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Govt takes VAT action to prevent fraud crimes

Published on 4 Aug 2009 under category: legal

The government has introduced legislation in a bid to reduce the risk of fraud crimes.

Value added tax (VAT) from carbon credits traded in the UK has been removed, the Treasury has announced.

This action has been taken in an effort to prevent fraud crimes involving allowances which are used in relation to an initiative which aims to cut emissions.

The Treasury said: "The change will have no effect on legitimate trading but will prevent fraudsters from charging and collecting VAT which they have no intention of paying to HM Revenue and Customs."

It added that this decision comes after similar steps were taken in the Netherlands and France to prevent these types of fraud crimes.

The Treasury also stated that it has evidence that commodity trading in emissions allowances has been used to steal VAT revenues from the UK.

Last week, a report from the Office of Fair Trading revealed that it may have been the victim of fraud crimes worth as much as £250,000.