natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
I sin anvendelse af denne metode foretages der i TP-rapporten et skøn af overskuddet i forbindelse med LuxOpCos »rutinefunktioner i sin rolle som det europæiske driftsselskab« baseret på en opskrivning af omkostningerne, der afholdes af LuxOpCo.
‘EU Operating Expense’ means LuxOpCo's total costs, including intercompany expenses, but excluding: EU COGS, the License Fee, currency gains and losses and interest expense, calculated under U.S. GAAP.
Med henblik på fastsættelse af armslængdespænd for denne opskrivning gennemførtes i forbindelse med TP-rapporten en søgning med henblik på at finde frem til sammenlignelige selskaber generelt identificeret som kendetegnede ved ledelse og drift af softwarebaserede transaktioner.
‘EU Revenues’ means total net sales revenue earned by LuxOpCo through the EU Web Sites, which shall be equal to the sum of (a) the total sales prices of products sold by LuxOpCo, stated on the invoices which are issued to customers, including revenue attributable to gift wrapping and shipping and handling, less: value added taxes, returns and other allowances, and (b) total services revenue earned by LuxOpCo in connection with the sale of products or services by unrelated parties through the EU Web Sites, less value added taxes.
En søgning i Amadeus-databasen efter sammenlignelige selskaber ved hjælp af søgekriterier baseret på geografisk område, nøgleord i beskrivelsen af forretningsaktiviteterne og klassifikation i nomenklaturen, kombineret med manuel screening, fandt frem til syv selskaber, der kunne betragtes som sammenlignelige med Amazon.
‘EU Operating Profit’ means EU Revenue minus: EU COGS and EU Operating Expenses.
På dette grundlag definerede TP-rapporten en »netto-opskrivning« som overskudsindikator til afprøvning af armslængdevederlag, der kan tilskrives LuxOpCos forventede funktioner, fastsat som driftsindkomst divideret med summen af omkostninger for varer og driftsudgifter.
THE TRANSFER PRICING REPORT
Baseret på data vedrørende de syv sammenlignelige selskaber blev det følgende treårige gennemsnit (1999-2001) præsenteret med interkvartil afstand: den nedre kvartil var 2,3 %, medianen var 4,2 %, og den øvre kvartil var 6,7 %.
In response to the Opening Decision, Luxembourg submitted the TP Report.
Tabellen med resultaterne angiver, at tallene er procentandele af nettosalget.
Luxembourg claims that the TP Report is the ‘economic analysis’ to which reference is made in Amazon's letter of 23 October 2003.
Som resultat valgtes en mark up på [4-6] %, der blev anvendt på LuxOpCos driftsudgifter med henblik på at fastsætte »det relevante afkast, der kan tilskrives LuxOpCos rutinemæssige funktioner«.
The TP Report was drawn up by reference to the Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations prepared by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.(‘OECD TP Guidelines’).
Afkastet blev efterfølgende trukket fra LuxOpCos driftsoverskud.
Functional analysis
På dette grundlag konkluderede TP-rapporten, at »en royaltysats på mellem 10,1 og 12,3 procent af nettoomsætningen betalt af LuxOpCo til LuxSCS ville være i overensstemmelse med armslængdestandarden i henhold til OECD's retningslinjer«.
LuxSCS will also license the Intangibles to LuxOpCo, subject to the License Agreement, and will receive royalty payments pursuant to that agreement.
Beregningerne, der er indeholdt i TP-rapporten, er opsummeret og illustreret i tabel 1.
As regards LuxOpCo, the TP Report explains that ‘[t]hrough its staff of full-time management employees, LuxOpCo will manage the strategic decision-making related to the EU Web Sites' Retail and Services Businesses, and will also manage the key physical components of the Retail Business’.
Kolonne 1 og 3 er blevet tilføjet af Kommissionen for at forklare disse beregninger:
According to Amazon's letter of 23 October 2003, LuxOpCo was expected to have ‘in total, at least 25 to 30 full-time employees, including certain key pan-European management with responsibility for strategic decision-making in connection with the EU Web sites’, with the remaining full-time employees (approximately 20) to function in areas such as marketing, technology and accounts payable.
