GVC subsidiary faces €186.8m tax bill in Greece

GVC Holdings has revealed that a subsidiary operating under a Greek interim gaming licence has received a tax audit assessment of €186.8m ($323.7m).

Issued by the Greek Audit Centre for Large Enterprises, the audit relates to activities from 2010 to 2011, a period in which the business in question was owned by Sportingbet prior to its acquisition by GVC in 2013.

GVC said the total amount is “substantially higher” by multiples of the total Greek revenues generated by the subsidiary during the period.

The company said it has “strong grounds” to appeal the assessment and plans to file appeal, with this process set to take place in the Greek courts, due to a lack of a formal settlement mechanism in the country.

However, GVC has opted to enter into a payment scheme with the authority in the interim to allow it subsidiary to continue trading as normal.

Funds will be paid to the authority and held on account of approximately €7.8m a month over the next 24 months, although GVC has made it clear that entering into such an arrangement is not an admission that the assessment is correct and it will seek to recover such payments after the appeal process.

In a statement, GVC added: “The board strongly disputes the basis of the assessment calculation, believing the assessed quantum to be widely exaggerated and is confident in the grounds of appeal.

“However, given the group subsidiary has to go through an appeal process, the board believes it prudent at this juncture to make a provision of approximately €200m in GVC’s 2017 financial accounts to cover the Period and up to the end of 2017.”

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