The Italian Justice demands 89 million euros from the Deoleo oil group, owner of brands such as Carbonell or Koipe for a customs inspection of two of its subsidiaries. Through its subsidiary Carapelli Firenze, the company “has received notification from the Italian court of second instance of an unfavorable ruling” regarding a tax claim, as explained to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).
Deoleo details to the stock market supervisor that “the dispute is caused by the customs inspection initiated in fiscal year 2014 by the Customs Office” of its subsidiary.
“The procedure used by Carapelli Firenze during the period under investigation has been widely used by multinational companies and was inherited” by the Spanish company after the purchase of the business in Italy.
Specifically, it explains that the Customs Inspection questioned the “custom processing contract” that “was signed by Carapelli International”, a business now dissolved, and the aforementioned Carapelli Firenze. “Under this contract, Carapelli Firenze was in charge of processing olive oil coming from outside the European Union, taking advantage of a series of recognized tax exemptions in Italy under community customs regulations,” he assumes. “The Customs Office argued that Carapelli Firenze should not have benefited from the corresponding tax regime because, in its opinion, Carapelli International lacked autonomy in decision-making.”
Now, Deoleo, through Carapelli Firenze, is going to request the suspension of payment of the amount claimed, which amounts to approximately 89 million euros and which includes an estimated interest of 26 million euros. Furthermore, he indicates that he will appeal the sentence before the Court of Cassation. “The Company reaffirms its legal position,” he tells the CNMV and “has solid arguments that support its defense in order to win the lawsuit.”
It justifies that “the argument put forward by the Customs Office about the necessary autonomy in decision-making by Carapelli International is not based on either Italian customs regulations or those of the European Union, and there are no judicial precedents in the European Union. in line with the arguments used by the Customs Office.” For this reason, he assures that “he will ask the Court of Cassation to raise a preliminary ruling before the Court of the European Union” and “if the position defended by the Customs Office is confirmed, the business in Europe of international groups would be significantly affected.” .
It also assures the CNMV that “Carapelli International was an entity with economic substance that had the material resources, personnel and operational capacity necessary to subscribe and comply with the obligations derived from the commissioned processing contract. In fact, the Customs Office had recognized the validity of the contract processing contract in its verification and evaluation documents,” he concludes.
As a reference to the impact of the fine, Deoleo lost 34 million during the 2023 financial year, which it attributed to the rise in oil prices last year.
#Fine #million #oil #company #owns #Carbonell #Koipe #customs #inspection #Italy