Tabel 1
The TP Report further explains that ‘[f]ollowing the restructuring, it is anticipated that LuxOpCo's principal activities will be focused on the exploitation of Amazon's software platform in an effort to continually develop and improve the software-based business model underlying the Retail Business and Service Business offered through the EU Websites. […] As part of this effort, LuxOpCo's management will work to identify opportunities to improve and enhance the Retail and Service Businesses through the exploitation of new and improved platform features and functionality as they are developed.
Beregninger i TP-rapporten, jf. s. 32 i TP-rapporten (kolonne 1 og 3 tilføjet af Kommissionen)
As both a retailer and service provider, LuxOpCo will strive to provide the optimal costumer experience in all areas including fulfilment, payment, processing, merchandising decisions and monitoring of third-party seller performance […]’.
(mio. EUR)
In its role as retailer, LuxOpCo was expected to take merchandising and pricing decisions, and to manage all aspects of the order fulfilment process.
Indtægter
As the operator of the service business, LuxOpCo would also be ‘responsible for strategic decisions relating to the selection of third-party merchants and product categories, and for marketing to and negotiations with third-party merchants’.
Bruttoavance
For the purpose of operating the EU websites, LuxOpCo was to use the Intangibles which it licensed from LuxSCS.
a-b
LuxOpCo was expected to hold legal title to all inventory.
Driftsomkostninger
LuxOpCo would assume all risks associated with holding inventory and selling products through the EU websites.
Koncerninterne udgifter (co.uk,.de,.fr)
According to Amazon's letter of 23 October 2003, LuxOpCo was to own and use the Luxembourg-based transaction processing servers to complete the processing of, and authorise payments for, customer and third-party seller transactions, including payments to third-party merchants.
LUX Commissionaire udgifter
LuxOpCo was to contract with ASE, which would act as a service commission agent in its own name but for the benefit of LuxOpCo, in connection with Amazon's third-party seller programs in Europe.
Driftsomkostninger (inkl. koncerninterne)
ASE's services would primarily consist of certain order processing services associated with the service business.
d+e+f
The EU Local Affiliates located in Germany, France and the UK were to provide various services with respect to the EU websites, including certain customer referral and support, marketing and fulfilment services.
Anslået driftsoverskud (tab) før standardudbytte
According to Amazon's management forecasts submitted for the purpose of the TP Report, LuxOpCo was expected to expand its revenues in the course of its operations from approximately EUR 3,2 billion in 2005 to approximately EUR 8,3 billion in 2010 and incur the following costs: the cost of goods as a percent of revenue was projected on average at approximately 77,5 %, leading to a gross margin of about 22,5 %.
c-g
Following the 2006 restructuring, LuxOpCo was to assume the on-going costs associated with the management and operation of the Amazon platform in Europe, including payment and collection processing expenses, bad debt expenses, certain system support expenses, as well as the cost of salaries of the management, technology and other personnel working to support the Amazon platform operations in the region.
Standardudbytte til LuxASE
The assumptions underlying the management forecast were neither disclosed nor reviewed in the TP Report.
Standardudbytte til LuxOpCo
Selection of the most appropriate transfer pricing method
[4-6] %×g
Section 5 of the TP Report deals with the selection of the most appropriate transfer pricing method for determining the arm's length nature of the Royalty Rate.
Anslået restfortjeneste til udbetaling til LuxSCS
To determine the remuneration attributable to LuxOpCo and the arm's length level of the royalty to be paid by LuxOpCo to LuxSCS under the License Agreement, the TP Report proposes alternative transfer pricing arrangements: one based on the comparable uncontrolled price (‘CUP’) method and another based on the residual profit split method.
h-i-j
Transfer pricing assessment based on the CUP method
Effektiv royaltysats (i % af indtægter)
Section 6.1 of the TP Report calculates an arm's length range for royalty on the basis of the CUP method.
Afstemning af de to transfer price-ordninger
First of all, searches were performed for comparable transactions in Amazon's own internal database of license agreements and an external agency was commissioned to conduct a search for license agreements involving intangible assets similar to those of Amazon.
