THE TAX Cobra team, comprising more than 100 officials from the Financial Administration and the police, says it has uncovered another case of tax fraud.
“We have managed to save €700,000 in the form of excessive [tax refund] demands that haven’t been paid,” Police Corps President Tibor Gašpar said, as quoted by the SITA newswire on April 24.
The case involved real estate sales for which VAT deductions were sought; and fictitious invoices, for items such as elevators, that were created in order to avoid payment of VAT, SITA reported, citing Daniel Čech of the Financial Administration. The tax evasion is to have been worth about €2 million, of which €700,000 in refunds was stopped.
As many as 14 companies were involved in the case. Several people were detained on April 23, including an officer from the tax office. In total, 10 people have been charged, one of whom is serving a prison sentence for other crimes, and an eleventh person is still being sought. The police are asking for three of those detained to be held in custody.
“The charged persons are facing prison sentences of seven to 12 years,” Gašpar said, as quoted by SITA.
Two of those charged are alleged to have been the organisers of the fraud, while the others acted as representatives of the firms involved.
The Tax Cobra team said it had documented at least 200 fictitious business transactions, some of them including goods from the Czech Republic and Hungary. They took place in 2011 and 2012, the police reported.
