Argentine customs fine Chinese Huawei for not declaring imported software

Customs Argentina claims the Argentine subsidiary of the Chinese technology company Huawei 28 million dollars for unpaid taxes and a fine of 407 million pesos (2 million dollars), official sources reported on Tuesday.

The claim arises because for the Argentine Customs it is not possible for the Chinese firm to import equipment (hardware) without buying the software and without canceling the license rights to the parent company abroad, according to an analysis of the area of ​​related companies of Customs on the value of imports of the Argentine subsidiary of Huawei Tech Investment.

The Argentine Customs detailed that the Argentine subsidiary of Huawei imported equipment (hardware) for technological developments in Argentina to its parent company in China.

These equipments are part of global contracts called “Systems”, with technical specifications that make “inescapable“Hardware, software and license rights, as they are comprehensive purchase requirements, explained the state agency.

Argentina is based on the fact that it is part of the General Agreement on Customs Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which establishes that the importer is obliged to pay, in addition to the agreed price for the merchandise, an additional amount called “canon, license fee or simply royalty”. in return for the right to use that intellectual creation of the other party, and that sum of money “integrates the value for customs purposes.”

For Customs, the technology company was fully aware of the license fees that it was obliged to pay for the importation of the goods and knew of the existence and amount of said obligation, but only declared the value of the equipment without including in the base of the customs taxes the value of the software and the licences.

Due to the inaccurate declaration of the company that harms the treasury, Customs claims the difference in tax and applied the fine.

Source: EFE