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Omvänd skattskyldighet - En ”quick fix” för mervärdesskattebedrägerier?

Zimmerling, Jasper LU (2023) LAGF03 20231
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract
Every year, the members of the European Union lose tens of billions of euros in VAT revenue. A large part of these losses are due to widespread fraud that exploits the laws and rules governing intra-EU trade between EU Member States. One such fraud is Missing Trader Intra Community (MTIC) fraud. This paper examines the causes of MTIC fraud and the legislative efforts in the EU and Sweden to counteract it.
Unlike national trade, where VAT is paid at each stage of the distribution chain, the taxation of goods in trade between EU countries takes place in the country where the goods or services are destined. Such an intra-EU acquisition is accounted for by the recipient in the same way as a domestic transaction and the recipient is obliged to... (More)
Every year, the members of the European Union lose tens of billions of euros in VAT revenue. A large part of these losses are due to widespread fraud that exploits the laws and rules governing intra-EU trade between EU Member States. One such fraud is Missing Trader Intra Community (MTIC) fraud. This paper examines the causes of MTIC fraud and the legislative efforts in the EU and Sweden to counteract it.
Unlike national trade, where VAT is paid at each stage of the distribution chain, the taxation of goods in trade between EU countries takes place in the country where the goods or services are destined. Such an intra-EU acquisition is accounted for by the recipient in the same way as a domestic transaction and the recipient is obliged to pay VAT on the purchase. This, together with a very strong right of deduction for the parties, has made the system vulnerable.
To prevent these frauds, the Union has taken several measures, one of which is the introduction of reverse charge for goods and services in sectors that have been deemed particularly vulnerable. Under the reverse charge mechanism, the seller is no longer required to collect VAT from the buyer, instead it is only charged when the goods or services reach the final consumer.
In Sweden, reverse charge has been introduced for trade in several areas such as with gold and emission rights, scrap and waste, mobile phones and certain electronics. This is based on Article 199a of Directive 2006/112/EC on the common system of value added tax.
Reverse charge has been considered an effective tool to prevent widespread VAT fraud, but it is not a universal solution as it can increase administrative costs for businesses and has been considered to have a negative impact on the internal market if too many goods and services were to be covered by it. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Varje år förlorar den Europeiska unionens medlemmar hundratals miljarder kronor i uteblivna mervärdesskatteintäkter. En stor del av dessa förluster beror på omfattande bedrägerier som utnyttjar de lagar och regler som gäller för unionsintern handel mel-lan EU:s medlemsstater. En särskild typ av sådana bedrägerier är Missing Trader Intra Community – fraud, MTIC-bedrägerier. Denna uppsats undersöker vad dessa MTIC-bedrägerier beror på samt hur lagstiftningsarbetet har sett ut i EU och i Sve-rige för att motverka dessa.
Till skillnad från nationell handel där mervärdesskatt betalas i varje steg i distribut-ionskedjan så sker beskattningen av varor vid handel mellan EU-länder i det land dit varan eller tjänsten är destinerad. Ett sådant... (More)
Varje år förlorar den Europeiska unionens medlemmar hundratals miljarder kronor i uteblivna mervärdesskatteintäkter. En stor del av dessa förluster beror på omfattande bedrägerier som utnyttjar de lagar och regler som gäller för unionsintern handel mel-lan EU:s medlemsstater. En särskild typ av sådana bedrägerier är Missing Trader Intra Community – fraud, MTIC-bedrägerier. Denna uppsats undersöker vad dessa MTIC-bedrägerier beror på samt hur lagstiftningsarbetet har sett ut i EU och i Sve-rige för att motverka dessa.
Till skillnad från nationell handel där mervärdesskatt betalas i varje steg i distribut-ionskedjan så sker beskattningen av varor vid handel mellan EU-länder i det land dit varan eller tjänsten är destinerad. Ett sådant unionsinternt förvärv ska redovisas av mottagaren på samma sätt som en inhemsk transaktion och mottagaren är skyldig att betala mervärdesskatt vid köpet. Detta tillsammans med en mycket stark avdragsrätt för parterna har gjort systemet sårbart.
För att förhindra dessa bedrägerier har unionen vidtagit flera åtgärder, varav en av dem är att införa omvänd skattskyldighet för varor och tjänster i de sektorer som har varit särskilt utsatta. Omvänd skattskyldighet innebär att det inte längre är säljaren som ska ta ut mervärdesskatt av köparen, utan detta sker först när varan eller tjänsten når slutkonsumenten.
I Sverige har omvänd skattskyldighet införts vid handel inom flera områden såsom vid handel med guld och utsläppsrätter, skrot och avfall samt mobiltelefoner och viss elektronik. Detta har skett med stöd av artikel 199a i direktiv 2006/112/EG om ett gemensamt system för mervärdesskatt.
Omvänd skattskyldighet har ansetts vara ett effektivt sätt att förhindra omfattande mervärdesskattbedrägerier, men det är ingen universallösning då det kan innebära ökade administrativa kostnader för företagen och har bedömts påverka den inre marknaden negativ om allt för många handelsvaror och tjänster skulle omfattas. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Zimmerling, Jasper LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGF03 20231
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
skatterätt, finansrätt, rättsekonomi, EU-rätt
language
Swedish
id
9116245
date added to LUP
2023-08-15 11:20:14
date last changed
2023-08-15 11:20:14
@misc{9116245,
  abstract     = {{Every year, the members of the European Union lose tens of billions of euros in VAT revenue. A large part of these losses are due to widespread fraud that exploits the laws and rules governing intra-EU trade between EU Member States. One such fraud is Missing Trader Intra Community (MTIC) fraud. This paper examines the causes of MTIC fraud and the legislative efforts in the EU and Sweden to counteract it.
Unlike national trade, where VAT is paid at each stage of the distribution chain, the taxation of goods in trade between EU countries takes place in the country where the goods or services are destined. Such an intra-EU acquisition is accounted for by the recipient in the same way as a domestic transaction and the recipient is obliged to pay VAT on the purchase. This, together with a very strong right of deduction for the parties, has made the system vulnerable.
To prevent these frauds, the Union has taken several measures, one of which is the introduction of reverse charge for goods and services in sectors that have been deemed particularly vulnerable. Under the reverse charge mechanism, the seller is no longer required to collect VAT from the buyer, instead it is only charged when the goods or services reach the final consumer.
In Sweden, reverse charge has been introduced for trade in several areas such as with gold and emission rights, scrap and waste, mobile phones and certain electronics. This is based on Article 199a of Directive 2006/112/EC on the common system of value added tax.
Reverse charge has been considered an effective tool to prevent widespread VAT fraud, but it is not a universal solution as it can increase administrative costs for businesses and has been considered to have a negative impact on the internal market if too many goods and services were to be covered by it.}},
  author       = {{Zimmerling, Jasper}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Omvänd skattskyldighet - En ”quick fix” för mervärdesskattebedrägerier?}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}