US carmaker Ford has agreed to pay $365 million to end a civil lawsuit over allegations that the automaker disguised imported cargo vans as passenger cars to reduce customs duties.
The US Department of Justice said Monday that Ford, which denies the charges against it, used the scheme from 2009 to 2013 to avoid higher customs duties when importing Transit Connect cars from Turkey.
The ministry explains that the company installed fake rear seats and other temporary elements to make these vans look like passenger cars.
“However, in reality, the temporary rear seats were not intended at all and were not used for passenger transportation,” the ministry said in a statement. After being imported into the country, “Ford” removed the fake seats, restoring the car to its original design as a two-seater cargo van, the ministry emphasizes.
This scheme has allowed Ford to pay customs duties of just 2.5% instead of the 25% levied on trucks. The Ministry of Justice reports that during this period the company imported almost 163,000 Transit Connect cars from Turkey.
The terms of the settlement stipulate that Ford will not admit fault, but both sides have agreed to avoid lengthy and expensive litigation.
Of the $365 million that Ford will pay, nearly $184 million is in unpaid customs duties, with the rest being fines.
2024-03-12 13:55:50
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