Milan prosecutors request criminal trial for Amazon and four executives over alleged VAT evasion exceeding one billion euros from 2019-2021.

MILAN: Prosecutors have requested a criminal trial for Amazon and four of its executives over alleged tax fraud worth more than one billion euros.

The case centres on value-added tax (VAT) the e-commerce giant allegedly failed to pay on behalf of third-party sellers using its Marketplace platform between 2019 and 2021.

Italian law since 2019 has made platforms responsible for VAT on all sales from outside the European Union.

Prosecutors allege Amazon failed to provide, or only partially provided, required data on non-EU sellers and imported goods.

This allegedly misled tax authorities and allowed the company to avoid the VAT payments.

Amazon in December said it had reached an agreement with Italy’s tax agency over the disputed VAT.

Italian media reported the settlement involved a payment of more than 500 million euros, but this did not stop the criminal probe.

The company said it would contest any case brought against it, stressing it is among the top 50 taxpayers in Italy.

“Unpredictable rules and lengthy legal procedures would hurt Italy’s business climate,” Amazon warned in a statement.

The request for a trial still requires a judge’s approval.

 The Sun Malaysia