Research integrity · methodology

How the library is verified.

The Observatory distinguishes original official texts, official source snapshots, and working consolidations, so a reader can understand both what a document is and how it should be used.

The current library snapshot is dated 27 September 2026. It is a research archive, not legal advice. Before relying on a provision, consult the current publication issued by the competent public authority.

1. Source hierarchy

Priority is given to official gazettes, government legal portals, ministries of finance and national tax administrations. Each record is labelled so that official primary material is not confused with a working research file.

2. What is collected

For each jurisdiction the collection seeks the corporate and international tax legislation, transfer-pricing legislation, implementing rules, amendments, documentation rules, APA/MAP material and country-by-country reporting sources that are relevant to the defined research scope.

3. Consolidated texts

An official unified text is preserved in its original form. Where no official consolidation is available, a working consolidation must be labelled as unofficial and accompanied by its source list, effective dates, included amendments and outstanding verification points.

4. File and version checks

  1. Files are named consistently to identify the act, number, year, topic and source status.
  2. Downloads are checked to ensure that a purported PDF is a real document, rather than an error page saved with a PDF extension.
  3. Source links, access dates, issuing body, language, amendment coverage and hashes are recorded for the collection workflow.
  4. Country status is reviewed to identify incomplete coverage and materials that need an updated official check.

5. Clear status for readers

The site uses record descriptions and source labels to explain whether an item is an official text, a source snapshot, a reference text or an analytical review. This avoids presenting a practical research consolidation as an official publication.

Detailed collection specification and status report
The underlying report includes country-by-country status, collection rules and outstanding actions.

Open source report