SECTION 14. TREATY

NOTIFICATIONS

.01 In General. Some U.S. tax treaties require that the competent authority of the country that has not received a formal request for competent authority assistance be notified that such a request has been submitted to the competent authority of the other country. If such notice is not provided within the number of years specified in the treaty, domestic barriers to the implementation of a MAP resolution will not be removed ( see, e.g., United StatesCanada Income Tax Convention (1980), Article XXVI(2)). Therefore, a taxpayer seeking assistance of the U.S. competent authority under such a treaty with regard to a foreign-initiated adjustment must submit a treaty notification to the U.S. competent authority within the time set forth in the treaty.

.02 Manner of Notification. For purposes of this revenue procedure, a treaty notification to the U.S. competent authority may be made as a part of a taxpayer’s MAP request ( see the appendix) or may take the form of a letter to the U.S. competent authority. A template of a letter suitable for making a treaty notification is provided on the APMA website [link to be included when available].

.03 Taxpayer Responsible for Notifying Foreign Competent Authority. With regard to a U.S.-initiated adjustment under such a treaty, the taxpayer must notify the foreign competent authority of its having filed a MAP request with the U.S. competent authority. In making such notification, the taxpayer should follow any applicable procedures prescribed by the treaty country. The U.S. competent authority is not responsible for notifying a foreign competent authority that it has received a MAP request.

.04 Annual Notification Requirement. Treaty notification in the form of a letter must be updated on an annual basis until a formal MAP request has been filed. The annual notification must be submitted no later than the date on which the taxpayer timely files its tax return for each taxable year ending after the taxable year in which it submitted the treaty notification ( see section 1.03 for the rule applicable to deadlines). The annual update must contain the following subject line: “Treaty Notification Annual Update under Rev. Proc. 2014–XX”. The annual update must refer to prior treaty notifications.

.05 Consolidation of Protective Claim and Treaty Notification. The taxpayer may consolidate an initial protective claim and a treaty notification into a single letter, pre-filing memorandum, or MAP request. A template of a letter suitable for consolidating an initial protective claim and treaty notification is provided on the APMA website [link to be included when available]. The taxpayer may also consolidate an annual protective claim notification and annual treaty notification in a single letter. In whatever manner such initial or annual notifications are consolidated, the taxpayer should ensure that the submission clearly states that it is to serve as both a protective claim and as a treaty notification.