Officials said they «do not recognise the figures» put forward by a Belgian taskforce, which suggest
VAT fraud rate in the UK is five times higher than any other EU country.
HMRC has advocated a «reverse» charge or a flat 15 %
VAT rate between member states that could be later reclaimed to deter carousel
fraud but the simpler export of non-existent or significantly overvalued «antiques» from the UK would escape these restrictions.