Backlog baggage: Staff shortage delays advance pricing agreement process

Presently, there are five APA teams in the country with two teams in Delhi and one team each in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Gurgaon

A staff shortage at the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is leading to a growing backlog of advance pricing agreement (APA) cases, according to a CBDT source. “Currently, there are only 19 officers deputed for the execution of APAs. The government should at least double the number,” the official said. 

An APA is a mechanism that allows taxpayers and tax authorities to agree on a transfer-pricing method to determine prices for transactions between related companies in different countries. 

Introduced in 2012 through the Finance Act, the purpose of APAs is to provide tax certainty and reduce litigation. Effective from