Nordic stock exchange operator OMHEX will fight a lawsuit, filed by 22 banks and brokerage firms in Finland, alleging that its subsidiaries HEX Integrated Markets and Finnish Central Securities Depository, overcharged on value added tax (VAT) payments from 1995-2000.
The claim, amounting to about EUR5m plus interest, is related to VAT that the Finnish firms paid to the Helsinki Exchanges and Finnish depository APK for trading and clearing services during the five year period.
OMHEX, which is the company formed last year by the merger of Swedish OM and the Helsinki Stock Exchange, says it will reject the lawsuit, stating that the dispute regarding the VAT payments was settled in its entirety in 2002 in an arbitration agreement and subsequent arbitration proceedings. Consequently, the company denies any liability for further reimbursement.