Argentina-Tax office investigates meat companies.

ARGENTINA-RAX OFFICE INVESTIGATES BEEF COMPANIES.

The Federal Tax Bureau (AFIP) has its sights set on 2,200 large corporations in more than 60 industrial sectors for allegedly trading via tax havens.

Addressing a forum , AFIP head Ricardo Etchegaray yesterday said his office had made out "a large number of export operations involving the exchange of goods with countries boasting regular tax structures but invoices that end up in countries known to be tax havens."

The initial probe into trading through tax havens picked up pace following a cross-check of information done by the Central Bank which included currency exchange operations as well as AFIP consolidated data on companies being reimbursed export duties or value-added tax (IVA).

The investigation run from early December through mid-March. The probe pointed at BCRA data showing that almost 2,200 companies, or 63 percent of 3,442 export-licensed companies, had had their bills in foreign currency settled by tax havens.

The probe focused on a wide range of commercial activities also including cars, grains, oils, reefer products, mining, energy, chemicals, pharmaceutical products and plastics among other.

Etchegaray said some of the 2,168 cases detected involved businesses which shipped exports to the EU but submitted undervalued bills to Customs.

AFIP allegedly has evidence showing that, in many cases, transactions were completed at a tax haven. Usually, it explained, goods are shipped to Spain, Belgium or Germany and their invoices sent to either Uruguay, the Caiman Islands or Luxenburg.

Last year, Customs head Silvina Tirabassi had charged that 90 percent of soy bean exports in 2007 had been invoiced through tax havens.

Customs also said also 86 per cent of soy oil exports had ben triangled via a tax haven. In the case of soy flour exports, 80 percent of invoicing had followed similar routings.