The Italian tax police recently raided Amazon‘s Milan headquarters. A report by the news agency Reuters, citing two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, claimed that the raid was part of a new tax-evasion investigation into the e-commerce major. Italy’s tax police are reportedly investigating whether the US-based tech giant maintained an undisclosed permanent establishment in Italy from 2019 to 2024 and whether it should have paid more taxes in the country.The Guardia di Finanza also searched the homes of seven Amazon managers and the offices of auditing firm KPMG, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Milan prosecutors have opened an investigation into Amazon EU Sarl, based in Luxembourg, and its director, Barbara Scarafia, on suspicion of failing to declare income, according to a search warrant seen by Reuters.

What allegations have the Italian tax police brought against Amazon

According to the warrant (seen by Reuters), Amazon had an official business presence in Italy before August 2024, when it entered into an agreement with Italy’s tax agency and began paying taxes there.The warrant added that in 2024 alone, Amazon EU Sarl had fired and then rehired 159 workers who were assigned to another Amazon company, which the investigators take as proof of the fact that in that period, Amazon was doing business in Italy.Italian tax police seized computers and other devices belonging to managers, including hard drives that store employee emails after they are deleted from Amazon systems every three months, sources said.The search at KPMG, which is not being investigated, occurred because the firm was among those that provided an opinion on the actions under investigation.This is just one of several tax cases involving Amazon in Italy. In December, the company agreed with Italy’s tax collection agency to pay 510 million euros ($605.88 million) to settle a tax dispute.In that dispute, Milan prosecutors suspect tax evasion of about 1.2 billion euros for 2019-2021 and expect to conclude their investigation early this year, according to a source familiar with the matter.Apart from this, Italian prosecutors are conducting two other investigations into the company. One into Amazon’s suspected tax evasion for 2021-2024 and another into suspected customs and tax fraud involving Chinese imports.