Italy probes Amazon over alleged 1.2 billion euro tax evasion
Italian prosecutors are investigating e-commerce large Amazon and three of its executives over alleged tax evasion price 1.2 billion euros ($1.26 billion), two sources with direct information of the matter mentioned on Friday.
Information of the investigation broke final 12 months, however the particulars over its extent emerged on Friday, first reported by the Italian every day Corriere della Sera.
Amazon mentioned in an emailed assertion to Reuters it will not touch upon ongoing investigations.
“Amazon is dedicated to complying with all relevant tax legal guidelines”, the corporate mentioned, stressing it was amongst Italy’s prime 50 tax contributors, with its tax invoice for the nation exceeding $1.4 billion in 2023.
Milan prosecutors and tax police positioned the three managers and Amazon’s Luxembourg-based European unit beneath investigation for tax fraud in on-line gross sales in Italy throughout 2019-2021, the sources mentioned on Friday.
They mentioned the invoice for Amazon might rise to three billion euros, taking into consideration penalties and curiosity.
Based on the sources, Amazon’s algorithm permits it to promote in Italy items from non-EU sellers, principally Chinese language, with out disclosing their id, serving to them keep away from paying Italian value-added tax (VAT).
Below Italian legislation, an middleman providing items on the market in Italy is co-responsible for the non-payment of VAT by non-EU sellers that use its e-commerce platform.
If the allegations arise in court docket, they might pose a risk to Amazon’s enterprise mannequin throughout Europe, since VAT is a harmonised European tax, the 2 sources mentioned.
The investigation, which began in 2021, resulted from routine checks carried out by tax police in an space north of Milan, the 2 sources mentioned. They might not be named as a result of they weren’t authorised to talk publicly on the difficulty.
In one other case, Italian tax police in July 2024 seized roughly 121 million euros from an Italian unit of Amazon as a part of an investigation into alleged tax fraud and unlawful labour practices that’s ongoing.
Milan prosecutors accused the logistics unit Amazon Italia Transport of circumventing labour and tax legal guidelines, counting on cooperatives or restricted legal responsibility corporations that equipped employees whereas omitting VAT duties and decreasing social safety funds.
In response Amazon mentioned on the time that it had revered the required guidelines.
($1 = 0.9555 euros)
(Reporting by Emilio Parodi, enhancing by Alvise Armellini, Barbara Lewis and Alistair Bell)
