Headline:
VAT NEWS: HMRC smashes EU cross-border VAT scam.
Description:
VAT NEWS: HMRC smashes EU cross-border VAT scam.
HMRC has claimed another victory in its fight against carousel fraud – this time foiling a €165m (£111m) European scam involving mobile phones.
In the first cross-border cooperation against carousel fraud between the Revenue and its European counterparts, officials from HMRC and Zollkriminalamt, Germany's customs department, were deployed on the Swiss-German border and at Frankfurt airport to monitor the movement of goods into the European Union.
Codenamed 'Operation Sunrise', the serial numbers of over 30,000 mobile phones were scanned and compared with others in HMRC's 'Nemesis' database to uncover evidence of missing trader intra-community fraud.
Although no arrests have yet been made, officials believe that the phones were imported and exported several times without the VAT being paid to tax authorities.
Carole Upshall, HMRC detection senior manager, said: "Carousel fraud isn't a victimless crime or a clever accounting trick, it is criminal theft of tax revenues needed to fund our country's public services. Close working with our counterparts from the German Customs Investigation and VAT authorities is part of our commitment to tackling MTIC fraud.
"Tracking those commodities that are to be used to make fraudulent VAT claims across EU borders is only one element in our anti-MTIC strategy but it is an excellent example of the kind of international co-operation that will enable us to tackle carousel fraud quickly and effectively."
According to HMRC, data suggests that mobiles worth €2.1bn were imported into Germany from Switzerland in 2005, despite there being no manufacture of mobile telephones in the country, and no obvious commercial reason for such trade.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that seven British men involved in a similar scam involving mobiles phones exported from Spain to the VAT have been ordered to repay £12m in VAT.
Official UK government figures show between £1.1bn and £1.9bn was lost to carousel fraud during 2004-2005 but experts suggest losses could actually be far greater.
source:accountingweb
HMRC has claimed another victory in its fight against carousel fraud – this time foiling a €165m (£111m) European scam involving mobile phones.
In the first cross-border cooperation against carousel fraud between the Revenue and its European counterparts, officials from HMRC and Zollkriminalamt, Germany's customs department, were deployed on the Swiss-German border and at Frankfurt airport to monitor the movement of goods into the European Union.
Codenamed 'Operation Sunrise', the serial numbers of over 30,000 mobile phones were scanned and compared with others in HMRC's 'Nemesis' database to uncover evidence of missing trader intra-community fraud.
Although no arrests have yet been made, officials believe that the phones were imported and exported several times without the VAT being paid to tax authorities.
Carole Upshall, HMRC detection senior manager, said: "Carousel fraud isn't a victimless crime or a clever accounting trick, it is criminal theft of tax revenues needed to fund our country's public services. Close working with our counterparts from the German Customs Investigation and VAT authorities is part of our commitment to tackling MTIC fraud.
"Tracking those commodities that are to be used to make fraudulent VAT claims across EU borders is only one element in our anti-MTIC strategy but it is an excellent example of the kind of international co-operation that will enable us to tackle carousel fraud quickly and effectively."
According to HMRC, data suggests that mobiles worth €2.1bn were imported into Germany from Switzerland in 2005, despite there being no manufacture of mobile telephones in the country, and no obvious commercial reason for such trade.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that seven British men involved in a similar scam involving mobiles phones exported from Spain to the VAT have been ordered to repay £12m in VAT.
Official UK government figures show between £1.1bn and £1.9bn was lost to carousel fraud during 2004-2005 but experts suggest losses could actually be far greater.
source:accountingweb
Date:
04.09.2006
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