Interjet (AIJ, Toluca) has denied claims by Bloomberg that it is in “technical bankruptcy” and at risk of collapse, having been reportedly pushed to the edge by an order to pay almost USD30 million in back taxes.
"Interjet categorically denies that it is bankrupt as published by the Bloomberg news site. The news agency made a misinterpretation of the constitutional claim filed by the airline in the dispute that it holds with the Internal Revenue Service of Mexico," the carrier said in a statement dated August 30, the same date as the Bloomberg report.
As previously reported, Mexico's tax administration service (Servicio de Administración Tributaria - SAT) has demanded that the carrier pay MXN549.2 million pesos (USD27.9 million) for VAT debts accumulated between 2013 and 2017. On August 9, a federal judge prevented SAT from charging Interjet's bank accounts directly - but ordered the airline to deposit 10% of its monthly revenue as a guarantee until the debt is paid.
Bloomberg referred to comments allegedly made by CFO Raúl López Martinez in a July court filing that seizure of its funds would put Interjet “in a serious predicament of economic viability, preventing it from continuing its normal operations” and that “the company’s results from 2013 to 2018 clearly show accumulated losses that can be interpreted as the airline’s technical bankruptcy.”
The news agency explained that in Mexico, technical bankruptcy is "typically used to describe a situation where liabilities outweigh assets" and that Interjet has not filed for protection from creditors.
Interjet countered: "Bloomberg had access to a file that by law is not supposed to be public. In a judicial dispute, the only persons entitled to consult the records are those authorised by the parties involved in the trial. At no time has the company recognised the existence of a technical bankruptcy as this media outlet states."
It explained further that bankruptcy can only be declared by court order and cannot be self-imposed by a debtor or any other entity; it is a legal process in which a company's insolvency has to be proved. Interjet, however, "continues paying its debts", the statement said before concluding: "Interjet reserves its right to pursue any available legal actions against Bloomberg."
In a further statement dated August 31, Julio Gamero, Interjet's chief commercial officer, said that "Interjet is on a more solid financial foundation than any other Mexican airline. Again, Bloomberg's reporting is rife with misinformation, alternative facts, and wrong assumptions about the airline." López Martinez added: "If [...] taxes are owed, we will pay them. Regardless, any payments to be made to the tax authorities will have minimal impact on the operations of the airline."
