BUENOS AIRES--Argentina's federal tax agency stepped up measures
against grain exporters it accuses of tax evasion Monday, blocking
sales tax rebates to the companies it says owe it hundreds of
millions of dollars.
Companies that have debts due to "any tax obligations" are
excluded from those authorized to receive the V.A.T. refunds, tax
agency Afip said in a resolution published in the official bulletin
Monday.
In addition, Afip removed global grain trading firm Bunge Ltd.
(BG) from a grain exporter registry, going a step further from the
temporary suspension it imposed on Bunge earlier this year for
alleged tax fraud, an Afip spokesman said.
Exclusion from the registry means the income tax withheld on
domestic grain trading rises to 15% from 2%, as well as the
withholding of a 10.5% sales tax. Companies not on the registry
also face new, burdensome approval requirements for domestic
shipping permits.
The move comes amid a broad government crackdown on alleged tax
evasion, with commodities exporters coming under particular
scrutiny.
Argentina is the world leader in soymeal and soyoil exports and
ranks No. 2 in corn exports and third in soybeans. Soybeans are the
country's leading export, and the taxes collected on those
shipments are a key source of revenue for the government.
Afip has suspended several of the country's largest
grain-trading firms, including Bunge, Molinos Rio de la Plata SA
(MOLI.BA), Louis Dreyfus and Oleaginosa Moreno, from the registry
on charges of tax evasion.
In 2010, Afip accused the companies of using shell companies in
neighboring countries for accounting purposes that left minimal
profits on the books of their Argentine units.
Earlier this month, Afip also suspended agriculture
biotechnology company Monsanto Co. (MON) from the grain trader
registry.
The government said that Monsanto's Argentine unit evaded $70
million of income taxes by borrowing money from Monsanto shell
companies in Panama and Bermuda and writing off the interest it
paid on those loans to reduce its taxable income.
Monsanto, one of the leading sellers of transgenic corn seeds in
Argentina, denied the charges.
Monsanto was initially suspended from the grain registry in
January due to tax irregularities, and paid 40 million pesos ($8.5
million) to Afip.
Write to Shane Romig at shane.romig@dowjones.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires