The International Training Centre of the Hungarian Ministry of Interior (Budapest, Hungary) hosted from 27 to 30 April 2015 the CEPOL course 08/2015 on Missing Trader Intra-Community fraud (MTIC fraud). The course brought together participants from 21 EU Member States plus Switzerland. It offered an opportunity for participants and experts to share experience and best practices and to understand different national regulations in the field of VAT fraud.
Mr. Chris Perryman, expert from EUROPOL, underlined during his presentation that tackling VAT fraud is a priority for the EU and a “real threat”. He stressed that in 2012 the VAT gap in the European Union was estimated to 171 billion euros. He also explained the different forms of VAT fraud – such as the fraudulent use of customs procedure 42 or the so-called “ carousel fraud” – as well as EUROPOL’s approach to dismantle organised crime groups.
Furthermore, Mr. Ludwig De Winter, representative from the European Commission (DG TAXUD) described how the EC supports the fight against VAT fraud thanks to databases operating at EU level - such as the EUROFISC scheme - and EU projects such as the Fiscalis Programme that help tax authorities to exchange experiences.
Experts from EU Member States also took part in the course. Mr. Joseph Santini from Italy explained the EMPACT project on excise and MTIC fraud and detailed its strategic goals – including training, intelligence sharing and tackling money laundering. Besides, experts from the Hungarian National Tax and Customs Administration talked about the government’s efforts in tackling MTIC fraud.
Combining theory and practice, this course offered to participants and experts a first-hand overview of the daily work of the Hungarian Goods and Exhibit Management Office. Participants expressed high level of satisfaction at the end of the course: “I really appreciated the opportunity to take part in this course. It was very well prepared and the hospitality and arrangements were excellent”, a participant commented in the evaluation form.
