INCOME TAX AND DEFERRED TAX

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

INCOME TAX AND DEFERRED TAX [Abstract]

14.	INCOME TAX AND DEFERRED TAX

Applicable rate

Until the fiscal year ended on December 31, 2017, the income tax rate remained at 35%. The tax reform establishes a gradual reduction of the applicable rate for the calculation of income tax, being 30% and 25% for fiscal periods beginning on January 1, 2018 and 2019 and January 1, 2020 onwards, respectively.

The reduction in the applicable rate was complemented by the application of a tax on the distribution of dividends made to human persons and foreign beneficiaries, which the Company must withhold and enter the Tax authority as a single and definitive payment when the dividends are paid. This additional tax will be 7% or 13%, depending on whether the dividends distributed correspond to earnings of a fiscal period in which the Company was reached at the rate of 30% or 25%, respectively.

Solidarity Law suspended until fiscal years starting from 1st January 2021 inclusive, reduced to 25% of the applicable rate and retention of 13% on dividends.

On June 16, 2021, “Law No. 27,630: Amending the Income Tax Law” was published in the Official Gazette, which, among other issues, introduces a modification in the income tax rate effective for the years fiscal or fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2021 inclusive. The amendment establishes a tiered system of rates in three segments ( 25%, 30% and 35%) according to the level of accumulated net taxable income, which will be updated.

Likewise, dividends distributed to foreign individuals and beneficiaries will be taxed at a rate of 7%.

For the determination of the deferred and current income tax charge as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company has applied the current progressive tax rate according to the scale updated by AFIP Resolution No. 5168/2022 of March 15, 2022.

Tax adjustment for inflation

Law No. 27,468 establishes that in the net taxable income of the periods beginning on or after January 1, 2018, the adjustment for inflation obtained by the application of the income tax law may be deducted or incorporated into the tax result for the fiscal year. This adjustment will proceed only if the percentage variation in the IPC, will accumulate (a) a percentage higher than 100% in the 36 months prior to the end of the year, or (b) regarding the first, second and third fiscal year that starts from its effective date, an accumulated variation of the IPC that exceeds 55%, 30% or 15% of said 100%, respectively.

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the CPI has exceeded the 100% threshold mentioned above, so the Company has measured the tax charge to earnings for the year ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 considering the application of the adjustment for fiscal inflation.

According to the Solidarity Law, the positive or negative result generated by the application of the inflation adjustment corresponding to the first and second fiscal year beginning on January 1, 2019 will be charged in a sixth in that fiscal period and the five sixths remaining in equal parts in the following 5 fiscal periods. As of January 1, 2021, 100% of the adjustment may be deducted/taxed in the year in which the effect is determined.

On November 16, 2022, the Senate of the Nation approved the 2023 budget bill under Law No. 27,701, which already had half a sanction from the Chamber of Deputies.

The 2023 budget law incorporates article 195 to the income tax law establishing that in the event that the adjustment for tax inflation is applicable and a positive adjustment (profits) arises from it, the first and second fiscal years starting on 1 January 2022 inclusive, they may allocate 1/3 in that fiscal period and the remaining 2/3, in equal parts, in the 2 immediately following fiscal periods. For the deferral to be appropriate, it will be necessary for companies to make an investment in the purchase, construction, manufacture, processing or definitive import of fixed assets (except automobiles), during each of the 2 fiscal periods immediately following that of the calculation of the first third of the period in question, for an amount equal to or greater than $30,000,000,000.

As of December 31, 2023, the Company projected investments in PPE in accordance with the requirements mentioned above, determining that the amounts exceed what is established by law.

Adjustment of acquisitions and investments made in fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2018

A cost adjustment mechanism is established for assets acquired or investments made in fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2018. The adjustment will be made based on the percentage variations of the IPIM.

Extraordinary tax RG N° 5268/2022

On August 16, 2022, RG No. 5268/2022 was published through which the AFIP ordered an extraordinary advance of income tax. The extraordinary advance payment constitutes an additional payment on account to that provided for in the general advance payment regime that can be added to the latter. For fiscal year 2022, the Company paid the AFIP Ps. 10,487,129 for this concept.

