Croatian Refiner INA Fails to Overturn Back Taxes Claim

Croatian oil and gas company INA [ZSE:INA-R-A] said on Friday it has failed to overturn a claim filed by the country's Tax Administration for the payment of 328 million kuna ($48.7 million/42.5 million euro) in back taxes for 2010 and 2011.

INA said in a bourse filing it has received a ruling from the Tax Administration that rejects its appeal of the claim as not delivered on time.

The company said it believes it had submitted the appeal within the law-prescribed timeframe and will therefore take all available legal steps to dispute the ruling.

"We again point out that INA calculated its tax obligation in line with the best business practice and relevant regulations, applying the international accounting standards. Therefore we consider that the Tax Authority methodology in the ruling, is unfounded," the statement said.

Claims for the payment of back taxes - together with the unpredictable regulatory framework, are making business activities and investment possibilities more difficult, INA cautioned.

"In the context of refining business this especially refers to financially demanding and complex investments, such as the construction of heavy residue processing plant at the Rijeka refinery," the company said.

The Rijeka refinery is one of two operated by INA. The second one, located in Sisak, was idled as of January 14 due to the depletion of domestic crude oil stocks.

Hungary's MOL owns 49.08% of INA and the Croatian government controls a further 44.84%. In September 2013, the two sides launched talks to renegotiate the terms for the company's management.

INA has exploration and production operations in Croatia, Africa and the Middle East and operates a filling station network on its home market and in neighboring countries.

Source: SeeNews