Drug maker Pfizer's Venezuelan unit paid 36.59 million bolivars ($17 million) in back taxes after auditors questioned its transfer pricing methodology, Venezuela's tax service said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Andean nation's tax service submitted the claim for back taxes in May after an audit of Pfizer's (PFE.N) tax returns. The claim cited omissions of operational revenue and the way Pfizer accounted for sales to distributors and export clients in its report.

Venezuela has cracked down on noncompliance with tax law in recent years. Companies that have not met requirements for records-keeping for value added tax have had their offices temporarily closed. Transfer pricing policies have come under close scrutiny as Venezuela seeks to maximize tax revenue from multinationals serving its import-dependent private sector. ($1=2.15 bolivars) (Reporting by Robert Campbell. Editing by Robert MacMillan)

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