Singapore transfer pricing landscape: Key trends and audit focus

In this episode, EY Singapore transfer pricing (TP) specialists discuss how evolving global tax reforms and rising audit scrutiny are reshaping the TP landscape across Asia.

Key takeaways:

• Global scrutiny, driven by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reforms and increased audit intensity, has elevated TP to a board-level priority. 
• Tax audits are longer, more detailed and less flexible, making robust, contemporaneous TP documentation essential. Many organisations are also pursuing bilateral advance pricing agreements (APAs) to secure certainty and mitigate cross-border disputes.  
• Effective TP management extends beyond technical analysis, requiring alignment across tax, finance and operations, supported by consistent documentation, coordinated audit responses and governance frameworks incorporating APAs and mutual agreement procedures (MAPs).  

Organisations must adopt a strategic, proactive approach to TP, moving beyond compliance to focus on dispute prevention and long-term tax certainty.   

Presenters:

• Amy Ang, Head of Tax, Ernst & Young Solutions LLP; EY Asean Managed Services Leader
• Rajesh Bheemanee, Partner, Financial Services Transfer Pricing, Ernst & Young Solutions LLP
• Vivienne Ong, Partner, International Tax and Transaction Services — Transfer Pricing, Ernst & Young Solutions LLP
• Lee Ying Jow, Director, International Tax and Transaction Services — Transfer Pricing, EY Corporate Advisors Pte. Ltd.