Report VAT on irregularities

Finance Minister Tonio Fenech has said that the report of the findings of the VAT Department on irregularities had been concluded and had been sent to the VAT Department for its own comments.

Replying to a supplementary parliamentary question by Labour MP Leo Brincat, Mr Fenech said he did not find any objection to publishing such a report. But the minister did not give any specific date when he would do so.

Mr Fenech did not say when the report was drawn up, and neither did he indicate whether his ministry had received the requested feedback from the VAT Department.

The Times has learned that Mr Brincat has submitted a fresh parliamentary question asking the minister specifically to table the said report. Answering a parliamentary question by Anthony Agius Decelis (PL), Mr Fenech said that between January and October this year the VAT Department had instituted court proceedings against 1,770 persons who had not sent in their returns. These had joined 1,613 cases carried over from 2009.

Minister Fenech said that in all cases the people involved had been given every opportunity to regularise their positions before the start of court proceedings. In fact, 1,536 cases had been withdrawn because the accused had taken the opportunity, and 266 had been fined. The remaining cases were still pending.