A court has refused to order the re-opening of the bank accounts of a troubled Czech e-commerce site after tax authorities blocked them over unpaid VAT charges. Zoot’s period of court protection from its creditors runs out at the end of April, but apparently that doesn’t apply for tax arrears. What’s absurd about the freezing of its accounts is that it actually prevents Zoot from paying its VAT bill, according to the insolvency director for Zoot Lukáš Zrůst. E15 quote him as admitting the court’s decision had produced a complicated situation. “Unfortunately, it’s there a certain formality about the insolvency law that’s sometimes excessively strict and doesn’t leave court much room,” he said. Zoot’s biggest creditor is the firm Natland, which bought CZK 123m in overdue loans from Raiffeisenbank.
