?
VAT fraud is the theft of value-added tax from a government by organised crime groups (OCG).
The most common scheme is Missing Trader Intra-Community (MTIC) fraud, where criminals take advantage of legislation that allows VAT free trading across EU Member States borders.
In the most complex cases, goods are imported and sold through linked companies before being exported again:
1️⃣ the first company charges VAT to a customer, but does not pay this to the government (missing trader);
2️⃣ the exporters claim and receive the reimbursement of VAT payments that never occurred;
3️⃣ additional “ ” can be interposed, so as to make it more difficult to identify the beneficiary of the fraud.
⚠️ The process can be repeated many times: this is why it is called .
Source Lorenzo Savastano
Latest Posts in "European Union"
- ECJ Confirms Deemed Reseller Rule for App Store In-App Purchases
- VAT Challenges in Toll Manufacturing: Goods vs Services Classification Issues
- VAT and Transfer Pricing – Four recent cases @ ECJ/CJEU – 3 cases decided, 1 case pending
- Briefing document & Podcast: ECJ C-580/16 (Hans Bühler) – Late submission of recapitulative statements should not disqualify a business from exemptions
- ECJ/General Court VAT Cases – Pending cases
