purchasing 
• Guarantee fees 

OECD 

• On 5 January, the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework announced an agreement on a “side-by-side” package to keep Pillar Two regimes coordinated. The package introduces additional simplification measures, new safe harbours, and reaffirms the role of qualified domestic minimum top-up taxes as the primary mechanism for safeguarding local tax bases. 

• On 22 January 2026, the OECD released the fourth batch of updated transfer pricing country profiles, updating eight jurisdictions. These updates include new information on hard-to-value intangibles and the simplified approach for baseline marketing and distribution activities.  

Poland 

The following update has been provided by our network partner, BTTP.  

1) KAS audit

On 15 January, the Polish National Revenue Administration (KAS) announced the conclusion of a high-profile audit in a multinational group from the food industry, resulting in over PLN 512 million of additional CIT and interest paid to the state budget. You can view the official announcement (link here).  

Key findings of the audit 

The audit covered CIT settlements for 2019-2020 and focused primarily on dividend distributions and withholding tax (WHT) treatment within a multi-tier holding structure. 

KAS concluded that: 

• Dividend exemption was applied incorrectly, 
• The intermediate holding structure lacked sufficient economic substance, 
• The ultimate beneficial owner was located outside the EU / EEA, 
• The structure served primarily a tax-driven function, rather than a genuine business purpose. 

As a result, KAS denied the dividend exemption and assessed full WHT and CIT liabilities, which were upheld in the appeal proceedings. 

2) PIT and CIT draft amendments 

On 13 January 2026, parallel to intensified enforcement, the Polish government published a draft amendment to the PIT and CIT Acts aimed at reducing selected administrative burdens under the government’s deregulatory programme. The full draft text is available (link here). 

Key proposed changes relevant for tax and TP teams: 

Simplification of TPR and transfer pricing formalities 

The draft proposes: 

• Simplification of TPR signing and filing rules, 
• Possibility to submit TPR forms through an authorised representative,
• Integration of TP documentation statements with TPR reporting, 
• Reduction of selected detailed financial indicators, particularly for smaller taxpayers. 
• These changes aim to streamline reporting while maintaining core analytical requirements. 

Elimination of selected formal sanctions 

The draft also proposes abolishing certain formal tax sanctions, including: 

• Removal of automatic disallowance of tax deductibility for payments made to incorrect bank accounts, 
• Alignment of PIT and CIT rules with VAT in this respect. 

This may materially reduce procedural risk in routine payment flows. 

Changes to information obligations 

The draft introduces changes to the scope and method of providing selected PIT / CIT information forms, further expanding reliance on electronic tax systems and limiting paper-based reporting. 

Romania 

On 30 January, Romania adopted Ordinance No. 6/2026, which repealed the 1% deductibility cap on intra-group charges (“tax on affiliates”). Consequently, such charges will revert to the general deductibility rules from 2026. 

Spain 

On 12 January, the Spanish Supreme Court ruled in a case concerning the application of the EU Interest and Royalties Directive to royalty payments made via an intermediary EU entity. The Court held that where the immediate recipient lacks beneficial ownership and acts merely as a conduit, the Directive’s withholding tax exemption does not apply, nor can tax treaty protection be used as a fallback. Applying a substance-over-form approach in line with CJEU case law, the Court allowed Spain to levy withholding tax at the domestic rate. 

Switzerland 

The Swiss Federal Tax Administration has published the 2026 safe harbour interest rates for intra-group loans, effective from 1 January 2026. The rates have been updated for CHF and certain foreign currencies. Deviations will continue to be permitted where arm’s length conditions can be demonstrated. 

United Nations 

The UN Tax Committee’s publications for 2025 are now available for free download, including six new transfer pricing guidance products by the UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters. These products provide guidance on; 

• Transfer Pricing of Agricultural Products; 
• Bilateral Advance Pricing Agreement/Arrangement Programmes – FAQ; 
• Transfer Pricing of Carbon Offsets and Carbon Credits; 
• Transfer Pricing Compliance Assurance – An End-to-End Toolkit; 
• Transfer Pricing During the Covid-19 Economic Downturn; and 
• Transfer Pricing in the Pharmaceutical Industry. 

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Final words 

Thank you for taking the time to read this edition of our newsletter. I hope you found the insights and updates valuable. Do you have any questions or need further information? Contact us today to get expert advice on worldwide transfer pricing matters and developments. 

If you have not already done so, subscribe to our Quantera Global newsletter here and join over 2,000 finance and tax leaders in receiving our newsletter, webinar invitations, latest trends, and sneak peeks into the world of transfer pricing in your inbox every month.  

Best regards, 

Adriaan van der Heijden
Managing Director at Quantera Global

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