On 31 March 2015, the Austrian Ministry of Finance
published a decree dealing with, inter alia, mutual
agreement procedures under double tax treaties.
Currently, Austria has concluded 85 double tax treaties, all of
which contain provisions on mutual agreement procedures (MAPs).
However, Austrian statutory law does not provide for procedural
rules for such procedures. Until recently, it was in particular
unclear in which form an Austrian taxpayer can initiate an MAP. The
new decree of the Austrian Ministry of Finance aims at giving
guidance on the initiation of MAPs and also in respect of
arbitration procedures under double tax treaties and the EU
Arbitration Convention.
Pursuant to the decree, if a taxpayer aims at encouraging an MAP
the case must be presented in writing to the Austrian Ministry of
Finance's Department for International Tax Law. The submission
shall in particular contain the following information: (i) the
taxpayer's details; (ii) the competent tax
