The Jerusalem District Court today ordered the state to hand over the tax exemption document of Egypt's East Mediterranean Gas Company (EMG) to Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG) and its co-petitioners.
Judge Noam Sohlberg also ordered the state to provide Delek and its partners the tax arrangement with Merhav Group, controlled by Yosef Maiman, which owns 20.6% of EMG through Ampal-American Israel Corporation (Nasdaq: AMPL; TASE:AMPL) and Merhav MNF Ltd.
Judge Sohlberg accepted the petition of Delek and its co-petitioners to disclose EMG's tax exemption document.
"Globes" was the first to report about the tax agreement, which awards EMG a sweeping 20-year exemption on paying taxes in Israel. Merhav Group has argued in the past that the exemption is no different from exemptions awarded to foreign oil and gas exploration companies operating in Israel.
Delek Group controlling shareholder Yitzhak Tshuva recently told the Knesset that the sweeping tax exemption to EMG discriminated against Israeli gas in favor of Egyptian gas.
Sohlberg ordered the state, Merhav, and Maiman to pay NIS 25,000 in court costs to Delek Group and its co-petitioners.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 24, 2010
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