Category: Series of Related Transactions

Israel vs Medtronic Ventor Technologies Ltd, June 2023, District Court, Case No 31671-09-18

Israel vs Medtronic Ventor Technologies Ltd, June 2023, District Court, Case No 31671-09-18

In 2008 and 2009 the Medtronic group acquired the entire share capital of the Israeli company, Ventor Technologies Ltd, for a sum of $325 million. Subsequent to the acquisition various inter-company agreements were entered into between Ventor Technologies Ltd and Medtronics, but no transfer of intangible assets was recognised by the Group for tax purposes. The tax authorities found that all the intangibles previously owned by Ventor had been transferred to Medtronic and issued an assessment of additional taxable profits. An appeal was filed by Medtronic Ventor Technologies Ltd. Judgement of the District Court The court dismissed the appeal and upheld the assessment issued by the tax authorities. Click here for English translation Israel vs medtronic-ventor ORG ... Continue to full case
Canada vs Deans Knight Income Corporation, May 2023, Supreme Court, Case No. 2023 SCC 16

Canada vs Deans Knight Income Corporation, May 2023, Supreme Court, Case No. 2023 SCC 16

In 2007, Forbes Medi-Tech Inc. (now Deans Knight Income Corporation) was a British Columbia-based drug research and nutritional food additive business in financial difficulty. It had accumulated approximately $90 million of unclaimed non-capital losses and other tax credits. Non-capital losses are financial losses resulting from carrying on a business that spends more than it makes in a given year. Under the Income Tax Act (the Act), a taxpayer can reduce their income tax by deducting non-capital losses from its taxable income. If the taxpayer does not use all, or a portion, of the loss in the year it incurred it, they may carry the loss back three years, or forward 20 years. However, under section 111(5) of the Act, when another entity acquires control of the company, the new owners may not carry over those non-capital losses and deduct them from its future taxes, unless the company ... Continue to full case
Israel vs Medingo Ltd, May 2022, District Court, Case No 53528-01-16

Israel vs Medingo Ltd, May 2022, District Court, Case No 53528-01-16

In April 2010 Roche pharmaceutical group acquired the entire share capital of the Israeli company, Medingo Ltd, for USD 160 million. About six months after the acquisition, Medingo was entered into 3 inter-group service agreements: a R&D services agreement, pursuant to which Medingo was to provide R&D services in exchange for cost + 5%. All developments under the agreement would be owned by Roche. a services agreement according to which Medingo was to provided marketing, administration, consultation and support services in exchange for cost + 5%. a manufacturing agreement, under which Medingo was to provide manufacturing and packaging services in exchange for cost + 5. A license agreement was also entered, according to which Roche could now manufacture, use, sell, exploit, continue development and sublicense to related parties the Medingo IP in exchange for 2% of the relevant net revenues. Finally, in 2013, Medingo’s operation ... Continue to full case
India vs Heidelberg Cement India Ltd, March 2019, High Court, Case No ITA-125-2018

India vs Heidelberg Cement India Ltd, March 2019, High Court, Case No ITA-125-2018

Heidelberg Cement India Ltd is engaged in the business of manufacturing of cement and sells them to its customers in India. A TNM method where all the transactions was combined had been used by the company for determining the arm’s length price of its controlled transactions as they were considered closely linked. Following an audit for FY 2010 2011, the Indian tax authorities issued an assessment of additional taxable income where the pricing of the transactions had instead been determined on a transaction by transaction basis. According to the tax authorities, technical know-how fees paid to the parent company were excessive. At issue before the High Court was whether the combined transaction approach as applied by the company or the transaction by transaction approach as applied by the tax authorities was the most appropriate method for determining the arm’s length pricing of the international transactions ... Continue to full case
Canada vs Bank of Montreal, September 2018, Tax Court of Canada, Case No 2018 TCC 187

Canada vs Bank of Montreal, September 2018, Tax Court of Canada, Case No 2018 TCC 187

The Court found that section 245 (GAAR) of the Canadian Income Tax Act did not apply to the transactions in question. Subsection 245(1) defines a “tax benefit” as a reduction, avoidance or deferral of tax. The Respondent says that the tax benefit BMO received was the reduction in its tax payable as a result of subsection 112(3.1) not applying to reduce its share of the capital loss on the disposition of the common shares of NSULC. In 2005, the Bank of Montreal (“BMO”) wanted to lend a total of $1.4 billion USD to a number of its US subsidiaries referred to as the Harris Group. BMO chose to borrow those funds from third parties. Tower Structure It would not have been tax efficient for BMO to simply borrow the funds and lend them to the Harris Group. Such a structure would have resulted in BMO ... Continue to full case
Norway vs. Exxonmobil Production Norway Inc., January 2018, Lagsmanret no LB-2016-160306

Norway vs. Exxonmobil Production Norway Inc., January 2018, Lagsmanret no LB-2016-160306

An assessment was issued by the Norwegian tax authorities for years 2009 2010 and 2011 concerning the interest on a loan between Exxonmobil Production Norway Inc. (EPNI) as the lender and Exxon Mobile Delaware Holdings Inc. (EMDHI) as the borrower. Both EPNI and EMDHI are subsidiaries in the Exxon Group, where the parent company is domiciled in the United States. The loan agreement between EPNI and EMDHI was entered into in 2009. The loan had a drawing facility of NOK 20 billion. The agreed maturity was 2019, and the interest rate was fixed at 3 months NIBOR plus a margin of 30 basis points. The agreement also contained provisions on quarterly interest rate regulation and a interest adjustment clause allowing the lender to adjust the interest rate on changes in the borrower’s creditworthiness. The dispute concerns the margin of 30 basis points and the importance ... Continue to full case
Norway vs. ConocoPhillips, October 2016, Supreme Court HR-2016-988-A, Case No. 2015/1044)

Norway vs. ConocoPhillips, October 2016, Supreme Court HR-2016-988-A, Case No. 2015/1044)

A tax assessments based on anti-avoidance doctrine “gjennomskjæring” were set aside. The case dealt with the benefits of a multi-currency cash pool arrangement. The court held that the decisive question was whether the allocation of the benefits was done at arm’s length. The court dismissed the argument that the benefits should accure to the parent company as only common control between the parties which should be disregarded. The other circumstances regarding the actual transaction should be recognized when pricing the transaction. In order to achieve an arm’s length price, the comparison must take into account all characteristics of the controlled transaction except the parties’ association with each other. While the case was before the Supreme Court, the Oil Tax Board made a new amendment decision, which also included a tax assessment for 2002. This amendment, which was based on the same anti-avoidance considerations, was on its own to the company’s advantage. Following the Supreme Court judgment, a new ... Continue to full case
US vs. Guidant Corporation. February 2016

US vs. Guidant Corporation. February 2016

The U.S. Tax Court held in favor of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, stating that neither Internal Revenue Code §482 nor the regulations thereunder require the Respondent to always determine the separate taxable income of each controlled taxpayer in a consolidated group contemporaneously with the making of the resulting adjustments. The Tax Court further held that §482 and the regulations thereunder allow the Respondent to aggregate one or more related transactions instead of making specific adjustments with respect to each type of transaction. US-vs.-Guidant-Corporation-and-Subsidiares-v.-Commissioner-of-Internal-Revenue ... Continue to full case
Japan vs. IBM, March 2015, Tokyo High Court, Case no 第265号-56(順号12639)

Japan vs. IBM, March 2015, Tokyo High Court, Case no 第265号-56(順号12639)

An intermediate Japanese holding company in the IBM group acquired from its US parent all of the shares of a Japanese operating company. The Japanese holdings company then sold a portions of shares in the operating company back to the issuing company for the purpose of repatriation of earned profits. These sales resulted in losses in an amount of JPY 400 billion which for tax purposes were offset against the operating company’s taxable income in FY 2002 – 2005. The Japanese tax authorities did not allow deduction of the losses resulted from the sales referring to article 132 of the Corporation Tax Act of Japan (general anti avoidance regulation). The tax authorities found that the reduction of corporation tax due to the tax losses should be disregarded because there were no legitimate reason or business purpose for the transactions. According to the authorities the transactions ... Continue to full case
Malaysia vs Syarikat Ibraco-Peremba, May 2014, Court of Appeal, Case No. W-01-177-04/2013

Malaysia vs Syarikat Ibraco-Peremba, May 2014, Court of Appeal, Case No. W-01-177-04/2013