Ved at opsummere analysen af koncerninterne overførselspriser i licensaftalen, både med CUP-metoden og med residualavancefordelingsmetoden, skønnede TP-rapporten, at resultaterne konvergerede og indikerede, at et armslængdespænd for royaltysatsen betalt af LuxOpCo til LuxSCS i henhold til denne aftale lå på mellem 10,1 % og 12,3 % af LuxOpCos salgsindtægter.
The transactions identified as a result of the searches were not considered sufficiently comparable and were therefore rejected for the purpose of the CUP analysis.
TP-rapporten konkluderer, at »mens det er rimeligt at konkludere, at en royaltysats, der vælges inden for det royaltysatsspænd, der indgår i begge disse metoder, vil være i overensstemmelse med armslængdeprincippet, vil der kunne være mindre forskelle i de nøjagtige fremtidige immaterielle aktiver, der overføres iht.
Next, the TP Report identified as relevant the following agreements entered into by Amazon since 2000 with third-party retailers under which Amazon made its technology platform available to those retailers: the Strategic Alliance Agreement between Rocket.zeta, Inc., Amazon.com, Inc., target.direct LLC and Target Corporation (the ‘Target Agreement’), the Strategic Alliance Agreement between Rock-Bound, Inc. and ToysRUs.com LLC (the ‘ToysRUs Agreement’); the Product Listing Agreement between Amazon.com Payments, Inc and Circuit City Stores, Inc. (the ‘Circuit City Agreement’); the Mirror Site Hosting Agreement between Frontier.zeta, Inc. and Borders Online LLC (the ‘Borders Agreement’); and the Mirror Site Hosting Agreement between Amazon.com International Sales, Inc. and Waterstone's Bookseller Ltd (the ‘Waterstones Agreement’).
[A]-aftalen, som vil kunne medføre mindre forskelle i resultaterne for de to metoder. […] det er rimeligt at konkludere […], at analysen af residualavancefordelingsmetoden er mindre tilbøjelig til at producere fordrejede skøn og derfor kan betragtes som et mere pålideligt mål for royaltysats i overensstemmelse med armslængdeprincippet«.
Amazon refers to these agreements as the ‘M.com Agreements’.
KONSEKVENSER AF DEN ANFÆGTEDE SKATTEAFGØRELSE
Upon review of those agreements, the TP Report concludes that the [A] Agreement provides a comparable arrangement to the extent that the rest of the contracts ‘did not include the provision of the eCommerce technology platform’.
Ordningen er opsummeret i figur2:
Pursuant to the [A] Agreement, Amazon agreed to create, develop, host and maintain a new [A] website and a [A] store on Amazon websites, which were to replace [A]'s existing e-commerce website.
Strukturen i Amazons europæiske selskaber 2006-2014, herunder ordningen for royaltybetaling
In return, [A] was to pay Amazon compensation consisting of, among others, set-up fees, base fees, and sales commissions.
Det regnskabsmæssige overskud ud over skattepligtig fortjeneste i den anfægtede afgørelse betales af LuxOpCo til LuxSCS i form af royalties
To make that compensation comparable to the License Fee (referred to in the TP Report as the ‘Royalty Rate’), the set-up fees were amortized and allocated to each of the four periods referred to in the agreement and, together with the annual basic fee, they were converted into a percentage of sales (ranging from 3,4 % to 7,2 %).
LuxOpCos skattepligtige fortjeneste ifølge den anfægtede afgørelse
Since the commission fee included in the [A] Agreement ranged from 4 % to 5 % of sales, the TP Report's first conclusion was that the implied royalty rate in the [A] Agreement ranged from 8,4 % to 11,7 % of sales.
0,45 % på salg
However, [A] had also committed to pay Amazon certain fees to compensate for both excess order capacity and excess inventory level.
[4-6] % på OpEx
Those fees, referred to in the agreement, were also converted into a percentage of sales, ranging from 1,2 % to 0,7 %.
