Legal and tax risks
The Group continues to be exposed to legal and tax risks. Provisions are recognized for those risks if and insofar as they are likely to be utilized and the amounts of the obligations can be reasonably estimated.
Legal risks
Regulatory Risks. The automotive industry is subject to extensive governmental regulations worldwide. Laws in various jurisdictions regulate occupant safety and the environmental impact of vehicles, including emissions levels, fuel economy and noise, as well as the emissions of the plants where vehicles or parts thereof are produced. In case regulations applicable in the different regions are not complied with, this could result in significant penalties and reputational harm or the inability to certify vehicles in the relevant markets. The cost of compliance with these regulations is significant, and in this context, Daimler expects a significant increase in such costs.
Risks from legal proceedings in general.
Risks from legal proceedings in connection with diesel exhaust gas emissions – governmental proceedings. Daimler is continuously subject to governmental information requests, inquiries, investigations, administrative orders and proceedings relating to environmental, criminal, antitrust and other laws and regulations in connection with diesel exhaust emissions.
Several federal and state authorities and other institutions worldwide have inquired about and/or are/have been conducting investigations and/or administrative proceedings, and/or have issued administrative orders or, in the case of the Stuttgart district attorney’s office, a fine notice. These particularly relate to test results, the emission control systems used in Mercedes-Benz diesel vehicles and/or Daimler’s interaction with the relevant federal and state authorities as well as related legal issues and implications, including, but not limited to, under applicable environmental, criminal and antitrust laws. These authorities and institutions include, amongst others, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”), which has requested that Daimler conducts an internal investigation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), the California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) and other US state authorities, the European Commission, the German Federal Cartel Office (“Bundeskartellamt”) as well as national antitrust authorities and other authorities of various foreign states as well as the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (“BMVI”) and the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (“KBA”). In the course of its formal investigation into possible collusion on clean emission technology, the European Commission sent a statement of objections to Daimler and other automobile manufacturers in Apri
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In light of these matters and in light of the ongoing governmental information requests, inquiries, investigations, administrative orders and proceedings, as well as our own internal investigations, it is possible that, besides KBA, one or more regulatory and/or investigative authorities worldwide will reach the conclusion that other passenger cars and/or commercial vehicles with the brand name Mercedes-Benz or other brand names of the group are equipped with impermissible defeat devices and/or that certain functionalities and/or calibrations were not properly disclosed. Furthermore, the authorities have increased scrutiny of Daimler’s processes regarding running-change, field-fix and defect reporting as well as other compliance issues. Except for, in particular, the Stuttgart district attorney’s office’s administrative offense proceedings, the other inquiries, investigations, legal actions and proceedings as well as the replies to the governmental information requests, the objection proceedings against KBA’s administrative orders and our internal investigations are still ongoing and open; hence, Daimler cannot predict the outcome at this time. Due to the outcome of the administrative offense proceedings by the Stuttgart district attorney’s office against Daimler and the above as well as any potential other information requests, inquiries, investigations, administrative orders and proceedings, it is possible that Daimler will become subject to significant additional monetary penalties, fines, disgorgements of profits, remediation requirements, further vehicle recalls, further registration and delivery stops, process and compliance improvements, mitigation measures and the early termination of promotional loans, and/or other sanctions, measures and actions (such as the exclusion from public tenders), including further investigations and/or administrative orders by these or other authorities and additional proceedings. The occurrence of the aforementioned events in whole or in part could cause significant collateral damage including reputational harm. Further, due to negative determinations or findings with respect to technical or legal issues by one of the various governmental agencies, other agencies – or also plaintiffs – could also adopt such determinations or findings, even if such determinations or findings are not within the scope of such authority’s responsibility or jurisdiction. Thus, a negative determination or finding in one proceeding, such as the fine notice issued by the Stuttgart district attorney’s office, carries the risk of being able to have an adverse effect on other proceedings, also potentially leading to new or expanded investigations or proceedings, including lawsuits.
In addition, Daimler’s ability to defend itself in proceedings could be impaired by the fine notice issued by the Stuttgart district attorney’s office as well as other unfavorable findings, results or developments in any of the information requests, inquiries, investigations, administrative orders, legal actions and/or proceedings discussed above.
Risks from legal proceedings in connection with diesel exhaust gas emissions – court proceedings. A consumer class-action lawsuit is pending in the United States in which it is alleged that
Furthermore, class actions have been filed in the United States and Canada alleging anticompetitive behavior relating to vehicle technology, costs, suppliers, markets, and other competitive attributes, including diesel emissions control technology. A securities class action lawsuit is pending in the United States on behalf of investors in
In Germany, a multitude of lawsuits by customers alleging claims under warranty and/or tort laws as well as lawsuits by investors alleging the violation of disclosure requirements are pending. In this context, motions to initiate a model proceeding in accordance with the Act on Model Proceedings in Capital Markets Disputes (KapMuG) have been filed by investors as well as by
If court proceedings have an unfavorable outcome for Daimler, this could result in significant damages and punitive damages payments, remedial works or other cost-intensive measures. Court proceedings can in part also have an adverse effect on the reputation of the Group.
Furthermore, Daimler’s ability to defend itself in the court proceedings could be impaired by unfavorable findings, results or developments in any of the governmental or other court proceedings discussed above, in particular the fine notice issued by the Stuttgart district attorney’s office.
Risks from other legal proceedings. Following the settlement decision by the European Commission adopted on July 19, 2016 concluding the trucks antitrust proceedings,
As legal proceedings are fraught with a large degree of uncertainty, it is possible that after their final resolution, some of the provisions we have recognized for them could prove to be insufficient. As a result, substantial additional expenditures may arise. This also applies to legal proceedings for which the Group has seen no requirement to recognize a provision.
It cannot be ruled out that the regulatory risks and risks from legal proceedings discussed above individually or in the aggregate may materially adversely impact our profitability and financial position.
Although the final result of any such litigation may influence the Group’s earnings and cash flows in any particular period, Daimler believes that any resulting obligations are unlikely to have a sustained effect on the Group’s financial position.
Further information on legal proceedings is provided in Note 30 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Tax risks
Any changes or interventions by the fiscal authorities are continuously monitored by the tax department and measures are taken if required.
In addition, if future taxable income is not earned or is too low, there is a risk that the tax benefit from loss carryforwards and tax-deductible temporary differences may not be recognized or may no longer be recognized in full, which could have a negative impact on net profit.