Logo of an Apple store in Southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality Photo: CFP

 
Apple Inc.'s China branch has been fined 50,000 yuan ($7,595) as a company with "serious dishonest acts" for suspected tax evasion, media reported.

According to 21st Century Business Herald on Wednesday, the Beijing-based branch company was listed as "seriously dishonest" by the Bureau of Statistics of Beijing in December 2015 along with three other companies.

The bureau said on its website that Apple's branch company has made relatively big mistakes in its reports on its financial situation as well as on commodity purchases, sales and storage in 2014.

Specifically, wrong data was found in the current year value-added tax, staff salaries and annual commodity sales and the company was hence given a warning and fined 50,000 yuan, the newspaper reported, citing the bureau.

"The mistake in value-added tax could possibly reflect Apple's tax evasion," said National Business Daily (NBD), noting that it is yet unknown whether or not Apple's branch company has evaded tax but tax authorities should not be relaxed in their supervision of this world-class company.

In September 2015, Apple's China branch was found to have paid 452 million yuan less in tax, the NBD reported.

China stipulates that a company can be listed as one with serious dishonest acts if it fabricates census data, uses or hides a large quantity of false data in a report, or if it is found to be engaged in other major illegal census activities, according to a regulation found in the National Bureau of Statistics.

Such companies will receive administrative punishments and their malpractice will be recorded and may affect their future business activities, including financing, receipt of governmental subsidies as well as business registration and management, the NBD reported.