What are the rules surrounding Safe Harbour?
Low value-adding intra-group services for the purposes of the simplified approach are services performed by one member or more than one member of an MNE group on behalf of one or more other group members which:
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are of a supportive nature
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are not part of the core business of the MNE group (i.e. not creating profit-earning activities or contributing to economically significant activities of the MNE group),
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do not require the use of unique and valuable intangibles and do not lead to the creation of unique and valuable intangibles, and
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do not involve the assumption or control of substantial or significant risk by the service provider and do not give rise to the creation of significant risk for the service provider
In determining the arm’s length charge, the service provider should apply a markup to all costs that are not pass-through in nature. The markup should be determined using comparable data. The UAE CT law adopts a simplified approach provided under OECD TP Guidelines, whereby certain low-value-adding intra-group services may be charged out at a cost-plus 5% markup without the need for a detailed benchmarking analysis.