Tax transparency continues to gain importance on the European policy agenda. With the adoption of EU Directive 2021/2101 in December 2021, the European Union introduced mandatory Public Country-by-Country Reporting (EU Public CbCR). Under this Directive, large multinational enterprises are required to publicly disclose key information on their activities, profits, and corporate income taxes on a country-by-country basis. The objective is to enhance transparency regarding where profits are generated and where corporate income tax is paid, both within and outside the EU.
The EU Directive applies to financial years starting on or after 22 June 2024 at the latest, although some Member States, such as Romania and Croatia, opted for earlier implementation. For most calendar-year taxpayers, this means that the first reporting year is 2025, with the first public report due within 12 months after year-end (i.e. by 31 December 2026).
Scope
The EU Public CbCR obligation applies to multinational enterprises that:
- have consolidated revenues exceeding EUR 750 million in each of the last two financial years; and
- are headquartered in the EU; or
- are headquartered outside the EU but have at least one qualifying medium-sized or large EU subsidiary or an equivalent EU branch.
Certain standalone undertakings established in an EU Member State and exceeding total revenues of EUR 750 million in each of the last two financial years are also subject to the EU Public CbCR obligation.
Banks and certain investment firms are explicitly exempt from the EU Public CbCR obligation.
The thresholds included in the EU Directive to determine whether a subsidiary or branch qualifies are as follows:
- Subsidiaries qualify if at least two out of the following three criteria are met during the financial year:
- EUR 5 million balance sheet total;
- EUR 10 million net revenue;
- an average of 50 employees.
- Branches qualify if the net turnover threshold is met in each of the last two consecutive financial years.
Member States may apply higher size thresholds, within the limits of the EU Directive, to determine whether a subsidiary or branch qualifies as medium-sized or large. Accordingly, the assessment must be performed on a country-by-country basis.
Reporting responsibility
For EU-headquartered groups, the ultimate EU parent company must prepare and publish the report in its own EU Member State.
For non-EU-headquartered groups, it is generally acceptable for the non-EU parent company to publish the report on its own website and designate one of the qualifying EU subsidiaries or EU branches to file the report with the relevant national trade registry.
It is therefore crucial for groups to identify the reporting entity in a timely manner and ensure that internal processes are aligned accordingly.
Content of the Public CbC Report
For each relevant jurisdiction, the following information must be disclosed:
- brief description of activities;
- number of full-time equivalent employees;
- revenues, including related-party revenues;
- profit or loss before income tax;
- income tax accrued for the current financial year;
- income tax paid;
- accumulated earnings.
This information must be presented:
- separately for each EU Member State;
- separately for each jurisdiction included on the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes or “grey list” jurisdictions, if listed for two consecutive years;
- on an aggregated basis for all other jurisdictions.
Publication requirements and reporting format
The report must be made publicly accessible free of charge, typically via the company website and the relevant national trade register.
The report must be prepared in a standardised XHTML format with Inline XBRL (iXBRL) and remain publicly available for at least five years.
Implementation of the EU Directive in Belgium
On 26 January 2024, Belgium implemented the EU Directive through publication in the Belgian Official Gazette and incorporated the new provisions into the Belgian Code of Companies and Associations (CCA).
In Belgium, the following thresholds apply to determine whether a subsidiary or branch qualifies:
- A subsidiary qualifies if it exceeds at least two of the following three criteria during the financial year:
- EUR 6 million balance sheet total;
- EUR 11.25 million net revenue;
- an average of 50 employees.
- A branch qualifies if it achieves a total turnover of at least EUR 9 million in each of the last two consecutive financial years.
In addition to separate reporting for each EU Member State and each jurisdiction included on the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions, Belgium also requires separate disclosure for:
- jurisdictions listed by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes as non-effective or non-compliant with the standard for exchange of information on request, such as Montenegro and Egypt;
- jurisdictions officially designated by Belgium as tax havens or low-/no-tax jurisdictions pursuant to Articles 179 and 73/4quater of the Belgian Royal Decree implementing the Belgian Income Tax Code (BITC).
