- The Estonian Tax and Customs Board estimates a VAT loss of 94 million euros annually due to approximately 19,500 companies.
- Common violations include concealing turnover and unjustified VAT input claims.
- Companies with VAT risks make up 6 percent of all businesses in Estonia.
- The board reviewed around 11,000 companies’ VAT declarations last year, leading to an increase in declared VAT obligations by 53 million euros.
- Most companies correct their errors voluntarily after being contacted by the board.
- The board found over 1,270 errors in VAT refund claims in 2024, totaling 28 million euros.
- A frequent issue is unjustified input VAT claims for transactions under 1,000 euros.
- The most common VAT fraud involves fictitious invoices for input VAT deductions.
- The board identified 230 cases of fictitious invoice fraud last year, resulting in 8 million euros in tax obligations.
- The most prevalent method of tax evasion is not declaring turnover, causing 39 million euros in VAT loss annually.
- Retail, service, and construction sectors are the most common offenders in turnover concealment.
- The board found turnover concealment in 1,600 companies in 2024, increasing tax obligations by 24 million euros.
- A common method of turnover concealment is not registering for VAT obligations by splitting turnover among multiple companies.
Source: emta.ee
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
