Operation "Fuel"

• Officials from the AEAT have visited service stations that continuously sell products at an abnormally low price
• The action has requested supplier data and supply prices, in addition to warning these gas stations of the responsibilities they could incur when buying fuel from other retailers, something that is prohibited by the Hydrocarbons Law.
• In recent years, the Agency has dismantled numerous VAT fraud schemes in the sector and maintains several investigations open.

May 14, 2024.- Officials from the Inspection Area of ​​the Tax Agency have appeared at more than 400 gas stations in 14 CCAA within the framework of the operation called 'Fuel', an action to obtain information on VAT fraud in the hydrocarbons sector.

During the action, which began yesterday and was completed today, these service stations, which had been selling fuel at abnormally low prices, were asked to provide information on their suppliers and supply prices, as well as to warn the gas stations of the responsibilities they could incur when buying the product from other retailers, something that has been prohibited by the Hydrocarbons Law since March 28.

Specifically, Agency officials have requested real-time data from the suppliers of these service stations in order to detect possible instrumental companies that may be part of VAT fraud schemes in the sector.

Information is also requested on the product's place of origin, supporting documents and supply prices, as well as payment methods for the final consumer. Once the requested information has been received, the Agency will continue with the relevant investigations.

Fraud and unfair competition

The purpose of the appearances is also to warn gas stations of the responsibilities they may incur if they acquire the product at notoriously anomalous prices, as indicated in article 87.5 of the VAT Law itself, which establishes the subsidiary liability of the purchaser in these cases.

Likewise, gas stations have been informed of the prohibition on purchasing products from other retailers, an area in which the usual VAT schemes in the hydrocarbon sector are usually positioned.

The recent amendment to the hydrocarbons legislation, which was introduced on 28 March, prohibits wholesale operators from selling to companies that are not other wholesalers or distributors of fuel to consumers, and also prohibits retail distributors from selling to other retailers or wholesalers.

This is intended to largely avoid the use of marketers or intermediaries in the materialization and concealment of VAT fraud in the sector, which in addition to the obvious damage it entails for the public treasury, implies an artificial price reduction and introduces unfair competition in the sector.

The experience of previous operations shows that the presence of the Administration in the premises or addresses where the economic activity is carried out, or where the business is managed, allows a more effective fight against non-compliances that can be regularized.

The presence of persons in companies is therefore configured as an essential element in the control of complex fraud, especially in those areas that are difficult to verify, such as organized fraud networks in the area of the purchase and sale of hydrocarbons.

VAT schemes

VAT fraud in the hydrocarbon sector has been channeled for years through fraud schemes that, by partly applying the result of the fraud to a significant drop in the retail price, manage to significantly increase sales.

In recent times, coinciding with considerable increases in fuel prices due to the market situation, this effect has increased due to the intervention in the purchase and sale of fuel by instrumental entities that do not pay the corresponding VAT.

As in previous years, the AEAT Control Plan Guidelines for 2024 highlight the importance of controlling all parties involved in the hydrocarbon distribution chain up to its retail distribution, including the control of VAT fraud, and active fraud schemes. In recent years, the Tax Agency has dismantled numerous VAT fraud schemes in the sector and maintains several investigations open along the same lines.