0,55 % på salg
Therefore, the arm's length range for the Royalty Rate was initially calculated to be between 9,6 % and 12,6 % of sales.
Faktureret salg i EU of bogført i Luxembourg
Finally, since the [A] Agreement did not provide [A] with access to Amazon's customer data, the TP Report included an adjustment to align the CUP with the fact that LuxSCS granted LuxOpCo access to Amazon's customer data.
Datterselskaber i EU
Accordingly, using the information available in the [B] Agreement, an upward adjustment of 1 % was proposed, resulting in an arm's length range for the Royalty Rate between 10,6 % and 13,6 % of LuxOpCo's sales.
LuxOpCo anvendte den anfægtede skatteafgørelse som grundlag for fastsættelse af dets årlige selskabsskat i Luxembourg ved udfyldelsen af den årlige skatteopgørelse.
Transfer pricing assessment based on the residual profit split method
Den anfægtede skatteafgørelse blev også anvendt af LuxSCS og dets amerikansk baserede partnere idet den bekræfter, at hverken LuxSCS eller dets partnere er underlagt pligt til at betale selskabsskat, kommuneskat eller, for sidstnævnte, skat af medejerandelen i LuxSCS.
Section 6.2 of the TP Report calculates an arm's length range for the License Fee (referred to in the TP Report as the ‘Royalty Rate’) on the basis of the residual profit split method.
Tabel 2 illustrerer konsekvenserne af den anfægtede skatteafgørelse for beregningen af LuxOpCos beskatningsgrundlag i Luxembourg og størrelsen af royaltyudbetalingen (licensgebyr) til LuxSCS siden 2006.
In its application of that method, the TP Report estimated the return associated with LuxOpCo's ‘routine functions in its role as the European operating company’ based on the mark-up on costs to be incurred by LuxOpCo.
Kommissionen minder om, at LuxOpCo opererer som moderselskab i den skattemæssige enhed, selskabet udgør med ASE og AMEU, og at disse selskaber derfor behandles som en enkelt skatteyder i skattemæssig henseende i Luxembourg.
To determine an arm's length range for that mark-up, the TP Report conducted a search to identify comparable companies generally identified as engaged in the management and operation of software-based business.
I overensstemmelse hermed er tabel 2 udarbejdet på konsolideret grundlag, og der skelnes ikke mellem LuxOpCo, ASE og AMEU i de følgende dele af denne afgørelse.
A comparable companies search in the Amadeus database using selection criteria related to geographic region, keyword search in business descriptions and industry classification of the search combined with manual screening identified seven companies considered comparable to Amazon.
Tabel 2
On that basis, the TP Report defined a ‘net cost plus mark-up’ as the profit level indicator for testing the arm's length remuneration attributable to the anticipated functions of LuxOpCo, which was defined as operating income divided by the sum of cost of goods and operating expenses.
Beregning af LuxOpCos beskatningsgrundlag og royaltybetalinger 2006-2013
Based on data concerning the seven comparables, the following three-year average (1999-2001) interquartiles range was presented: lower quartile was 2,3 %, median was 4,2 %, and upper quartile was 6,7 %.
Indtægter i alt
As a result, a mark-up of [4-6] % was selected and applied to the operating expenses of LuxOpCo to determine ‘the relevant routine return attributable to LuxOpCo's functions’.
[15000-15500]
That return was subsequently deducted from LuxOpCo's operating profit.
Netto COGS
The resulting difference between that return and LuxOpCo's recorded profit, the residual profit, was considered by the TP Report to be wholly attributable to the use of the Intangibles licensed from LuxSCS.
[11500-12000]
Finally, the TP Report divided each of the projected annual residual profits by the projected net sales of LuxOpCo to obtain an indication of the Royalty Rate.
[3000-3500]
The calculations made in the TP Report, are summarised and illustrated in Table 1.
