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UK law firm Masons has joined forces with Economic Laws Practice (ELP), a tax boutique in Bombay. Masons is targeting Indian Public Private Partnership and Private Finance Initiative work and will use ELP to offer tax advice.

Andrea Silvestri: Law firms handle high-end tax transactions Two Italian law firms have significantly expanded their tax practices to plug a perceived gap in the market for international tax services. Studio Legale Sutti opened a new tax office in Milan while Bonelli Erede Pappalardo poached international tax specialist Andrea Silvestri from Deloitte & Touche in Boston to lead their newly-formed tax group.

Sherif Assef: Clients are looking for alternatives Ceteris, the independent transfer pricing boutique, has poached Sherif Assef, Ernst & Young's financial services transfer pricing leader in New York. Assef left Ernst & Young on October 1 2003. He will lead the New York office of Ceteris as executive vice president.

Three months after the landmark signing of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) between Hong Kong and China, the two governments have signed six annexes further clarifying the terms of the arrangement. The arrangement covers three broad areas - trade in goods, trade in services, and trade and investment facilitation. For trade in goods, from January 1 2004 the CEPA permits exports of Hong Kong origin from 273 tariff classes to enjoy zero tariffs, as long as they meet CEPA rules-of-origin requirements. Included in the 270 classes are electrical and electronic products, textiles and clothing, jewelry and cosmetics. China has also agreed to apply a zero import tariff upon applications by local manufacturers for other tariff classes maintained in China's tariff system that meet the CEPA rules of origin. It will do this by January 1 2006 at the latest.

Richard Irwin of PricewaterhouseCoopers reveals a changing tax-landscape for multinationals investing in the country

Joseph Lee: Companies should arrange APAs after a transfer pricing audit The People's Republic of China plans to release an advanced pricing agreement (APA) programme, possibly before the end of 2003.

Belgian taxpayers could receive a tax amnesty to regularize their undeclared offshore savings. Marc Quaghebeur of Vandendijk & Partners reveals how

In a bid to clear the backlog of tax cases, the Indian government introduced a Bill to set up a national tax tribunal on December 8 2003. All pending cases on direct and indirect taxes before the High Courts will be transferred to National Tax Tribunal.

European Tax Commissioner Frits Bolkstein issued a warning to member states over corporate tax policies at an EU conference on tax reform on December 5 and 6 2003. National corporate tax policies face challenges from the European Court of Justice over cross-border investment in Europe.

Irish law firm Matheson Ormsby Prentice has elected the head of its tax practice Liam Quirke as managing partner. Quirke will retain a fee-earning role and remain head of the tax practice when he takes the top job on January 1 2004.