Croatian oil and gas company INA, 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.