The Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) has accused 24 individuals and 20 companies of “developing a scheme” between 2019 and 2023 to reduce VAT payments on the resale of cars they bought used in the European Union.
On its official website, the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Region of Porto (PGR-P) reported on Tuesday that “through this action” 44 defendants sold 1,782 vehicles that were illegally using the special VAT regime, causing losses to the state amounting to 4.4 million euros, an amount that the deputy asked to be declared lost to the state.
“To guarantee such value, a seizure of the defendants’ assets was requested and ordered,” the prosecutor’s office emphasized.
According to the State Register of Criminal Investigations, proceeds from criminal activity were used to purchase goods for themselves or third parties.
44 defendants are charged with crimes of criminal association, simple and aggravated tax fraud and money laundering.
In addition, five of the defendants are also charged with active corruption, another defendant is also charged with passive corruption and abuse of power, and another is charged with the crime of possessing a prohibited weapon.
According to the indictment, between early 2019 and 2023, 12 of the 24 defendants devoted themselves to selling used cars they had purchased, primarily in EU countries, and devised a scheme to reduce the VAT amounts due on their resale.
According to the prosecutor’s office, “such a scheme was based on various forms of action”, namely, the falsification of formal requirements provided for by the Special Tax Regime for Used Goods, Art, Collectibles and Antiques, the distortion of the method for calculating the amount of tax. VAT due, as a result of which invoices issued in the name of companies are displayed and subsequently declared at an amount lower than the actual price charged, and completely conceal the amounts received on account of the selling price of vehicles.
“In collaboration with the other 12 defendants, they also formed several defendant companies which did not carry on any real business activity, as they acted solely as intermediaries in the invoicing scheme for the purchases, acting between the original sellers and companies managed by those first defendants or in separate names, which, as the real resellers and beneficiaries, sold and invoiced to the end consumer,” he explained.
Among these employees are two certified accountants who were responsible for the preparation of the necessary documents and the creation of intermediary companies, as well as an employee of the Tax and Customs Authority working in the customs delegation in the Northern Zone, who, thanks to his knowledge, information, access and professional powers, allowed him to gain access and resolve issues related to the legalization of vehicles on the territory of the country, the prosecutor’s office clarified.
According to the PGR-P, this employee acted “in violation of his functional duties and for financial compensation, namely tickets to a football match.”
One of the defendants in the case, who will be the main driver of the case, was subject to a coercive measure in the form of an obligation to stay at home, the prosecutor’s office concluded.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Sandra Hansen, a news website Author and Reporter for 24 News Reporters. I have over 7 years of experience in the journalism field, with an extensive background in politics and political science. My passion is to tell stories that are important to people around the globe and to engage readers with compelling content.