NEW YORK: Coca-Cola said Friday it plans to pay a tax penalty worth $6 billion while it pursues an appeal in a long-running dispute with the Internal Revenue Service.

`The company believes it will prevail on appeal, Coca-Cola said of a US tax court ruling dated July 31 that covered the years 2007, 2008 and 2009.

The back taxes amount to $2.7bn, which with interest makes the total owed `approximately $6.0bn,` the company said.

`The company looks forward to the opportunity to begin the appellate process and, as part of that process, will pay the agreed-upon liability and interest to the IRS,` Coca-Cola said Friday, adding that it has 90 days to file a notice with the US Court of Appeals.

The case dates to 2015 when Coca-Cola received a notice from the IRS contesting the company`s accounting of income from foreign affiliates over the need for `arms-length` pricing of transactions with these entities, Coca-Cola said in a securities filing.-AFP