WILLEMSTAD – The Court of First Instance has ruled that the Tax Receiver is not required to lift the seizure placed on the assets and inventory of Arco Iris Supermarket, finding that the company failed to demonstrate why the attachment should be removed immediately.
The case involves nearly ANG 336,000 in unpaid taxes and social security contributions that the Tax Department claims the supermarket owes. Arco Iris disputes the assessments and continues to challenge them through separate legal proceedings.
The court emphasized that its ruling does not determine whether the tax claim itself is valid. Instead, it only addresses whether the seizure may remain in place while the dispute continues.
The legal battle stems from a tax audit conducted by the Stichting Belastingaccountantsbureau (SBAB), which issued a report on March 4, 2025, covering profit tax, wage tax, turnover tax and social security contributions for various years between 2019 and 2023.
On June 6, 2025, Arco Iris announced that it intended to cease business operations. Two weeks later, on June 20, the Tax Receiver issued a formal payment order demanding immediate payment of nearly ANG 336,000 and, on the same day, seized the supermarket's assets.
The company later challenged both the tax assessments and the payment order. Although the Tax Receiver granted deferrals for several assessments while objections were under review, the court found no reason to order the seizure lifted.
According to the ruling, by April 2026 the Tax Inspector had already rejected Arco Iris' objections, and the supermarket had indicated it would continue pursuing the matter through the courts. However, the judge concluded that the company did not sufficiently explain why the Tax Receiver should be prevented from maintaining the seizure under those circumstances.
The court also ordered Arco Iris to pay legal costs, although those costs were set at zero guilders.