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Note T - Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2022
Notes to Financial Statements  
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

NOTE T—COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

  

Employment Agreements and Consultancy Agreements 

  

The Company has entered into employment and indemnification agreements with three executive officers. These agreements provide that if their employment is terminated as a result of a change of control of the Company, or if their employment is terminated for certain other reasons set forth in the agreements, the Company will be required to pay a severance payment in an amount equal to their annual base salary, and other additional compensation due under the terms of the agreements.

  

The Company has also entered into employment and indemnification agreements with one other executive officer. This agreement provides that if his employment is terminated as a result of a change of control of the Company, the Company will be required to pay a severance payment in an amount equal to six months of his annual base salary and other additional compensation due under the terms of the agreements.

 

Contingencies 

  

From time to time, the Company may be subject to legal proceedings and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business, including, but not limited to, inquiries, investigations, audits and other regulatory proceedings, such as described below.  The Company records a loss provision when it believes it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount can be reasonably estimated. Unless otherwise disclosed, the Company is unable to estimate the possible loss or range of loss for the legal proceeding described below.

  

The Company believes that there are no claims or actions pending or threatened against it, the ultimate disposition of which would have a material adverse effect on it.

 

Other Contingencies 

 

On August 9, 2021, the Company has received a Taxes Notification of Audit Result (“Notice”) from the Texas Comptroller’s Office (the “Comptroller”), for fiscal years between 2016 and 2019, informing the Company that the Comptroller believes the Company did not qualify for certain sales and use tax exemptions on various Research and Development purchases and accordingly the Company is liable for Sale and Use Tax in the amount of approximately $1.0 million including interest charges. The Company paid $0.4 million for the tax notice, but challenged the remaining tax assessments and vigorously defended its position. The Comptroller’s office exhausted its redetermination period and therefore moved AOI’s case to hearing process. AOI has not received its hearing schedule. The management estimated that the additional tax assessment will be in the range of $0.2 million to $0.4 million including interest charges