Using digital transaction records as a guide, the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (IAPR) is uncovering an increasing number of businesses that fail to remit to the state the VAT they collect from consumers, as evidenced by the results of cross-checks conducted using myDATA, which enables the digital recording and monitoring of business transactions.
VAT returns are now “locked” to revenue and expenses, as discrepancies have been eliminated and only data entered into the myDATA platform is taken into account. This means that businesses cannot report amounts different from those appearing in the digital system, since VAT returns are based directly on data from electronic ledgers.
The audit uncovered approximately 1,400 businesses and professionals who, despite having legitimate economic activity, submitted zero VAT returns.
At the same time, 129 “missing” traders involved in intra-Community transaction fraud were identified.
As part of a cross-check to identify taxpayers who submitted zero VAT returns for the year 2024 despite being active, 824 businesses were identified that should have included amounts in the zero periodic VAT returns submitted for the third quarter of 2024.
Following the necessary operational and communication actions by the Tax Compliance Directorate, 103 businesses complied by submitting 534 amended VAT returns. The amount of tax liabilities declared totaled 9.8 million euros.
The analysis of myDATA revealed 553 businesses that had submitted blank or zero VAT returns for the third quarter of 2023, despite being engaged in business activity. Of the 553 businesses, 251 complied, and an additional €17.5 million in taxable output was reported .
Tax fraud
In parallel with the cross-checks, AADE auditors completed 159 VAT fraud investigations last year, meeting the annual target of 155 investigations, while the detected violation rate reached 81.1%.
The investigations resulted in the identification of 129 cases of “missing” traders linked to intra-Community VAT fraud (against an annual target of 115), and the process of deactivating their EU VAT ID numbers was initiated. The identified revenue losses from the cases of “missing” traders amounted to €9.9 million.
VAT Refunds
On the VAT refund front, the AADE’s plan for 2026 projects that at least 95% of refunds will be digital and immediate. In 2025, VAT refund requests processed within 90 days accounted for 97.83%, compared to 97.9% in 2024, exceeding the annual target of 95%.
The total number of VAT refund claims processed in 2025 was 53,043 (of which 46,535 were processed automatically), and the number of claims processed within 90 days reached 49,184 in 2025, compared to 48,540 in 2024.