SBC News GVC Holdings prepares for €187 million tax battle

GVC Holdings prepares for €187 million tax battle

FTSE online gambling group GVC Holdings has confirmed that it will move to appeal its recently sanctioned ‘tax audit assessment’ by the Greek Audit Centre for Large Enterprises.

Updating the market, GVC reveals that it has been charged with a tax assessment of €187 million for its Greek subsidiary’s performance for the audit periods of 2010 and 2011.

During the disputed periods, the Greek subsidiary was operated by Sportingbet Plc, prior to the online bookmaker’s acquisition by GVC Holdings in 2013.

In its statement, GVC ‘strongly disputes’ the Audit Centre’s calculation, stating that the €187 million figure is ‘substantially higher by multiples of the total Greek revenues generated by the subsidiary’.

Advised by Greek legal and tax professionals, GVC claims that it has strong grounds to dismiss the assessment, and will therefore file an appeal with the Greek courts.

Protecting its existing Greek subsidiary operations, GVC has entered into a ‘payment scheme’ with the Tax Authority, where the business will make ‘held on account’ transactions of €7.8 million per month over the next 24 months.

GVC governance states that entering into such an arrangement is not an admission that the assessment is correct and the Group will seek to recover such payments’.

Furthermore, as a prudent provision, GVC governance has sanctioned approximately €200 million attached to firm’s 2017 financial accounts to cover its dispute.

“The Board strongly disputes the basis of the Assessment calculation, believing the assessed quantum to be widely exaggerated and is confident in the grounds of appeal”.

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