Landmark skyscraper an eyesore for the custom officers

The Central Customs Inspectorate (GIC) said the Warsaw Financial Center (WFC), a company which built a landmark office tower in Warsaw gmina centrum, owes the Treasury over zl. 8 million in unpaid customs and value-added tax (VAT) charges. One of the shareholders in WFC is Dutch-based Sunbelt Properties, which between 1997-1998 took advantage of customs regulations to import zl. 73 million worth of building materials, used by the company to build the tower. Customs officers after completing an audit in January concluded the company broke the law which states a foreign capital company's building materials can only be brought to Poland duty-free, if it is not being leased within three years of being brought into the country. GIC argues the company used the materials in the building and has leased the office space since 1998. However, WCF representatives say the tenants are paying for the service and not ownership of the construction materials. They add the ruling may create a dangerous precedent, which will discourage foreign companies from investing in construction enterprises. (Rzeczpospolita, page B1) P.S.