Prosecutors in Milan, Italy, have requested a criminal trial against the European unit of retail giant Amazon and several of its executives, accusing them of tax evasion amounting to approximately 1.2 billion euros (about 1.37 billion U.S. dollars), multiple foreign media outlets reported Thursday.
According to reports, Italian prosecutors alleged that between 2019 and 2021, Amazon failed to provide -- or only partially provided -- the required data on non-EU sellers and imported goods on its platform. This is believed to have misled the Italian tax agency and allowed the company to evade its obligations to pay value-added tax (VAT).
The Milan prosecutors' request for a trial is still pending approval from the Milan court's preliminary judge.
In response, Amazon said on Thursday that it will contest the allegations, emphasizing that it ranks among Italy's top 50 taxpayers. The company cautioned that unstable regulations and lengthy judicial processes would harm Italy's business environment, while affirming its commitment to fulfilling its tax obligations.
Under Italian law, e-commerce platforms have been responsible for payment of VAT on sales made by non-EU sellers in Italy since 2019. The relevant EU regulations were officially implemented in 2021.
Italian prosecutors request criminal trial against Amazon over tax evasion
Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday presided over a State Council executive meeting that studied work on building a unified national market and reviewed and approved a plan for the development of a modern emergency response system during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).
Noting that building a unified national market is essential to advancing high-quality development, the meeting called for deepening institutional frameworks in areas such as property rights protection, market access, fair competition, social credit and market exit mechanisms.
The meeting also urged efforts to advance high-standard connectivity of market infrastructure to facilitate smooth economic circulation and effectively reduce logistics costs across society.
Emergency management is critical to protecting people's lives and property, the meeting said. It called for accelerating the development of a modern emergency response system, deepening reform and innovation in emergency management, and improving coordinated response mechanisms.
Efforts should be made to strengthen risk prevention at the source, enhance monitoring, forecasting and early warning, and accelerate a shift in governance toward proactive prevention, according to the meeting.
A draft revision of the Law on the People's Bank of China was also discussed and approved in principle at the meeting, which decided to submit the draft to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation.
Chinese premier chairs State Council executive meeting