Heraf
Columns 1 and 3 have been added by the Commission to explain those calculations:
Udgifter der skyldes prisforhøjelse
Table 1
[2500-3000]
Calculation in the TP Report, cf. p. 32 of the TP report (Column 1 and 3 added by the Commission)
LuxOpCo — OpEx
(EUR million)
[800-900]
Revenue
LuxOpCo — koncerninterne
COGS
[1500-2000]
Gross Profit
[600-700]
LUX Commissionaire expense
Anslået udbytte i alt til gruppen af skattepligtige enheder i Luxembourg ved [4-6] % af justerede driftsomkostninger
Operating expense (incl.
[100-200]
Intercompany)
Analyse af loft/bund
d + e + f
Loft over fortjeneste (0,55 % af indkomst)
Estimated Operating Net Profit (Loss) before Routine Return
[80-90]
c – g
Loft over fortjeneste (0,45 % af indtægter)
Routine Return to LuxASE 0,14
[60-70]
Routine Return to LuxOpCo
Luxembourg konsolideret fortjeneste — pr. loft/bund og udbytte
[4 – 6] % × g
Udbetalte royalties (gruppen af enheder med skattepligt i Luxembourg til LuxSCS)
Estimated Residual Profit Payable to LuxSCS
[500-600]
h – i – j
Ifølge beregningen af licensgebyret til LuxSCS består den omkostningsbasis, der anvendes ved beregningen af LuxOpCos beskatningsgrundlag i Luxembourg, af driftsomkostninger og omkostninger afholdt i forbindelse med de lokale tilknyttede virksomheder inden for EU, og som senere refunderes af LuxOpCo (i tabel 2 benævnt »LuxOpCo — koncernejet selskab«).
Effective Royalty Rate (as % of Revenue)
Omkostningerne for de solgte varer og visse andre omkostninger, der betegnes som »udgifter udelukket fra mark up (ledelse og betingede aktier) i tabel 2«, er udelukket fra beregningen af LuxOpCos skattepligtige overskud.
k/a
Den sidste kategori af udgifter omfatter følgende omkostninger: i) fra og med 2008 betalinger fra amerikanske datterselskaber under Amazon.com, Inc. for supporttjenester, som ikke var forventet på tidspunktet for den anfægtede skatteafgørelse; ii) med start i 2010 begyndte Amazon.com, Inc. at opkræve LuxOpCo for aktier tildelt aktiekompensation til ansatte i LuxOpCo og visse af dets direkte og indirekte europæiske datterselskaber.
Reconciliation of the two transfer pricing arrangements
Amazon hævder, at disse beløb ikke ændrede funktioner eller risici ved LuxOpCo.
Summarising the transfer pricing analyses of the License Agreement using the CUP method and the residual profit split method, the TP Report considered that the results converge and indicated that an arm's length range for the Royalty Rate from LuxOpCo to LuxSCS under that agreement is 10,1 % to 12,3 % of LuxOpCo's sales.
Anvendelsen af mark up på [4-6] % på summen af LuxOpCos driftsudgifter og koncerninterne omkostninger resulterer i et estimeret samlet afkast til gruppen af enheder med skattepligt i Luxembourg.
The TP Report then concludes that ‘while it is reasonable to conclude that a Royalty Rate chosen from within the range of royalty rates implied by both these methods would be consistent with the arm's length principle, there may be minor differences in the precise future Intangibles transferred under the [A] agreement that would account for the slight differences in results under the two methods. […] it is reasonable to conclude […] that the residual profit split analysis is less likely to produce biased estimates, and accordingly, may be considered to be a more reliable measure of the arm's length Royalty Rate’.
Dette resultat afprøves derefter mod lofts- og bundkriterierne (0,55 % og 0,45 % af omsætningen).
CONSEQUENCES OF THE CONTESTED TAX RULING
I tilfælde, hvor det forventede samlede afkast var højere end 0,55 % af indtægterne (som i årene 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012 og 2013), var anvendelsen af loftet afgørende for vurderingen af LuxOpCos skattepligtige indkomst i Luxembourg, der omtales i tabel 2 som »Konsolideret fortjeneste i Luxembourg — pr. loft/bund og afkast«.
By the contested tax ruling, the Luxembourg tax administration endorsed the contents of Amazon's letters of 23 and 31 October 2003.
