The Financier Urs E. Schwarzenbach has dismissed in the art affair, the allegations of the customs inspectors always as absurd. With opinion, he wanted to prove in addition that the customs administration is, in his case, you are not responsible.

Now, the Federal administrative court has in a landmark decision from 23. January, over long distances, the result of the investigation, the customs investigators, according to schwarzenbach for his art treasures with a gallery of a scheme of tax avoidance construct is confirmed to have built up. With the investigation, the investigators were entering unknown territory. A similar case has not been reported.

The St. Galler judge and condemn black Creek to a retroactive Payment of value-added taxes in the amount of 10 million Swiss francs, plus interest. The millionaire moved the decision to the Federal court.

Important verdict

As in a Domino game is like with this judgment, a stone, and the other elements affected in this affair. The customs authority would have lost here, and would like further procedures. To judge

the judge had an order of the district Directorate of Customs Schaffhausen in August 2015. She demanded of the black stream, the additional Payment of VAT for 86 works of art.

The customs inspectors were on the case, following black Creek happened at the airport several times with images of the green border. In the result, the investigators searched its offices and seized documents.

Picasso, Warhol, Indiana…

they found that the Dolder owner had introduced valuable works by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol and Robert Indiana on the well-known Galerie Gmurzynska, at Paradeplatz in Zurich, which had to pay no VAT. Galleries are allowed to bring art in the so-called relocation process into the country without paying import tax because they sell the most quickly, and export. The customs authority accused the Hotelier, he needs this special method for his private collection of miss and, consequently, the payment of approximately 14 million circumvented.

The customs administration has not demanded that black Creek only the after-tax. They sentenced him in the autumn of 2018 to a fine of 7 million for willful tax evasion. Also, the gallery owner Mathias Rastorfer (3.5 million), as well as black-and Bach’s lawyer, Ulrich Kohli (2 million) were fined, because they had helped according to the customs authority. The accused deny the allegations and have filed a complaint.

Offshore-companies involved

A peculiarity of this judicial history lies in the fact that the three men collected the million buses a few months ago, before the court was whether the import was over, the gallery is actually illegal. This approach was for the customs authority is a risk – due to Statute of limitations questions, but necessary.

As the 123-page judgment of the Federal administrative court, have examined the judge the allegations for each work of art meticulously. You support the charge of the customs inspectors, Schwarzenbach had built up for the tax avoidance of a real vehicle.

According to the verdict of four foreign companies that were controlled by schwarzenbach, the gallery Gmurzynska Commission contracts for the sale of the images completed. The gallery has been able to introduce the works, therefore, as an importer of tax-free. In the acts of the judges, but found no sale intentions of the gallery. The Offshore company asked her never to have any “progress of the sales efforts”, as in the judgment.

the judges surprised about the prices

“odd” refer to the judge in addition, the fact that the Offshore companies in the Commission’s contracts for some of the pictures of the sale prices of the information that were lower than the price that was originally paid. And this, although in the meantime, significant storage costs.

An example of this is the image of the “Big Retrospective Painting” by Andy Warhol, hanging in the Dolder Grand Hotel on the front Desk. In the contract with the gallery was set to 21.4 million euros, a sale price of 500’000 Euro was lower, when the plant had tasted years earlier.

customs authority intervenes in the Dolder:

This procedure lying beyond any economic rationality, the judges said. The documents speak in “a highly impressive manner, against a Commission, activities of the gallery”, the conclusion. It is therefore no coincidence that up in April of 2013, not a single picture sold. At the time it came to the first RAID by the customs authority in the Dolder Grand Hotel.

In two points, the court Schwarzenbach right. The customs administration have denied him the right to be heard, because he couldn’t take all the works of art position. In addition, the recovery of the VAT with 13 pictures was wrong. The Federal customs administration is taking to judgment of any comments.

judgment: LPP-2019 A-714/2018 (Tages-Anzeiger)

Created: 01.02.2019, 12:00 PM