By Emilio Parodi
MILAN (Reuters) -Italian police carried out searches and seizures at two Amazon sites in Italy on Monday as part of an investigation into the alleged smuggling of Chinese goods, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Dozens of officers from the Guardia di Finanza tax police and the customs agency seized around 5,000 products at a logistics hub operated by the e-commerce giant in Cividate al Piano, in the northern province of Bergamo, the sources said.
At Amazon’s Italian headquarters in central Milan, police seized IT equipment and identified the Amazon manager responsible for the transportation of goods within Italy, the sources added.
Amazon in Italy was not immediately available for comment.
NEW LINE OF INQUIRY STEMMING FROM PREVIOUS CASE
Italian prosecutors allege that Amazon acts as a kind of “Trojan horse” allowing an as yet unknown number of Chinese goods to circulate in Italy without being appropriately taxed, a court document showed on Monday.
Among the products seized at the Bergamo centre were toys, mobile phone covers, air fryers, pens and small scissors.
It was not immediately clear what impact the two operations would have on Amazon’s activities in Italy.
The smuggling probe is a new line of inquiry stemming from an investigation into an alleged 1.2 billion euro tax evasion case.
The new case, led by Milan prosecutors together with the Monza branch of the Guardia di Finanza, alleges smuggling offences by dozens of Italian companies, many of which are believed to be fronts for Chinese entities, and the manager in charge of the movement of goods via Amazon.
Prosecutors suspect that goods are being brought from China into the European Union, and then into Italy, through currently unknown channels, without sales taxes or customs duties being paid.
The products are then allegedly moved and sold in Italy via Amazon’s marketplace.
Milan prosecutors are investigating both suspected smuggling and violations of the EU customs code.
PROBE EXPECTED TO EXPAND TO OTHER EU NATIONS, SOURCES SAY
Since last summer, two other ongoing operations have proceeded with Amazon’s cooperation due to the complexity of managing goods flows in the e-commerce giant’s logistics hubs.
Three people with direct knowledge of the matter said the number of products involved could total half a million, with the probe expected to be extended to the rest of the European Union.
Milan prosecutors were summoned to The Hague headquarters of the EU agency for criminal justice cooperation Eurojust in July, where they presented the scope of their investigation to counterparts from several EU countries, including Germany, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Belgium, Sweden and Ireland.
Disputes over customs duties and sales taxes have fueled growing tensions with the United States over the past year, but it is unclear how this case involving China will be viewed in Washington and Brussels.
TAX EVASION: EU PROSECUTORS ALSO INVESTIGATING
In the original 1.2 billion euro tax evasion case, Milan prosecutors investigated three managers and Amazon’s Luxembourg-based European unit over alleged tax fraud related to online sales in Italy between 2019 and 2021.
According to the probe, Amazon’s algorithm allows it to sell in Italy goods from non-EU sources, mostly Chinese, without disclosing their identity, helping them avoid paying Italian sales taxes.
Under Italian law, an intermediary offering goods for sale in Italy is jointly liable for non-payment of sales taxes by non-EU sellers using its e-commerce platform.
Amazon said in a previous statement that it was “committed to complying with all applicable tax laws”.
In relation to that case, Italy’s tax agency has submitted a settlement proposal to Amazon on which the U.S. group must decide by December.
Amazon’s tax position has also been investigated by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), which has opened its probe into its accounts between 2021 and 2024 after new EU rules imposing stricter VAT obligations on marketplaces came into force.
(Reporting by Emilio Parodi; Editing by Crispian Balmer)
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