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Our Tax Strategy

This document, approved by the board of Boehringer Ingelheim Limited, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health UK Limited, Boehringer Ingelheim Ireland Limited, and the UK & Irish dormant and in liquidation entities (the “UK & Ireland Group”), sets out the tax strategy of Boehringer Ingelheim UK & Ireland Group and the approach to conducting its tax affairs and dealing with the tax risks for the year ending 31 December 2023. 

The ultimate parent undertaking and controlling party of the UK & Ireland Group is C. H. Boehringer Sohn AG & Co. KG, which is a family owned company.

In the Boehringer Ingelheim Code of Conduct we emphasise our objective and commitment that "We are driven by results, working with integrity and passion". This is based on our longstanding tradition that integrity is an important value per se, especially so for a company which works directly for the wellbeing of people and animals.

The long-term success of our company may only be sustained if we are and remain an honest organisation which is highly esteemed by our business partners, patients, health care providers and the authorities likewise. Therefore, it is our ambition and commitment to act in line with applicable laws and not to violate any of them.

Risk management

Boehringer Ingelheim Group requires its local subsidiaries to be tax compliant and to follow local tax legislation. The Transfer Pricing strategy aims to follow the OECD transfer pricing guidelines to all the worldwide intercompany transactions, minimising double taxation and being compliant with the global and local transfer pricing provisions. In the case of UK & Ireland, the transfer pricing strategy targets a level of profitability that responds to the functions and risks performed by the UK & Ireland Group as a low risk distributor and service provider.

The UK & Ireland Group maintains a tax risk register and processes are documented and controls in place to minimise tax risks. 

In cases where the tax guidance is unclear or the UK & Ireland Group does not feel it has the necessary expert knowledge to assess the tax consequences adequately, external advice may be sought to provide specialist guidance and support the decision making process.

The UK & Ireland Group is independently audited annually, and its tax accounting is reviewed in accordance with this process. The Finance Director and the relevant members of the Finance team will act, where deemed appropriate, upon recommendations made as a result of such audits.

The UK & Ireland Group also recognises its responsibilities to implement Government guidance for the corporate offences of failure to prevent the criminal facilitation of tax evasion. The group takes a risk-based approach to ensure sufficient training, systems and controls are in place to meet its obligations.

Governance

The Finance Director is the Board member with executive responsibility for the UK & Ireland Group’s tax operations and oversight of tax risk. The Finance Director attends all UK & Ireland Board Meetings as appropriate and gives regular updates to the Executive Committee on tax issues. The Executive Committee is fully committed to supporting the tax strategy and ongoing compliance.

Relationship with HMRC and Revenue

The UK & Ireland Group is committed to the principles of openness and transparency in its approach to dealing with HMRC and Revenue, and is committed to:

  • Make fair, accurate and timely disclosure in correspondence and returns, and respond to queries and information requests in a timely fashion.

  • If tax enquiries or audits are opened, we work collaboratively to resolve and to achieve early agreement and certainty.

  • Interpret the relevant laws in a reasonable way, and ensure transactions are structured consistently.

  • Ensure all interactions with tax authorities are conducted in an open, collaborative, and professional manner.

  • Ensure the correct amount of tax is paid as and when it falls due.