Telefonica del Peru must pay the largest fine in its history in our country. Through an important fact reported to the Superintendence of the Stock Market (SMV), the company said it had been notified of various rulings issued by the Supreme Court that resolved “unfavorably” processes followed with the National Superintendence of Tax Administration ( Sunat) referred to Income Tax. The amount in dispute is close to 790 million euros, corresponding to some US$ 854 million at the exchange rate.
Company sources explained to El País that the sanction refers to the income tax for the years 2000 and 2001. They also specified that “it will hardly have a financial impact on the telecommunications group”, since it already had provisions of 790 million euros. in case they lose this process.
With somewhat less optimism, in our country the company points out that, although it has made “sufficient provisions” over time in relation to these processes, the impact of the decisions is still a matter of evaluation and must be liquidated by the Sunat.
Telefónica del Perú reiterates, as it has reported on various occasions, that the current circumstances had their origin in the inadequate tax management of the State.
“Among other things, the original amount of the disputes has increased exponentially due to the interest generated by the delay, not attributable to the company, of almost 20 years in the processing of the disputes,” says Telefónica.
Telefónica communicates the sentence of the Supreme Court of Peru before the SMV
Telefónica: millionaire debt with the Sunat
According to the company, this serious delay has meant that the amount claimed by the collecting entity is currently made up of more than 80% interest and fines.
It should be mentioned that, in 2021, the Constitutional Court conceded that Telefónica del Perú was right, acknowledging that the latter was charged interest for delays not attributable to the company.
“Unfortunately, the adoption of this decision caused public discussions between the magistrates of the Court and the criterion on which it was based was inexplicably not included in a second case pursued by the company with Sunat, despite having the same characteristics,” he says. the company.
Telefónica del Perú states that it has paid, during its 28 years in the country, more than US$ 10,000 million to the Peruvian treasury which, added to the notified rulings, place the company’s tax rate “in ratios far removed from any international logic.”
The data
The main shareholder of the company has maintained an international arbitration since March 2021 before the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) for various conducts of the Peruvian State in violation of the Agreement for the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments between Spain and Peru, including matters related to these tax issues.
Source: Larepublica
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