Eurofisc
Value Added Tax (VAT) is a consumption tax that levies the purchase of goods and the provision of services throughout the European Union (EU). It is a harmonized tax, which means that the EU It has general rules on the VATHowever, its application may vary from country to country. There is a taxable event, intra-community transactions, which are those commercial transactions that take place between two companies or professionals from different member states of the EU That is, the supplier and the customer are located in different Member States, in which the payment must be made. VAT of the operation, normally, in the Member State of destination. Therefore, cooperation between Member States is necessary to verify that the transaction is properly declared and registered.
Furthermore, the VAT It is a tax that generates a significant portion of national budget revenues and, at the same time, is a resource of the Union; Approximately 10% of the Community budget's revenue comes from a percentage of the estimated revenue of VAT transferred by the Member States.
Its revenue-generating importance is such that the European Commission has been publishing, for some years now, the study and data on the tax gap. VAT (VAT gap), which is the estimated overall difference between the theoretical income projected as VAT and the amount actually collected in each Member State. The reasons are varied, but one of them is fraud. VATespecially the missing trader fraud, in which criminal organizations abuse European regulations on cross-border transactions between Member States, which are exempt from VAT Therefore, in 2024, for the first time, the Commission published a study of the gap VAT estimated of this type of fraud, based on Intrastat methodology.
As Europe is a single market with transactions between member states and the VAT It is an important tax for revenue purposes; therefore, administrative cooperation between Member States is of great importance to facilitate compliance and combat fraud in the VAT .
The main rule is the Regulation ( EU ) Council Regulation (EC) No 904/2010 of 7 October 2010 on administrative cooperation and combating fraud in the field of VAT . Cooperation between tax authorities is regulated, as well as between these and security forces such as Europol (European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation) and OLAF (European Anti-Fraud Office).
A key figure in this cooperation is Eurofisc (1)The network of experts in the fight against VAT fraud from the 27 member states, called Eurofisc liaison officers, Norway has joined since 2018 (2).
In May 2026, the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) reached a provisional agreement on amending this Regulation to strengthen the fight against fraud. VAT in the EU through increased cooperation between Member States, the European Public Prosecutor's Office and the OLAF . The new framework will give the European Public Prosecutor's Office the OLAF more direct access to key data about the VAT in cross-border commercial transactions in the EU , in particular information held by Eurofisc. The new regulations will come into force in the coming months following the opinion of the European Parliament and formal adoption by the Council.
Eurofisc's objective is to prevent and investigate fraud in the VAT intracommunity. Eurofisc liaison officers from Member States exchange alerts quickly and selectively. They jointly process and analyze information from operators who, acting in a planned and coordinated manner, both nationally and at the European level, abuse the regulations governing intra-community operations to avoid paying in taxes. VAT in the Member States where the consumption of goods and services takes place. They are competent to coordinate follow-up actions and administrative investigations regarding identified frauds.
Eurofisc has access to the recapitulative statements of intra-community transactions submitted in the Member States; to the complete information of vehicles registered in the European Union; customs data on imports in the EU exempt from EU . Its purpose is to verify if the entry is correct. VAT in the Member State of acquisition or consumption.
Eurofisc uses an electronic system, the tool Transaction Network Analysis (TNA), to quickly exchange and jointly process data from VAT . TNA It allows Eurofisc to detect suspicious networks earlier and more efficiently.
Since 2024, Eurofisc has had access to the new European database. CESOP The Central Electronic Payment Information System contains cross-border payments reported by payment service providers, which are those in which they have intervened, when the payer is located in one Member State and the payee is located in another Member State or is not located in the EU . This information makes it easier and more accurate to identify and combat fraudulent behavior in the e-commerce sector.
Eurofisc liaison officers belong to and are responsible solely to their national administrations. However, Eurofisc's action is financed by EU through the program Fiscalis, initiative for cooperation in tax matters.
This program funds European Information Systems, such as TNA and CESOP , including its development, maintenance, operation and quality control. Fiscalis It finances joint actions, consisting mainly of meetings of liaison officers from all Member States and Norway, which can be in person or by videoconference, to exchange knowledge, experiences and good practices among them. Finally, the program covers training needs in practical matters or the use of tools.
Eurofisc liaison officers from the 27 Member States cooperate with each other and combat cross-border tax fraud. VAT in the European Union. Its action, financed by the European budget, improves the links between Member States and contributes to increasing the efficiency of the public sector, thus having a positive impact on European citizens.
(1) Regulated in Articles 33 to 37 of Regulation (EU) 904/2010. (Back)
(2) Agreement between the European Union and the Kingdom of Norway on administrative cooperation, combating fraud and recovering debts in the field of VAT in 2018. (Back)