MOSCOW, July 24 - RAPSI. The Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals put off until August 22 the consideration of IKEA Mos' appeal against the court decision which dismissed the company's lawsuit to invalidate the Federal Tax Service's tax claims amounting to $15.3 million, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com) on Tuesday.

IKEA objected to the supplementary 1.06 billion ruble ($36 million) tax charge on April 30, 2010.

The Moscow Commercial Court partially upheld the lawsuit on December 14, 2010 and halved the tax claims to 500 million rubles ($17 million).

The tax dispute is connected with additional accrual of profit tax and property tax for the cost of the lessees' interior decoration of the premises they lease in the Mega trade centers. The tax inspectorate believes that all expenses of the lessees connected with the decoration of shops in trade centers are the profits of IKEA Mos because the latter owns the building.

The head of the company's PR service Irina Johansson said that the results of the lessees' work are only used in the lessees' business and will be subject to removal following the termination of the lease contract, which shows that their cost cannot influence the initial cost of trade centers.