Deferred Tax

The reconciliation between the charge computed for tax purposes and the income tax expense charged to the statement of comprehensive income in the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 is as follows:

	2023			2022			2021
Current income tax		(1,607,237	)		(49,381,853	)		(83,127,502	)
Deferred income tax		(18,500,679	)		(3,747,882	)		5,864,622
Total income tax		(20,107,916	)		(53,129,735	)		(77,262,880	)

The analysis of the net deferred tax assets and liabilities is as follows:

	2023			2022
Deferred tax assets:
Deferred tax assets to be recovered after more than 12 months		7,427,369			11,293,849
Deferred tax assets to be recovered after 12 months		9,358,979			4,399,654
Deferred tax liabilities:
Deferred tax liabilities taxable after more than 12 months		(94,421,498	)		(79,640,039	)
Deferred tax liabilities taxable after 12 months		(6,949,086	)		(2,137,021	)
Deferred tax liabilities, net		(84,584,236	)		(66,083,557	)

The components of the net deferred tax assets and tax liabilities as of December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 are the following:

Deferred tax assets	Account receivables discounted value			Provisions for legal claims and other provisions			Financial leases			Contract liabilities			Tax loss carryforward			Tax inflation adjustment			Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss		Other receivables		Total
As of December 31, 2021		5,531			3,138,933			6,252,586			8,562,667			10,268,474			91,018			-		-		28,319,209
Charge in results		(5,531	)		(1,139,905	)		(1,752,749	)		21,064			(10,268,474	)		(51,902	)		571,791		-		(12,625,706	)
As of December 31, 2022		-			1,999,028			4,499,837			8,583,731			-			39,116			571,791		-		15,693,503
Charge in results		-			(1,132,913	)		1,312,391			(6,199,800	)		1,403,426			(31,538	)		2,150,011		3,591,268		1,092,845
As of December 31, 2023		-			866,115			5,812,228			2,383,931			1,403,426			7,578			2,721,802		3,591,268		16,786,348

Deferred tax liabilities	Other receivables			Loans			Property, Plant and Equipment			Cash and cash equivalents			Inventories			Tax inflation adjustment			Other liabilities			Total
As of December 31, 2021		(16,274	)		(508,877	)		(66,657,258	)		(104,689	)		(394,999	)		(22,187,106	)		(785,681	)		(90,654,884	)
Charge in results		(355,515	)		72,944			(4,413,964	)		(1,223,150	)		21,749			13,990,079			785,681			8,877,824
As of December 31, 2022		(371,789	)		(435,933	)		(71,071,222	)		(1,327,839	)		(373,250	)		(8,197,027	)		-			(81,777,060	)
Charge in results		371,789			58,385			(6,844,195	)		(4,024,407	)		(846,042	)		(8,309,054	)		-			(19,593,524	)
As of December 31, 2023		-			(377,548	)		(77,915,417	)		(5,352,246	)		(1,219,292	)		(16,506,081	)		-			(101,370,584	)

As of December 31, 2021, the Company had a specific tax carryforward derived from negative exchange differences for the years 2021 and 2020 generated by financial instruments traded abroad for Ps. 11,404,393. The realization of such tax loss depended on the future generation of taxable financial gains taxed during the statute of limitations period. To determine its recoverability, the Company took into consideration the reversal of the deferred items, its tax planning and projections of future specific taxable income based on its best estimate. Based on these projections and because it was not possible to estimate as probable the generation of future specific financial gains to absorb such tax loss, no deferred tax asset of Ps. 1,135,919 was recognized as of December 31, 2021. During the year ended on December 31, 2022, the tax loss carryforward was totally recovered.

Income tax expense computed at the statutory tax rate on pre-tax income differs from the income tax expense for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 as follows:

	2023			2022			2021
Pre tax income		43,625,948			153,769,841			204,230,976
Statutory income tax rate		35	%		35	%		35	%
Pre tax income at statutory income tax rate		(15,269,082	)		(53,819,444	)		(71,480,842	)
Tax effects due to:
- Tax loss variation		-			-			10,268,474
- Adjustment affidavit previous year		(143,706	)		(255,610	)		(409,984	)
- Tax inflation adjustment and restatement by inflation		(4,621,560	)		779,382			11,205,356
- Variation of tax rate		-			-			(24,772,537	)
- Others		(73,568	)		165,937			(2,073,347	)
Total income tax		(20,107,916	)		(53,129,735	)		(77,262,880	)