Alleged €64m tax scam uncovered

THE Tax Department has reported 23 businesses in Barcelona and Girona dedicated to importing Chinese goods for a €64 million tax fraud.

The companies, which import Chinese goods for wholesale, allegedly failed to declare the sum in VAT (IVA) returns between 2007 and 2011 and neglected to pay their Company Tax.

Forty-three people are implicated, the majority of whom are of Chinese origin, and a private Customs Officer.

The wholesale businesses are mostly situated in the Barcelona municipalities of Badalona and Sant Adria de Besos and had allegedly created a complex network to hide the true value of  imports to customs and later sell the goods on the black market.