The losses of M&S in Greece and the appeal to AADE

Marks & Spencer in Greece lost more than 24.4 million euros due to the pandemic and lockdowns, of which 80% is Marks & Spencer Plc and 20% is Marinopoulos Holding Sarl.

The chain, which operates in the retail sector through 26 stores and holds the exclusive use and exploitation of the Marks & Spencer name in Greece, last year showed sales of 30.4 million euros from sales of 54.8 million euros in the previous year.

Profit before taxes decreased to 1.2 million euros from 6.8 million euros while it showed losses of 2.4 million euros from net profit of 2.8 million euros.

On July 8, 2020, the company was notified of an audit order for the fiscal year 2014 for the tax items income, VAT, other taxes, fees-contributions and control of proper bookkeeping and issuance of data.

The audit process has been completed and the audit finding has been received according to which accounting differences of € 10.221 million arose, mainly from the control of intra-group transactions. No tax was incurred due to available tax losses. On February 1, 2021, the company filed an appeal with the Dispute Resolution Division of the Independent Public Revenue Authority, challenging the audit finding.

According to the Certified Auditor, the tax liabilities of the company have not been examined by the tax authorities for the years ended 2/4/2016, 31/3/2017, 31/3/2018, 31/3/2019, 31 / 3/2020 and 31/3/2021. Therefore the tax results of these years have not become final. The company, the Certified Auditor continues, has not made an assessment of the additional taxes and surcharges that may be charged in a future tax audit and has not formed a relevant provision for this possible liability.