Transfer pricing investigations yield £1.6bn in 2022-23

HMRC collected an extra £1.6bn in tax from transfer pricing enquiries in the year ending 31 March 2023 - an increase of 11% from £1.5bn in the previous year.

HMRC’s figures show the department settled 153 cases during the year. The average age of the cases it closed rose to 39 months up 14% from 34 months in the previous year.

Steven Porter partner and head of tax disputes and investigations at Pinsent Masons said: ‘Multinationals shifting profits overseas have long been seen by HMRC as an area where billions of pounds in underpaid tax could be recovered. These latest figures show it is succeeding. HMRC is now particularly vigilant in testing the transfer pricing adopted by multinationals.’

He added that it was encouraging to see HMRC beginning to clear the backlog of transfer pricing investigations. ‘These investigations often take far longer than necessary to...