A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S lost a supreme court case in Denmark over taxable income from oil and gas facilities in Algeria and Qatar, which have since been taken over by TotalEnergies SE, according to Bloomberg.
Maersk must pay tax on about 1.3 billion kroner ($190 million) of income generated from 2006 to 2008, the Copenhagen-based court said in a ruling on Wednesday, overturning a 2022 verdict by a lower court.
Maersk has already made extra tax payments in subsequent years to cover a potential penalty and therefore doesn’t expect it will have to pay any money now, it said in an emailed statement. The Copenhagen-based company “is surprised by the verdict,” it said.
TotalEnergies was also mentioned in the ruling, but it was unclear if the French company would be liable to pay anything. A representative said the company “will now take the time to review the consequences of the verdict.”
The assets were acquired by TotalEnergies in a deal agreed in 2017, as Maersk sold its oil and gas business for roughly $7.5 billion, including debt. The divestment was part of Maersk’s strategy to drop energy investments and focus on transport.
According to the court, the tax ministry had claimed Maersk’s oil business over the years provided services to two subsidiaries for free, which for tax purposes should have been settled at a market price. That meant it violated rules on transfer pricing.
The ruling “puts an end to a lengthy case,” with Denmark now getting “its rightful share of taxes,” Minister of Taxation Jeppe Bruus said in an emailed statement.
The Supreme Court said it would also claim 4 million kroner in legal fees and 3 million kroner in interest.