Multinational taxpayers in Africa will have to start developing their transfer pricing policies and documentation to deal with the increasing number of countries in the region putting guidelines in place or reforming what it already has.

Uganda is the latest to announce such plans. It intends to update its transfer pricing guidelines in the new year to comply with the OECD’s arm-length standard.

The country’s previous rules were vague and failed to adhere to any international standard.

The decision by the Uganda Revenue Authority to implement OECD standards comes after Kenya introduced transfer pricing rules in 2006.

It is expected that Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi will issue similar rules during 2010.

This announcement comes two weeks after the OECD launched a new forum designed to improve tax transparency and administration in African states.

The African Tax Administration Forum's mission is to mobilise domestic tax resources more effectively and increase the accountability of African states to African citizens.

The forum hopes to enhance cooperation between states and to improve benchmarking and peer review procedures.