By John Oates for The Register.
This story has been reproduced with permission.
Figures from the Office of National Statistics reveal that trade
in goods associated with the fraud fell to £1.2bn in August
compared with £1.5bn the month before.
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has made the fraud a
top priority, which has seen totals fall two months in a row.
It has devoted more investigators to the scam and is getting EC
law changed to alter the way VAT is paid for goods such as mobile
phones and computer chips, which are most often used for the
fraud.
Last month HMRC scored a major victory against a bank it claims
was involved in a large percentage of carousel transactions. It
claimed some 2,500 UK residents were using the First Curacao
International Bank to clear carousel payments. Customs worked with
Dutch authorities to shut it down.
Carousel fraud involves importing VAT-free goods from another EC
country, selling them on with VAT added and then disappearing
before paying HMRC the VAT. More complex fraud involves exporting,
or claiming to export, goods in order to claim VAT back from the
Revenue. Often the same goods are circled in and out several
times.
© The Register
2006
