Gia Automobile News According to Reuters, a document shows that India has issued a notice to German automaker Volkswagen Group, accusing it of “deliberately” reducing import duties on its brands Audi, Volkswagen and Skoda cars, thereby evading U.S. dollars.
The September 30 notice stated that Volkswagen Group had imported complete vehicles from India that hardly required assembly.
According to regulations, such vehicles were subject to import tariffs of “30% to 35%” in India.
But the company avoided tariffs by “misdeclaring and misclassifying” these imported products as “individual auto parts” and ultimately paid only “5% to 15%.
” It is reported that a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volkswagen Group in India has imported luxury models including Skoda Superb and Kodiaq, Audi A4 and Q5, as well as Volkswagen Tiguan SUVs from India.
An Indian investigation found that the company used different consignments to evade testing and “deliberately avoided paying” higher taxes.
Skoda Superb.
Photo source: Skoda, Indian authorities said that since 2012, Volkswagen Group’s wholly owned subsidiary in India should have paid approximately US$2.
35 billion in import duties and several other related taxes and fees to the Indian government, but the company only paid US$981 million and currently owes US$1.
36 billion to the Indian government.
Volkswagen Group’s wholly owned subsidiary in India said in a statement that the company is a responsible organization that fully complies with all global and local laws and regulations in India.
The company also said it was analyzing tax evasion notices issued by India and would fully cooperate with relevant Indian authorities in the investigation.
It is reported that the notice requires Volkswagen Group to respond within 30 days, but the company has not disclosed whether it has complied.
In response to the above reports, India’s Ministry of Finance and Customs have not responded to Reuters’s request for comment.
Volkswagen Group’s share price fell 2.
13% after the above report was released.
The news of suspected tax evasion comes as Volkswagen Group escalates in a dispute with German workers over planned German factory closures and layoffs, and the company is also facing fierce competition from China carmakers.
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