What it was about

VAT fraud costs the EU and national budgets several billion euro every year. Despite the fact that unpaid VAT is not only due to fraud, non-compliance remains an important contributor to these financial losses. There are different types of VAT fraud that can be identified ranging from inflated refund claims, under-reported sales, fictitious traders, to a more complex type of fraud which has an international dimension e.g. VAT carousel or missing trader fraud.

Taught by the experts from the Dutch Ministry of finance, this course provided insights into current developments and challenges in VAT administration along with the exchange of information on recent VAT fraud schemes supported by discussions on possible ways of combating them. As some of the features of the VAT system create an incentive or opportunity to engage in fraudulent activities, removing them may reduce the risk of fraud. The learning initiative showed how tax authorities can evaluate the risk of the existence of VAT fraud, how and what evidence they can collect in order to prove the existence of VAT fraud, and what tools and techniques for conducting audits, investigations and tracking taxable goods and services from origin to consumption they can employ to effectively reduce otherwise irreparable revenue shortfalls. The course also showed how innovative approaches and technology are making it easier to mitigate such fraudulent activities that cause significant losses of revenue.

What were the benefits

This learning initiative applied participatory learning design, combining subject matter presentations with group work activities. As such it provided an interactive forum in which participants were be able to share their competences and insights actively with others, identify opportunities for applying the gained knowledge, and optimize learning outcomes.

An important feature of this event was the valuable exchange of ideas and country specific experiences on what tax authorities across SEE can do to adjust internal control processes and develop their capacities to react swiftly and effectively to such sudden and complex cases of more and more sophisticated VAT fraud schemes. In particular the following were the learning objectives:

• Getting an overview of the current concerns in the EU with regards to the VAT compliance management
• Learning about of the main types of fraud to which the VAT is liable
• Gaining new insights into evaluating risk of VAT fraud
• Gaining new insights into uncovering VAT frauds and discussed ways of tackling illicit financial flows quickly and effectively on a national and international levels
• Learning by exchange of experiences from other countries

Who was it for

This learning initiative was designed for mid to senior level tax auditors, VAT advisors, tax administrators and Finance Ministry representatives who already have a good knowledge of the EU VAT system and are involved or have experience with detecting, investigating and implementing prevention measures for VAT frauds on national and international levels.
 

Faculty

Mrs. Carla Van Rijn, Ministry of Finance, Netherlands.

Mr. Bram Van Rij, Ministry of Finance, Netherlands.

Partners

This learning initiative is supported by: