Go to content
OCI N.V.

OCI N.V.

Hieronder vindt u informatie uit het register openbaarmaking voorwetenschap. Deze informatie is door de organisatie verstrekt.

Publicatie datum 08 mrt 2013 - 18:00
Statutaire naam OCI N.V.
Titel OCI Comments on Statements from Egyptian Tax Authority and Reiterates Strong Position on Tax Case
Bericht OCI N.V.’s subsidiary, Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), in response to yesterday’s statement from the Egyptian Tax Authority (ETA), reiterated its strong position on the alleged tax claim further undermining any allegations of tax evasion. The company clarified the following key points: • In accordance with paragraph 8 of article no. 50 of law no. 91 of 2005, all capital gains resulting from the sale of shares listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) are tax exempt; consequently the sale of Orascom Building Materials Holding (OBMH) to Lafarge SA in 2007 is exempt of any capital gains tax. This law has been the cornerstone of the Egyptian Tax Code and has not been challenged or objected since its ratification. It is important to note that the ETA has not communicated any claims to any listed company on the EGX during the past 7 years. • The current dispute between the company and the ETA is matter of differences over interpretation of the applicable tax laws and not a matter of tax evasion. The company has been accused of tax evasion even though article no. 133 of law no. 91 of 2005 is not applicable on the transaction. It is important to note that a tax audit on a given company cannot take place unless certain evidence is presented that provides reason to warrant a tax audit. • The ETA performed a tax audit on the transaction to study the company’s rights for tax exemption and concluded that EGP 22.6 billion of the total transaction value of EGP 68.6 billion is subject to tax. The ETA claims that a portion of the transaction occurred in the form of a direct “share swap” despite the fact that the company presented supporting evidence (trade confirmations from various brokers involved in the transaction as well as Lafarge SA’s share register immediately after conclusion of the transaction) proving that the sale of OBMH occurred on the EGX in its entirety and that no share swap took place. Today, OCI does not have any ownership in Lafarge SA and never did