Endelig fratrækkes den luxembourgske konsoliderede fortjeneste (benævnt LuxOpCo-afkastet i anmodningen om skatteafgørelse) fra driftsresultatet (benævnt »EU-driftsoverskud« i afgørelsen) for dermed at fastsætte licensgebyret til LuxSCS.
In particular, it accepted that the transfer pricing arrangement for the purposes of determining the level of the annual royalty to be paid by LuxOpCo to LuxSCS under the License Agreement, which in turn determined LuxOpCo's annual taxable income in Luxembourg, was at arm's length.
YDERLIGERE OPLYSNINGER FREMSENDT I LØBET AF DEN FORMELLE UNDERSØGELSE
That arrangement is summarised in Figure 2:
OPLYSNINGER OM DET EUROPÆISKE ONLINE DETAILHANDELSMARKED
Figure 2
Det europæiske online detailhandelsmarked var genstand for en rapport bestilt af Amazon hos [Konsulent 3], et konsulentfirma, der indeholder en analyse af de økonomiske tendenser i e-handelssektoren i Europa (»[Konsulent 3]-rapporten«).
Structure of Amazon's European Entities 2006-2014 incl. arrangement for royalty payment
Rapporten fra [Konsulent 3] indeholder en beskrivelse af »online-handelssektoren« som online salg af fysiske goder fra online detailhandlende, dvs. som operatører, der køber varer, opbevarer dem på deres lager og videresælger dem online.
Taxable profit of LuxOpCo agreed in the contested ruling
Ifølge denne rapport ligner onlinedetailforhandlernes aktiviteter mere de fysiske detailforhandleres aktiviteter end de digitale tjenesteudbyderes aktiviteter.
Recorded profit in excess of taxable profit agreed in the contested roling is paid by LuxOpCo to LuxSCS in the form of a royalty
Den største forskel mellem fysiske detailhandlere og online-detailhandlere ligger i den anvendte produktdistributionskanal.
0,45 % on sales
Undersøgelsen peger også på, at onlinedetailhandlere strukturelt er mindre rentable end digitale tjenesteudbydere, da onlinedetailhandlere har væsentlige grundlæggende omkostningsvariabler.
[4-6] % on OpEx
Omkostningsstrukturen hos digitale tjenesteudbydere er mere stabil end detailhandlernes og giver mulighed for stordriftsfordele og højere margener, når en virksomhed har nået en vis størrelse .
0,55 % on sales
For detailhandlere, hvad enten de opererer fysisk eller online, er virkningen af stordriftsfordele på rentabiliteten begrænset, da de fleste omkostninger er variable.
Amazon.com, Inc.
Ændringer i omkostningerne i forbindelse med de solgte varer, rabatter og udgifter til logistik, der udgør en væsentlig del af de samlede omkostninger, er stærkt forbundet med forretningsvolumenet.
US
Denne faktor, sammen med den stærke konkurrence, der er kendetegnende for onlinedetailbranchen, resulterede i negative gennemsnitlige EBIT-margener på det europæiske onlinedetailmarked.
LUX LuxSCS
I perioden 2006-2013 var forholdet mellem den gennemsnitlige EBIT-margin og salget – 0,5 %.
Amazon EU Sàrl LuxOpCo
[Konsulent 3]-rapportens analyse af markedsdynamikken i de fem mest befolkede lande i Europa viser, at »onlinedetailsegmentet oplevede en stærk vækst og var genstand for stærk konkurrence mellem 2006 og 2013«.
EU Sales invoiced and recorded in Luxembourg
Navnlig »[…] den stærke konkurrence tvang onlinedetailhandlere til store investeringer for at opretholde væksten i markedssegmentet og holde trit med konkurrencen og dermed sætte margenerne under pres eller endda presse dem ind i negativområdet.
EU Subsidiaries
Online-detailhandlere var villige til at ofre på kortsigtet rentabilitet med håb om, at gennemførte investeringer ville skabe overskud i det lange løb«.
The contested tax ruling was relied upon by LuxOpCo during the relevant period to determine its annual corporate income tax liability in Luxembourg for the purpose of filing its annual tax declarations.