Diageo and customs office strike deal on tax fine

There is always a way, even with fines. The years long tax dispute between Diageo Korea and the Korean Customs Office came to an end on 7 January 2015 after the Korean branch of the world’s largest distiller decided to accept a court’s mediation, Korean media reported.

Under the deal, the spirits company is expected to pay a fine of around 200 billion won (USD 184 million), a sharp reduction from the 400 billion won initially imposed by the Customs Office on charges of tax evasion.

The Customs Office claimed that the company had dodged a massive amount of tax by underreporting the prices of its imported spirits and received a combined 400 billion won in fines on two occasions. Diageo had refused to pay the fines and brought the case to an administrative court.