Η απάτη του αφανούς εμπόρου στις διακοινοτικές συναλλαγές: το κοινοτικό πλαίσιο αντιμετώπισης και μία συζήτηση επί των προτάσεων για διαρθρωτική ή διοικητική αναπροσαρμογή του ΦΠΑ

The thesis examines the background and mechanisms of the Missing Trader Intra-Community (MTIC) Fraud within the transitional European VAT system. The paper's main focus is on one of the most serious forms of the fraud, the Carousel Fraud, which aggressively circumvents the zero-rating of intra-Community transactions. Although there have been several national and EU legal responses towards the prevention of the MTIC Fraud, the national adherence to the taxation sovereignty and the lack of consensus with regards to the harmonization of the national tax rates prevents, for the time being, the adoption of a definite EU VAT model structurally blocking the operation of the fraud. As a result, the current dialogue is particularly steered towards administrative proposals which “surgically” remove or isolate some of the MTIC’s fraudulent potential. The author argues that the current administrative advocacy remains a temporary measure but cannot be effective over the long-term, should the market continue to operate within the transitional VAT regime.