Dutch Court Fines BAT €107 Million for False Tax Filings

  A Dutch court has ordered British American Tobacco to pay a fine of €107 million, saying it underreported profits by €1.8 billion during 2013–2016 and will be taxed on that amount. BAT said the ruling was disappointing and stated that it is considering an appeal.

According to a report from theglobeandmail, a Dutch court on Friday ordered British American Tobacco to pay a fine of 107 million euros ($117 million), stating that it underreported profits by 1.8 billion euros during the 2013 to 2016 period and will be taxed accordingly.

This was included in a ruling by the District Court of North Holland, which altered the name of the entity involved in its filing, but British American Tobacco later confirmed that it was the company in question and called the decision “disappointing.”

The court said in a summary of the ruling: “So far, the majority of the fine has been imposed for making false tax claims by deliberately shifting company activities to the United Kingdom.”

British American Tobacco said it is considering an appeal.

The company said: “BAT complies with all applicable tax regulations in all markets where we operate.”

The ruling is the latest legal accusation against BAT after the company agreed in April this year to pay $635 million to U.S. authorities, after a subsidiary admitted charges of conspiring between 2013 and 2017 to violate U.S. sanctions, sell tobacco products to North Korea, and commit bank fraud.