According to the report, the İstanbul Sixth Tax Court ruled against Doğan Yayın’s subsidiaries, which had filed a case requesting a stay of execution for a demand by tax offices that a guarantee be given for the company’s tax fine. The İstanbul First, Ninth and 11th tax courts had previously ruled similarly. With this latest court decision no obstacle remains for the Ministry of Finance to place a lien on the subsidiaries of Doğan Yayın, the daily reported.
After negotiations between Doğan Yayın and the Ministry of Finance ended without reaching a settlement last month, Doğan Yayın had announced that the court process launched by its subsidiaries for a stay would continue from where it was.
Doğan Holding units Doğan TV Holding, D Yapim Reklamcılık, Doğan Prodüksiyon Hizmetleri A.Ş. and Alp Görsel Hizmetleri A.Ş. were requested by the tax office to put up a guarantee equal to the total fine of TL 4.8 billion over an alleged tax fraud for the period covering 2005, 2006 and 2007. Doğan reacted by launching a court challenge of the guarantee requirement. In mid-October, Doğan Yayın said it had provided collateral in the form of shares in Doğan units and 44 properties to the tax office to cover the fine. The tax office then imposed a preliminary injunction on the sale of shares in three of Doğan’s units, and one day after this Doğan Yayın said the tax office had rejected the guarantees.
