• Do you have at least five years' experience in an audit or audit-related role in a national tax administration?

• Have you retired within the last five years or are you currently serving in a tax administration?

• Looking for an opportunity to travel and share your knowledge?

Experts participating in a TIWB Programme will often be deployed for one to two week-long missions over a period of 12 to 24 months. The Host Administration may or may not provide remuneration for the Expert, but in all cases daily expenses are covered in the Programme Costs. TIWB Experts have experience in areas such as risk review/assessment, case selection, VAT, transfer pricing, thin capitalisation, computer forensic audits, multi-national enterprises/large businesses audits, etc.

Building on the success of the TIWB model and recognising the needs of tax administrations, the TIWB initiative is expanding to provide support in new tax areas. These include tax crime investigations, effective use of automatically exchanged information, tax treaty negotiations and implementation, tax and natural resource contracts, and environmentally-related taxation. Qualified candidates should apply to the UNDP Roster of Experts or have their tax administration contact the TIWB Secretariat to find out how to partner on one of these pilot programmes.

Role of a TIWB Expert

The role of the TIWB Expert is to provide hands-on assistance in the daily audit and audit-related activities of the Host Administration, working on actual audit cases. TIWB Experts work at the local tax office of the Host Administration with the local tax officials. The Host Administration manages the Expert's day-to-day role. The Expert does not take the place of local tax audit staff or carry out audit work that would not otherwise involve local audit personnel. 

"One of the most rewarding aspects of the job is getting to know the local team and seeing their confidence, knowledge and capabilities increase from one visit to the next.”

Chris Brolly, TIWB Expert for Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC)

Position of the TIWB Expert within the Host Administration

Although the TIWB Expert will in most cases be considered to have the same position as an employee of the Host Administration when performing his/her tasks, it is likely – e.g. because of the advisory component in their tasks – that the position of the Expert may differ on some points compared to the position of regular employees of the Host Administration. 

‌There must also be a clear chain of responsibility for management of the Expert. It may vary depending on whether the Expert is a recently retired official or a currently serving official. In the latter case, for instance, the management chain will need to take into account the Partner Administration. Agreed processes should be in place to manage any difficulties which may arise during the TIWB Programme, between the Host Administration and the Expert, for example, concerning the approach or technique of the Expert. In cases where the Expert is a currently serving tax official, the Partner Administration will be informed about the nature of the difficulties. In advance of the TIWB Programme, the Experts will need to work with the Host Administration to ensure that an appropriate framework for the specific TIWB Programme is put in place. In the case of currently serving experts this will be done in conjunction with their local administration, that is, the Partner Administration. ‌

Whether the Expert is a currently serving official or a recently retired expert will change some aspects of the TIWB programme framework, by possibly shifting certain responsibilities of the involved parties.

Recently retired tax officials

Recently retired tax officials interested in becoming TIWB Experts may signal their desire to participate via the Tax Audit Expert "Expression of Interest". Retired Experts often participate in TIWB Programmes on a voluntary basis, with their costs of participating (e.g. travel and daily expenses) covered by the Host Administration or by a third-party sponsor such as a Donor Partner.

The position of a retired Expert within a TIWB Programme is similar to that of local Host Administration officials. In some countries, legislation stipulates that retired government officials may still have specific obligations to their former home administration regarding matters related to fiscal confidentiality. These obligations must be taken into account when setting the TIWB Programme Terms of Reference.

The Terms of Reference clearly stipulate the position of the TIWB Expert within the Host Administration (including the responsibilities of each party) and the protections and reporting structure which apply (i.e. in the event of allegations of improper conduct, conflict of interest, fiscal confidentiality breach, etc).

• Retired Tax Expert TIWB Application Process

1. At any time, an interested tax audit expert may complete an online TIWB Expert "Expression of Interest" form in order to stay informed of upcoming opportunities, including staying informed about Roster of Experts application periods and learning more about the offerings of the TIWB Initiative and its various Programmes.
   
   
2. At specific times throughout the year, applications are accepted for the Roster for Tax Experts on the UNDP website. All qualified applicants should apply in order to be included in the TIWB Roster of Experts for placement in a future TIWB Programme. Applications for the Roster for Tax Experts are accepted every 3 to 6 months. [Currently serving officials may only apply directly to TIWB with written clearance from their tax administrations.]
   
   
3. When a TIWB Assistance Request is submitted by a Host Administration, the TIWB Secretariat notifies Experts on the Roster of Experts of the specific, upcoming TIWB Programme. The TIWB Secretariat disseminates a Programme Summary to qualified persons on the Roster of Experts, as well as to the international contact points in Partner Administrations who may have the capacity to second a tax audit official to the TIWB Programme. If qualified experts from the Roster of Experts or a Partner Administration are not available, the UNDP will advertise the Expert position for the specific TIWB Programme via its website. These vacancies will also be posted on the Resources page of the TIWB website.
   
   
4. Depending on the funding of the specific TIWB Programme, any remuneration and reimbursement of Programme Costs will be covered by either:
   • Host Administration;
   • Partner Administration;
   • Donor Partner funding the TIWB Programme; or
   • UNDP managed TIWB Fund.
     
     
5. The TIWB Secretariat will provide the Host Administration with the professional resume/CV of available Expert(s). UNDP, TIWB and Host Administration jointly decide on the most appropriate Expert for the TIWB Programme.
   
   
6. The parties to the TIWB Programme can then co-ordinate drafting of appropriate Terms of Reference.