Full Breakdown
BRICS Tax Heads Meeting 2026: New Working Groups Aim to Shape Global Tax Rules
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event – Proposal of Two Permanent BRICS Working Groups
On September 23, 2026, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed the BRICS heads of tax authorities in New Delhi. She announced the creation of two new working groups – one on International Taxation and Transfer Pricing and another on Revenue Statistics – and said the meeting would examine the scoping documents for these groups. The groups are intended to provide a sustained institutional platform for sharing experience and developing common tools among the eleven BRICS economies.
Background – Ongoing Renegotiation of International Tax Rules
The meeting took place while multilateral negotiations on international taxation are under active revision. A key forum is the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation (UNFCITC), whose text is being drafted for completion by 2027. The decisions emerging from these negotiations are projected to shape cross-border taxation for a generation, according to the finance minister.
Key Participants and Institutional Context
- BRICS members: Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates.
- India holds the BRICS chairmanship in 2026; China will assume the chair in 2027.
- Arvind Shrivastava, Revenue Secretary, outlined the operational scope of the proposed groups.
Official Statements & Responses
She highlighted India’s contribution of digital tax-administration tools—faceless assessment, pre-filled returns, real-time invoice authentication, and AI-enabled taxpayer assistance—shared through the BRICS Tax Collaboration Tool.
Shrivastava described the International Taxation and Transfer Pricing Working Group as a “permanent BRICS platform” for exchanging expertise on treaty interpretation, transfer-pricing audits, advance pricing agreements and mutual-agreement procedures, as well as for coordinating positions in UNFCITC negotiations. He added that the Revenue Statistics Working Group will develop a framework that reflects the fiscal realities of BRICS economies rather than importing assumptions from dissimilar systems.
Data & Statistics – BRICS Economic Weight
The BRICS bloc accounts for roughly 40 % of global GDP and nearly half of the world’s population, giving it a strong voice in multilateral tax discussions.
Why It Matters – Potential Impact on Developing Countries
Sitharaman warned that transfer-pricing disputes impose a disproportionate cost on developing-country tax administrations, while revenue frameworks that ignore local fiscal realities can distort perceptions of those economies. Institutionalising cooperation through the new working groups aims to strengthen BRICS’ collective bargaining power in global tax rule-making.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Transfer pricing disputes cost developing-country administrations disproportionately. Revenue frameworks that don't fit our fiscal realities distort how we are seen and how we see ourselves,” — Nirmala Sitharaman
- “The rules of international taxation are being renegotiated,” — Nirmala Sitharaman
What’s Next – Institutional Continuity and Future Leadership
The finance minister stated that the working groups are designed to “outlast India’s chairship” and to provide a foundation for the next BRICS presidency. With China slated to take over the chair in 2027, the groups are expected to continue guiding BRICS coordination in international tax negotiations and to support capacity-building initiatives such as the BRICS Young Tax Professionals Programme and the BRICS Tax Support Network.