beatandraise : SEC Filings Research with AI

1.0.0.3 false Commitments and Contingencies false 1 $ false false iso4217_USD Standard http://www.xbrl.org/2003/iso4217 USD iso4217 0 iso4217_USD_per_shares Divide http://www.xbrl.org/2003/iso4217 USD iso4217 http://www.xbrl.org/2003/instance shares 0 shares Standard http://www.xbrl.org/2003/instance shares 0 5 Commitments and Contingencies 3 us-gaap_CommitmentsAndContingenciesDisclosureTextBlock us-gaap true na duration string No definition available. false false false false false false false false false 1 false false 0 0 <div> <table style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td valign="top" width="4%" align="left">9.</td> <td valign="top" align="left">Commitments and Contingencies</td> </tr> </table> Litigation We are subject to various legal proceedings and claims arising out of our business which cover a wide range of matters such as governmental regulations, antitrust and trade regulations, product liability, patent and trademark matters, income taxes and other actions. As previously disclosed, the Company is subject to a variety of investigations into potential competition law violations in Europe, as detailed in Part 2, Item 1, Legal Proceedings of this 10-Q. We believe these matters involve a number of other consumer products companies and/or retail customers. The Company’s policy is to comply with all laws and regulations, including all antitrust and competition laws, and to cooperate with investigations by relevant regulatory authorities, which the Company is doing. Competition and antitrust law inquiries often continue for several years and, if violations are found, can result in substantial fines. In response to the actions of the European Commission and national authorities, the Company launched its own internal investigations into potential violations of competition laws. The Company has identified violations in certain European countries and appropriate actions were taken. In December 2009, the authorities in France and Italy issued separate complaints pursuant to their investigations alleging that the Company, along with several other companies, engaged in violations of competition laws in France and Italy, respectively. The Company will have the opportunity to respond to these complaints. As a result of our initial analysis of these complaints, the Company recorded charges totaling $267 million during the current quarter for potential fines for competition law violations. The remaining matters are in various stages of the investigatory process. It is still too early for us to reasonably estimate the total amount of fines to which the Company will be subject as a result of these various competition law issues. However, the ultimate resolution of these matters will likely result in fines or other costs in excess of amounts accrued to date that could materially impact our income statement and cash flows in the period in which they are accrued and paid, respectively. In other industries, these fines have amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars. We will continue to monitor developments for all of these investigations, and will record additional charges as appropriate. With respect to other litigation and claims, while considerable uncertainty exists, in the opinion of management and our counsel, the ultimate resolution of the various lawsuits and claims will not materially affect our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. We are also subject to contingencies pursuant to environmental laws and regulations that in the future may require us to take action to correct the effects on the environment of prior manufacturing and waste disposal practices. Based on currently available information, we do not believe the ultimate resolution of environmental remediation will have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Income Tax Uncertainties P&G is present in over 150 taxable jurisdictions, and at any point in time has 50 – 60 audits underway at various stages of completion. We have tax years open ranging from 1997 and forward. We are generally not able to reliably estimate the ultimate settlement amounts or timing until the close of the audit. However, we evaluate our tax positions and establish liabilities for uncertain tax positions that may be challenged by local authorities and may not be fully sustained, despite our belief that the underlying tax positions are fully supportable. Uncertain tax positions are reviewed on an ongoing basis and related reserves are adjusted in light of changing facts and circumstances, including progress of tax audits, developments in case law, and closing of statute of limitations. Based on information currently available, we anticipate that over the next 12 month period, audit activity could be completed related to uncertain tax positions for which we have accrued existing liabilities of approximately $500 million. Additional information on the Commitments and Contingencies of the Company can be found in Note 10, Commitments and Contingencies, which appears in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2009.   </div> 9. Commitments and Contingencies Litigation We are subject to various legal proceedings and claims arising out of our business which cover a wide range of false false No definition available. No authoritative reference available. false false 1 1 false UnKnown UnKnown UnKnown false true