• The Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB), a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), was launched in Bhutan.

• India is chosen as the partner jurisdiction and will provide tax experts for this programme.

• India will help Bhutan strengthen the tax administration by sharing technical know-how, skills and best audit practices with its tax auditors.

• This programme is expected to be of about 24 months and the focus will be in the area of International Taxation and Transfer Pricing.

Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) programme

• Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB), launched in July 2015, is a joint OECD/UNDP initiative.  

• It aims to support developing countries to strengthen national tax administrations through building audit capacity and to share this knowledge with other countries. 

• The programme aims to strengthen tax administrations of developing countries by transferring technical know-how and skills to their tax auditors, and through the sharing of general audit practices and dissemination of knowledge products with them. 

• It complements the efforts of the international community to strengthen cooperation on tax matters and contribute to domestic tax mobilisation efforts of developing countries. 

• TIWB assistance has delivered more than $537 million in additional revenue for developing countries up to June 2020. 

• India is a strong South-South cooperation supporter of the initiative and has committed to support as a Partner Administration for three TIWB programmes in Eswatini, Sierra Leone and Uganda.

How does the programme work?

• Host Administrations request audit assistance by initially completing an online assistance request form which allows the TIWB Secretariat to match an appropriate expert from its network of Partner Administrations.

• The role of the TIWB Secretariat, situated in Paris, is to facilitate the involvement of all parties in the realisation of targeted audit assistance programmes.

• TIWB programmes are flexible and tailored to a country’s specific needs. 

• Selected experts will work with local tax officials directly on current audits and audit-related issues concerning international tax matters and general audit practices relevant for specific cases. 

• This is a specialised area of tax audit assistance, given its focus on providing assistance on real, current cases.

TIWB facilitates expert audit assistance in areas such as:

• Transfer pricing

• Thin capitalisation

• Advance pricing agreements

• Anti-avoidance rules

• Consumption taxes (for example VAT, GST)

• High net-worth individuals

• Pre-audit risk assessment and case selection

• Audit investigatory techniques

• Industry-specific or sector-specific issues. 

TIWB does not cover assistance relating to customs matters nor is concerned with providing policy support, advice on legislative changes, issues related to negotiations or other aspects of international tax treaties, or litigation, as existing organisations and programmes already offer support to developing country tax administrations on these matters.

In addition to tax audit assistance, the TIWB Governing Board supports the extension of the TIWB niche approach into new technical areas. Criminal tax investigation and effective use of data shared through informational exchange mechanisms will be priorities that strike at stemming illicit financial flows. Work is proposed to explore tax and natural resource contracts and environmentally related taxation.

What is OECD?

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation that works with governments, policymakers and citizens to work on establishing international norms and finding evidence-based solutions to a range of social, economic and environmental challenges.

It was established in 1961 and has 38 member countries.

As a key partner, India is included in OECD analysis and statistical databases. Its participation in OECD bodies and fora is encouraged as a means of allowing Indian policy makers to benefit from the OECD’s technical expertise and analytical capacity.

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