Duties and Responsibilities

SCOPE OF WORK, RESPONSIBILITIES AND DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ANALYTICAL WORK

2.           Duties and Responsibilities

The UNDP is looking for a consult automotive expert to work as a TIWB expert. The main responsibility will be to provide technical assistance to tax administrations and other government agencies of developing countries in automotive. The Expert will need to demonstrate extensive professional experience in the automotive sector.

The Expert will conduct on-site support through practical, hands-on, real-time audit support and guidance to execute actual audits from inception to closure. The support will include, but not be limited to the following:

1. To work directly with designated tax audit officials of SARS to enable the successful conclusion of ongoing and planned international customs audit cases in the automotive sector. This will involve helping to improve the SARS audit procedure and processes by assisting in establishing relevant risk assessment criteria for pre-audit risk assessment, reviewing the existing risk assessment framework, case selections, audit planning and scheduling of the selected cases. This will entail applying direct and indirect audit methods (e.g., verification of taxpayer’s/trader’s records and non-taxpayer source information), and participating in field audits for interviews and other information gatherings.
2. To provide pieces of training through scheduled workshops to the automotive Division of SARS on case studies around topics, which may include basic Transfer Pricing (to ensure that auditors can analyse  and interpret Transfer Pricing (TP) documents, risk management and mitigation (identify risk best practice model), value chains and links to Transfer Pricing (including on Licensing and Registration, Risk Profiling, Conducting TP (Retrospective Transfer Pricing Adjustments)and AIP, (Advance Import Payments)Accreditation, and Compliance Management).
3. To discuss best practices, assist in the implementation of recommendations and provide feedback post-implementation.
4. To train SARS customs audit officials to effectively handle complex international tax cases through reviewing international tax planning schemes, permanent establishments, transfer pricing policies, profit attribution rules, double taxation causes and methods of relief, while also developing technical guidelines, best practice toolkits, audit strategy and taxpayer interview strategy.
5. To assist in determining lines of investigation for customs audit and coordinate the audit work carried out by officials during investigations.
6. To assist in drafting necessary guidelines based on audit cases.
7. To support SARS to develop the legal framework further to address emerging Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) challenges where necessary, as well as loopholes in the tax administration ecosystem.
8. To develop a risk assessment tool for transfer pricing issues.
9. To risk assess and analyse audit cases in cooperation with ---customsauditors.
10. To improve tax compliance in the targeted sectors through improved audit quality and effectiveness. To share good international practices.
11. To generate additional tax revenues for South Africa through additional assessments arising from audit adjustments (note that this may occur during and/or after the Programme's conclusion).
12. To assess the collective knowledge of SARS tax officials to determine the absorption of knowledge transfer and any need for subsequent training (through, for example, a case study whereby SARS officials could demonstrate acquired skills).
13. To train SARS customs audit officials to improve their general audit skills and consistency in undertaking audits.
14. To provide Programme assistance both on-site (in Pretoria and, if necessary other centres) and remotely (from home office location) through video-conferencing tools, calls or e-mail correspondence with SARS, ensuring data confidentiality. In addition, after consulting with SARS and upon approval, the Expert may work in partnership with a sector-specific expert, where required, deployed in parallel by the TIWB Secretariat throughout the Programme.
15. To regularly update the TIWB Secretariat and the UNDP on progress, and, where possible, liaise with the UNDP Country Office in South Africa during all missions. The Expert shall prepare a report at the end of each mission outlining the progress and any areas of concern and submit it to the TIWB Secretariat. In addition, at the end of the Assignment, the Expert will submit a comprehensive report highlighting the extent to which the Programme objectives and programme impact indicators were attained and identify any outstanding capacity gaps which require further reinforcement (either within TIWB or by other technical assistance programmes).
16. Ensure that the TIWB Programme aligns with and complements any other initiative on transfer pricing and international tax within SARS.

Expected outputs and deliverables:

The representative set of duties and responsibilities listed below is not exhaustive, and the terms of reference of each assignment will dictate the exact scope of the work. Key areas of support and activities will include:

Required Skills and Experience

Academic qualifications:

• A university degree in economics, finance, law, international taxation and/or relevant fields (or in the absence, equivalent qualifications, and professional experience) - mandatory.

Experience:

• Minimum 7 years’ work experience in a Tax Administration - mandatory
• Minimum seven (7) years’ experience in audit of multinational enterprises with a focus on valuation and or Retrospective transfer pricing adjustments, specifically in the automotive sector and ability to transfer skills/knowledge - mandatory
• Experience in auditing the Automotive Industry -mandatory. 

Desirable Qualifications and Experience:

• Have a World Customs Organization (WCO) Customs Valuation accreditation (Customs Valuation Inspector) OECD accreditation (TP inspector).
• Understanding of Customs Risk Management.
• Expertise in international tax policies and legislation, with knowledge of experiences and good practices (notably, OECD guidelines) in countering cross-border tax avoidance.
• Experience with the tax administration in the related tax jurisdiction.
• Extensive experience in delivering capacity-building activities and training courses on transfer pricing and international tax issues.
• Experience in drawing up technical guidelines for auditing.
• Experience and proven success in general office practice, communication, and negotiation skills. 

Language:

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required;
• Working knowledge of another UN language would be an asset