International hauliers hit by severe VAT refund delays
Page 8
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
CM COVER STORY chris.tindatt(rbi.co.uk INTERNATIONAL HAULIERS say they are becoming increasingly desperate after changes in the way they claim VAT refunds have left them out of pocket by hundreds of thousands of pounds.
As the country emerges out of recession, the financial woes of many operators working on the Continent have been compounded by glitches in computer systems across Europe.
The VAI' refund process moved online from a paper-based system at the beginning of the year and instantly spelt disaster for UK firms trying to reclaim money spent abroad on fuel and road tolls.
Peter Harding, boss at Pembrokeshire-based Peter Harding Freight, says he is owed more than £26.000 stretching back to last October from countries such as France and Belgium and he has not been told when he will he paid. "For the smaller international operator its quite alarming," he adds. "If you went to your hank manager and asked for an overdraft to cover you, the first thing he would ask is, when are you going to pay this money back? You would say I don't know, no-one will tell me. It's a complete mess."
Jenny Pierce, from Si Pierce Transport in Leighton Biward, Beds, says the firm is owed a "considerable sum" for refunds from France, Italy and Belgium:"You get to a point where you think nobody takes any notice of you. The EU blatantly made a directive without any thought of how it would affect people at the other end." Another firm, which asked to remain anonymous, says it expects to get its refunds, but it isn't sure when: "So many of these countries are having financial problems, and this makes people jittery. Then this happens and it's the final nail in the coffin," a spokeswoman adds. Peter Cullum, Road Haulage Association head of international affairs, says France admitted a month ago it had some 1,000 outstanding claims to process after the system was changed in order to make slow payers improve. -The problem is that some countries have not been able to maintain their game, let alone raise it," he says. "We are on the case and are pressing for results."
An HM Revenue & Customs spokesman says the agency is aware of problems overseas. "We are engaging with the relevant authorities to see if there's a way to resolve the problems," he adds. "But ultimately we don't have any sway; there's very little we can do E. to force their hands 14. FOR THE LI,TEST114TRS:iVISIT: