Glencore PLC won in a case against the Australian Taxation Office, or ATO, over a claim that the mining giant did not pay the required tax for the copper it bought from the CSA mine in New South Wales from 2007 to 2009, Reuters reported Sept. 3.
The Federal Court of Australia ruled that the company paid the correct amount, with the price it paid for the concentrate "within an arm's length range." The ATO had claimed Glencore's Swiss office did not pay market rates for the purchases and had consequently increased its assessment of tax owed.
According to The Australian, it had been seeking A$241 million plus A$1.9 million in interest, from Glencore. The tax authority is planning to review the ruling and will decide whether to file an appeal.
The figure included an additional A$72.2 million, based on the price the ATO claimed should have been used as a reference in the transfer, against Glencore's claim that it used London Metal Exchange benchmark prices.
Despite the favorable ruling being viewed as a possible precursor to other transfer pricing cases from the tax office, Glencore is still on the hook a US$680 million tax claim by British authorities.
In August, Glencore tapped investment bank UBS as an adviser for the Cobar mine.
