Apple Slapped With $98M Additional Taxes In Japan Over Bulk Duty-Free Sales Of iPhones

Japan has asked Apple Inc AAPL to pay 13 billion yen ($98 million) in additional taxes for bulk sales of iPhones and other Apple devices to foreign tourists.

What Happened: The bulk sales of iPhones and Apple devices were incorrectly exempted from the consumption tax, according to Tokyo authorities, reported Nikkei Asia. 

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According to the publication’s unidentified sources, bulk purchases of iPhones by foreign buyers were discovered at some Apple stores, with at least one transaction involving a shopper buying hundreds of handsets at once.

Apple did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment.

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Japanese laws allow foreign visitors staying less than six months to buy products without paying the 10% consumption tax. However, the exemption does not apply to bulk purchases for resale purposes.

The Cupertino-based tech giant's Japanese arm is believed to have filed an amended tax return, the report noted, adding that it voluntarily stopped offering tax-free shopping in June.

This came after Apple CEO Tim Cook visited the epicenter of Japan’s semiconductor industry earlier this month and said its investment crossed more than $100 billion in the Asian nation’s supply network over the last five years.

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