The Indian tax authority has brought Samsung and managers to pay $ 601 million to evade customs duties when importing telecommunications equipment. This is one of the largest tax fines in the country recently.
The fine is a significant part of Samsung profits in India, last year reached $ 955 million. The company is actively operating in the electronic market and smartphones and has the right to appeal this decision in tax or court courts.
The investigation began in 2023, when the company's network received a warning about the wrong classification of equipment. According to Reuters, we are talking about the components for mobile towers, provided by operator Jio Jio Mukush Ambani. Instead of paying 10 matches 20% of Samsung, she said the details were exempt from tax.
The company tried to persuade tax authorities to refuse proceeding procedures, declaring that a similar classification was previously accepted without objecting. However, in the Decree on January 8, the customs authorities rejected these arguments. Member Sonal Bajad said that Samsung deliberately provided wrong documents.
Therefore, the company has to pay 44.6 billion rupees ($ 520 million) in the form of unpaid taxes, as well as 100%fines. In addition, a fine of $ 81 million is applied to the top seven Indian managers, including Vice President Sung Beam Hong and Dong Won Chu's financial director.
Samsung in an official statement note that disputes are involved in explaining the classification of customs and companies comply with Indian laws. Currently, lawyers are evaluating possible protection options.