The Significance of Corporate Losses in Transfer Pricing – The Danish Supreme Court Ruling in the Maersk Oil/Total Energies case

Abstract

On 6 September 2023, the Danish Supreme Court delivered its ruling DK: Supreme Court, 6 Sept. 2023, Case BS-15265/2022-HJR, Danish Ministry of Taxation v. A.P. Møller – Maersk A/S and Case BS-16812/2022-HJR, Danish Ministry of Taxation v. TotalEnergies EP Danmark A/S, available at https://domstol.dk/media/0s5nv5zm/15265-16812-2022-dom-til-hjemmesiden.pdf (in Danish) (accessed 10 Jan. 2024). An unofficial translation of the ruling in English can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/susi-baerentzen-4600326_unofficial-translation-by-susi-baerentzen-activity-7105549375321292800-3lS3?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop (accessed 10 Jan. 2024). in the largest Danish transfer pricing case to date. In addition to its considerable adjustments, the ruling has been a spectacular addition to a decade-long development in the Danish transfer pricing regulation due to the handling of corporate losses, discretionary assessments and aggregated assessments of individual transactions.