The Polish national commercial broadcaster TVN has under protest paid outstanding tax of PLN110 million (€26 million) related to its sale of the DTH platform n in 2012.
However, it has also said it will immediately take legal action to recover the amount.
In a statement, TVN explained that it had received the decision of the Tax Administration Chamber relating to the transaction, which took place before it was acquired by Scripps Networks Interactive. Both it and Scripps nevertheless “strongly disagree with the decision of the Tax Administration, and will appeal to the Regional Administrative Court against it”.
Commenting on the sale of n, TVN added that it had “approached the Ministry of Finance asking for a tax interpretation before completing the transaction in order to make sure the transaction was accounted for in full compliance with applicable laws and regulations. TVN followed the Ministry of Finance guidelines. Company’s approach was consistent with advice received from major international tax and accounting firms and was subsequently positively audited by auditors. Furthermore, the tax office completed an audit of the entire transaction in 2013 less than one year after the transaction, and found no irregularities whatsoever. TVN regularly, openly and accurately communicated to the market regarding the treatment of the transaction and the associated expenses”.