Syarikat Ibraco-Peremba was a property development company in Malaysia. The company had entered into a series of elaborate transactions to avoid paying income tax on the profits made from the sale of a developed land. Profits arising from the companies sale of developed land would be treated as business income and subject to income tax. The company first incorporated a subsidiary and then, after selling the lands to the subsidiary, entered into a contract with it to develop the lands. Upon completion of the project, the company sold its shares in the subsidiary to a related company and the subsidiary company subsequently sold the developed lands to third parties. The subsidiary and related companies were then closed. The Court of Appeal held that the taxpayer had made the arrangement for the primary purpose of minimizing tax. Although Section 140 did not explicitly state that the ... Continue to full case
Czech Republic vs. EWE s.r.o., June 2013, Supreme Administrative Court , Case No 7 Afs 48/2013 – 31

Czech Republic vs. EWE s.r.o., June 2013, Supreme Administrative Court , Case No 7 Afs 48/2013 – 31

EWE s.r.o first criticised the Regional Court for the lack of logical reasoning in the grounds of the judgment, based on evidence that it had established a legal relationship with another person mainly for the purpose of reducing the tax base. Although the facts adduced by the administrative court show that ‘some third parties’ created a relationship between them for that purpose, it does not indicate which evidence shows that it was she who created such a relationship for the purpose of reducing the tax base, as is intended by section 23(7)(b)(5) of the Income Tax Act. This defect in the court’s decision is all the more serious since she herself argued that no evidence was adduced in the administrative proceedings (in the tax inspection report) to show that she was knowingly involved in a chain of otherwise connected persons. It is thus merely the ... Continue to full case
Mexico vs Operadora Unefón, SA de CV, April 2013, Superior Chamber of the Federal Court of Fiscal and Administrative Justice, Case No 14253/08-17-05-3/1259/11-S2-08-04

Mexico vs Operadora Unefón, SA de CV, April 2013, Superior Chamber of the Federal Court of Fiscal and Administrative Justice, Case No 14253/08-17-05-3/1259/11-S2-08-04

A restructuring contract dated 16 June 2003 was entered between NORTEL NETWORKS LIMITED and CODISCO INVESTMENTS LLC and promissory notes were issued by OPERADORA UNEFÓN, S.A. de C.V. Following an audit, an assessment was issued by the tax authorities, where the transaction was recharacterised and priced on an aggregatet basis taking into account the totality of the arrangement. Judgement of the Court The court upheld the assessment. According to the court, when the tax authorities carries out an audit of transactions between related parties, it must do so based on the structure and contractual agreements as determined by the associated enterprises. However, the general rule provides for two exceptions where the tax authorities may disregard the form and recharacterise the transactions for tax purposes. The first exception occurs when the economic substance of the transaction differs from its form. The second exception occurs when, although ... Continue to full case
Spain vs. Bicc Cables Energía Comunicaciones S.A., July 2012, Supreme Court, Case No. 3779/2009

Spain vs. Bicc Cables Energía Comunicaciones S.A., July 2012, Supreme Court, Case No. 3779/2009

In May 1997, BICC CABLES ENERGÍA COMUNICACIONES, S.A. acquired 177 class B shares in BICC USA Inc. (BUSA) for USD 175 million. The par value of each share was one dollar. The acquisition price of the shares was set on the basis of an Arthur Andersen Report which stated that the fair market value of BUSA was USD 423 million. BUSA was the holding company of four investee companies, so the valuation was made in relation to each of the groups of investee companies. The shares acquired by BICC CABLES were Class B shares, with a fixed annual dividend of 4.5% of the total investment. This dividend was paid, at BUSA’s discretion and in accordance with the agreements entered into between the parties, either in cash or by delivery of shares in the Class B company. The acquisition was financed by (1) Ptas. 3,450,000,000,000 charged ... Continue to full case
South Africa vs. NWK LtD, Dec. 2010, Supreme Court of Appeal, Case No. 27/10

South Africa vs. NWK LtD, Dec. 2010, Supreme Court of Appeal, Case No. 27/10

Over a period of five years, from 1999 to 2003, the respondent, NWK Ltd, claimed deductions from income tax in respect of interest paid on a loan to it by Slab Trading Company (Pty) Ltd (Slab), a subsidiary of First National Bank (FNB), in the sum of R 96.415.776. The deductions were allowed. But in 2003 the appellant, the Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service, issued new assessments disallowing the deductions and refusing to remit any part of the interest on the amounts assessed. He also imposed additional tax and interest in terms of ss 76 and 89quat of the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962. The amount claimed pursuant to the additional assessments, including additional tax, was R 47.360.583. The basis of the revised assessments by the Commissioner was that the loan was not a genuine contract: it was part of a series ... Continue to full case