Used car fraud leads to fines of thousands of euros
Unsuspecting owners of used cars face the threat of hefty fines and the payment of duties. This is due to phenomena of fraud regarding the import of used vehicles.
Importers often do not pay the necessary levies as they have the cars clear customs using the name of the buyer, and declare a lower value of the vehicles than their real one.
The Independent Authority for Public Revenue performed checks on about 2% of used car imports in the first quarter of the year and found the value-added tax had not been paid on 40% of them following cross-checking with foreign tax and customs authorities. The average fine comes to 6,850 euros.
