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Apple Japan hit with $98m in back taxes for missing duty-free abuses

Stores failed to flag suspicious bulk iPhone purchases by foreign shoppers

An Apple store in Tokyo.    © Reuters

TOKYO -- Apple Japan is being charged 13 billion yen ($98 million) in additional taxes by Tokyo authorities, apparently for bulk sales of iPhones and other devices to foreign tourists that were incorrectly exempted from the consumption tax, Nikkei learned on Monday.

Bulk purchases of iPhones by foreign shoppers were discovered at some Apple stores, a source said. At least one transaction involved an individual buying hundreds of handsets at once, suggesting that the store missed taxing a possible reseller.

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