Coupang Inc's headquarters in Songpa-gu, Seoul. [Herald DB]
Coupang Inc's headquarters in Songpa-gu, Seoul. [Herald DB]

Coupang Inc, the parent company of Coupang, said Tuesday it received a preliminary tax assessment notice of about 300 billion won ($210 million) from the National Tax Service in June.

The company disclosed the notice in its second-quarter consolidated earnings report filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, saying the NTS had completed a tax audit of corporate and value-added tax filings for some of its Korean subsidiaries covering 2021 through 2025 and had issued a notice of findings.

The additional tax amount demanded, including penalties and interest, totals $208 million. Coupang Inc said it disagrees with the assessment and plans to "actively present its position through all available administrative remedies and, if necessary, legal proceedings."

The NTS launched a special tax investigation into Coupang in late December last year, shortly after the company's personal data breach, and recently concluded the probe before issuing its findings.

The notice centers primarily on transfer pricing and transactions between Coupang and its subsidiary Coupang Fulfillment Services. Coupang Inc added that it has concluded it is more likely than not that its position will prevail in any future appeal.

Separately, Coupang Inc estimated losses from the recent fire at its Incheon Seoknam-dong logistics center at about 350 billion won ($246 million). "We are currently assessing the extent of the losses and, at this time, cannot reasonably estimate the financial impact," the company said, adding that losses from the fire will begin to be recognized starting in the third quarter of this year.

Coupang Inc said it plans to file an insurance claim under a policy it had taken out in advance. The company cautioned that it "may incur additional liabilities and costs related to the fire that have not yet been identified or quantified at this time."


soho0902@heraldcorp.com