Telefonica del Peru has paid around USD 49.7 million in back taxes to the country's Securities Market Superintendency, Peruvian news service Andina reports. Back in 2011, the Peruvian tax authority Sunat said Telefonica owes the state at least USD 850 million in taxes and accumulated interest for the 2000/2001 period. The case is currently working its way through Peruvian courts. The dispute is expected to determine Movistar's mobile concession renewal.
Telefonica and the Peruvian Ministry of Transport and Communications have been negotiating since August 2011 the operator's mobile license renewal for the next 20 years. The operator's mobile licence in Lima expired in 2011, while its license for operations in the rest of the country expires this year.
