Telefónica will pay S/1,361 million and will split the rest of its debt with Peru

Following a final ruling by the Judiciary, issued in mid-January 2023, Telefónica del Perú reported that it will comply with the payment of S/1,361 million 673,962 to Sunat.

This controversy has been going on for more than two decades over the Income Tax declaration for the fiscal years 2000 and 2001, and according to the telecommunications company, the delays occurred for reasons that cannot be attributed to them. They added that 80% of the amount in dispute is made up of interest and fines “outside the deadlines established by law.”

The information was made known through an important event in the Superintendence of the Stock Marketwhere they also specified that Telefónica del Perú will request a fractionation of other debts before Sunat, in accordance with the Tax Code.

Likewise, the company’s board of directors approved new financing of S/1,700 million for the granting of guarantee letters in favor of Sunat for the eventual division and postponement of the required tax debt as well as to pay any amount.

Bank financing was also authorized for up to S/1,200 million and to issue and subscribe the promissory notes and agreements that are required for said operations.

In the opinion of Telefónica del Perú, they have always paid taxes and maintained a history of compliance in their 30 years of operation in the Peruvian market, to the point that they contributed more than S/11,000 million in IR payments and other contributions; and they noted that upon concluding this chapter, they will continue to deploy infrastructure for connectivity and provision of their services.

The endless story

The S/1,361 million that the multinational company with Spanish capital will honor responds only to a part of the amount that is discussed in other tax and judicial instances with the Peruvian state. According to data collected by Ojo Público, Telefónica del Perú’s total debt amounts to S/4,975 million 284,610 as of February 2024.

The firm indicated that the controversy with Sunat was created “by income that they never received in 1998, 2000 and 2001, and that years later, in an audit effort, the collecting entity objected to expense deductions and they had to accept and pay a part of these .

To date, Telefónica SA – the company’s main shareholder – has been in arbitration at the ICSID with the Peruvian State since March 2021.

Massive blockade since April 22

The Association for the Promotion of National Infrastructure (AFIN) specified that on April 22, cell phones not registered on Osiptel’s white list will be blocked and will lose their service.

This measure is taken because nearly 80% of the import of mobile phones in the country is not carried out by the operating companies: some enter through the Amazon taking advantage of the region’s tax regime and due to the problem of smartphone smuggling that is hampered.

Fact

23.8% of the total of the main debtors of the State corresponds to Telefónica del Perú.