DHL 2012 Annual Report Download - page 94

As announced in June, the tax authorities modied certain tax assessments issued
to Deutsche Post  in the third quarter of . e resulting additional  payment
amounted to  million aer deducting outstanding tax refund claims and was paid
by the end of the third quarter. e decision resulted from an extensive review of com-
plex issues pertaining to tax law and relates to the period from  to  June .
e amended law on  for postal services took eect the following day. e Group
had already recognised provisions for a large part of the additional  payment. In
addition, the tax authorities reviewed a number of postal services previously regarded
as -exempt to determine whether they are subject to taxes retroactively. Although
varying interpretations of the facts are possible, including with respect to the application
of European and German  law, the Group has accepted the tax assessments. is
concludes all  matters in dispute for the period in question, provides legal certainty
and avoids drawn-out legal proceedings with uncertain outcomes.
Since  July , as a result of the revision of the relevant tax exemption provi-
sions, the  exemption has only applied to specic universal services in Germany
that are not subject to individually negotiated agreements or provided on special terms
(discounts etc.). Deutsche Post  does not believe that the legislative amendment fully
complies with the applicable specications of European Community law. Due to the
legal uncertainty resulting from the new legislation, Deutsche Post  is endeavouring
to clarify certain key issues with the tax authorities. Although Deutsche Post  is
implementing the required measures to a large extent, the diering legal opinions on
the part of Deutsche Post  and the tax authorities will be judicially claried.
Risks arising from market and sector-specific conditions
In addition to the regulatory environment, market and sector-specic conditions
have a signicant eect on the performance of our Group.
Our business is closely linked to the growth of the international economy and the
performance of the logistics market – a situation that presents opportunities, but also
entails risk. Recessive tendencies in the general economy and volatile nancial markets
act to reinforce uncertainty regarding future market gures and impact our business.
Risk factors stem in particular from the sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone and
uncertainty about future taxation and spending policies in the United States.
We counteract this dependency by constantly improving our processes, identifying
trends of the future early on and closely following market trends. Despite the volatile
climate, demand for logistics services rose in  and our revenues increased accord-
ingly. However, we cannot rule out the possibility of an economic downturn in specic
regions and a stagnation or decrease in transport quantities.
anks to our sound preparations, the experience we gathered during the last eco-
nomic crisis and our global presence, we regard the likelihood of market conditions
signicantly aecting our forecast earnings as low.
Deutsche Post DHL Annual Report 
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