VAT refunds head for 'crisis'
Page 12
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
chris.tindattlarbi.co.uk THE VAT REFUND fiasco in Europe will result in a "liquidity crisis" for hauliers that will damage economic recovery, warns the International Road Transport Union (IRU).
Almost a year after the process for claiming back VAT payments changed from a paper-based system to an online version, the IRU is demanding that the EU agrees to scrap the computer system until the crisis is over.
Already this year Time Critical Interna tional and J Adams & Son have blamed delayed VAT payments for their businesses failing (CM 19 August).
The IRU General Assembly has now adopted a resolution that will press EU and national governments to sort out their payment procedures.
It says 80% of the total number of claims submitted every year are from road transport operators that have purchased fuel, repair services or paid for motorway tolls ahead.
IRU president Janusz Lacny says: "Failure to ensure the reliable and timely refund of VAT means bankruptcy for transport companies whose liquidity situation is already on a knife edge because of the economic crisis."
Peter Cullum, head of international affairs at the Road Haulage Association, says it has heard from members claiming the system is working. But he says: "It's very patchy. The plans were not discussed; [The EU] did not find out if it could deliver it on time, it just got political agreement; there is no project director, there's no update on performance, no fallback procedure and there was no trial. How it did it is practically a mystery."