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Tax Court rejects Asian Agri's appeal
The Tax Court rejected on Wednesday an appeal filed by two subsidiaries under the Asian Agri Group, an agribusiness giant found guilty of tax evasion in 2012
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he Tax Court rejected on Wednesday an appeal filed by two subsidiaries under the Asian Agri Group, an agribusiness giant found guilty of tax evasion in 2012.
The companies, PT Rigunas Agri Utama and PT Raja Garuda Mas, are among Asian Agri's 14 subsidiaries, and filed their appeals to the court after the group was found guilty.
The court's XV A assembly of justice, led by Chief Judge Didi Hardiman, said Rigunas Agri was obliged to pay Rp 60 billion (US$4.94 million), comprising institutional income tax (PPh Badan), Article 26 income tax and an administrative fine. Also on Wednesday, Chief Judge Tonggo Aritonang, who led the court's XV B assembly of justice, obliged Raja Garuda Mas to pay Rp 15.8 billion.
'The court has rejected the companies' appeal and they must comply with the court's decision. However, they can still file for judicial review to the Supreme Court,' objection and appeal director at the taxation directorate general Catur Rini Widosari said.
Director general of taxation Fuad Rahmany expressed appreciation on of behalf his institution for the court's decision, which he claimed was 'fair, right and important to taxation in the country. The law has been properly enforced'.
Asian Agri, which is owned by tycoon Sukanto Tanoto ' the 10th richest person in the country, according to Forbes magazine, with a net worth of $2.3 billion ' is obliged to pay a total fine of Rp 2.5 trillion or 200 percent of its tax obligation from 2002 to 2005. In addition, the group was also ordered to pay Rp 1.9 trillion in back taxes.
The Supreme Court found the company's former tax manager Suwir Laut guilty of understating the annual tax obligations of the company's 14 subsidiaries throughout the period. The court sentenced Suwir to two years' imprisonment on Dec. 18, 2012, and ruled that the fines had to be borne by the company.
Until January this year, the company had paid Rp 720 billion, and will settle the remainder with installments of Rp 200 billion each month next until October through the Attorney General's Office's account at state lender Bank Mandiri.
