Tax fraud in Greater Porto: 20 defendants accused of fictitious invoicing in timber sector
The Public Prosecution Service has accused 20 defendants of tax fraud for a false invoicing scheme, with patrimonial advantages of more than 8.4 million euros.
Twenty defendants in the dock for fake invoice scheme in timber trade
The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) filed charges against 20 defendants — 13 of which are companies — for tax fraud and frustration of tax credits, according to observador.pt. The charges, dated 30 September, were announced on Wednesday through the official page of the District General Prosecution's Office of Porto.
According to the PPS, the defendants acted in a "concerted or parallel manner among themselves" within the framework of timber and derivative products trade in Greater Porto, between 2017 and 2022. The scheme consisted of recording in the accounts and income declarations "fictitious invoicing, either for non-existent operations, or inflating the values and quantities actually transacted", with the objective of evading VAT and corporate income tax payments.
The PPS centres its charges on the actions of two of the defendants — father and son — and seven companies associated with them, in addition to the remaining defendants and their respective companies. All are charged with the crime of tax fraud; two of them additionally face charges of frustration of tax credits.
The charges also reveal that "some of the defendants associated with the issuance of false invoices were remunerated with monetary returns of 10 to 11% of the invoiced value". One of the defendants is additionally implicated in concealing his assets — namely through registering a vehicle in the names of his children — to obstruct the coercive payment of taxes in tax enforcement proceedings.
The PPS estimates that the patrimonial advantages obtained through the scheme, in terms of VAT and corporate income tax, amount to 8,442,947.37 euros, a sum whose loss in favour of the State has been requested by the charges. The Public Prosecution Service also seeks civil compensation corresponding to the amount of taxes improperly appropriated, plus the respective interest on arrears.
Source: Google News PT — Crime (pt)