Regarding publication requirements, Belgium implemented the “website exemption”, meaning that companies are exempt from publishing the EU Public CbCR report on their website if the report is made available free of charge via the public registry.
Implementation of the EU Directive in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, the EU Directive was implemented through the Decree Implementatiebesluit Richtlijn openbaarmaking winstbelasting of 14 February 2024.
The following thresholds apply in the Netherlands to determine whether a subsidiary or branch qualifies as medium-sized or large:
- a balance sheet total exceeding EUR 7.5 million;
- a net turnover exceeding EUR 15 million;
- and/or an average number of employees exceeding 50.
Although the Netherlands did not implement the website exemption, a temporary safeguard clause exists for sensitive information that could cause commercial harm.
Implementation of the EU Directive in Spain
Spain implemented the EU Directive through Law 28/2022 of 21 December on the promotion of the start-up ecosystem, which amended Law 22/2015 of 20 July on the Audit of Accounts. The transposition was introduced through the Sixth Final Provision of Law 28/2022, which amended Article 5 of Law 22/2015 and inserted a new Eleventh Additional Provision establishing the reporting obligations.
The provisions entered into force on 23 December 2022 and apply to financial years starting on or after 22 June 2024.
In Spain, the scope of the reporting obligation for subsidiaries and branches is determined by reference to the concept of a “small entity” under Article 3 of Law 22/2015 on the Audit of Accounts.
- A subsidiary falls within scope if it does not qualify as a small entity under Article 3.
- A branch falls within scope if it likewise does not qualify as a small entity under the same provision.
Under Article 3 of Law 22/2015, an entity qualifies as small if, for two consecutive financial years, it meets at least two of the following three criteria:
- EUR 4 million balance sheet total;
- EUR 8 million net turnover;
- an average of 50 employees.
Accordingly, Spanish law applies a “non-small entity” test, meaning that subsidiaries and branches exceeding the above thresholds may fall within the scope of the Public Country-by-Country Reporting obligation, provided the group-level revenue requirement is also met.
Under Spanish law, the report must be published within six months following the end of the financial year, filed with the Mercantile Registry together with the annual accounts, and made available free of charge on the company’s website for at least five years.
In addition, the Spanish transposition assigns a specific role to statutory auditors. The audit report must indicate whether the audited entity was required to publish the income tax information report for the preceding financial year and, where applicable, whether the report has been duly published and made publicly accessible.
UK outlook on Public CbCR
The United Kingdom was among the early adopters of the OECD BEPS Action 13 framework, implementing Country-by-Country Reporting in 2016 to enhance transparency regarding the global tax affairs of large multinational enterprise (MNE) groups.
HMRC’s International Exchange of Information Manual provides detailed guidance on scope, filing obligations, OECD alignment, notifications, and exchange arrangements. Updated as recently as January 2026, the manual outlines which entities must file, the applicable thresholds, and how HMRC uses CbC data for risk assessment and compliance purposes.
UK-headed MNE groups with annual consolidated revenues of EUR 750 million or more are required to file a CbC report for each accounting period in which they meet the threshold.
Where the Ultimate Parent Entity (UPE) is based in a jurisdiction that does not require CbCR, or where exchange agreements are not in place or not functioning effectively, UK entities may also have a local filing obligation.
The UK continues to refine its CbCR regime and position itself in line with global transparency trends. Although traditional CbCR remains confidential, policy discussions and commentary suggest that the UK may follow the EU and Australia in adopting public CbCR measures, signalling a continued focus on tax transparency and anti-avoidance.
How can Auren & Moore assist?
Although much of the required information may already be available through existing OECD CbC reporting, public disclosure introduces additional considerations.
We can support companies with:
- assessing whether the group falls within the scope of EU Public CbCR;
- identifying the responsible reporting entity and analysing applicable local rules;
- preparing or reviewing the content of the report;
- aligning EU Public CbCR with other reporting obligations;
- implementing processes for iXBRL tagging and publication compliance.
Given the required data collection, technical formatting (iXBRL), internal validation, and coordination across jurisdictions, it is advisable to begin preparations well ahead of the first reporting deadline in 2026.
