Cross-border VAT fraud deprives tens of billions of euros from European and national budgets.

Omissions

• The MEP did not specify whether they were referring to the total EU VAT gap (€128 billion in 2023, encompassing all forms of non-collection including insolvencies, bankruptcies, and administrative errors) or specifically to cross-border MTIC fraud (€12.5–32.8 billion). The two figures differ by an order of magnitude, and conflating them would be misleading.
• The claim does not cite a specific year or source. The most recent official data available at the time of the session (EC VAT Gap Report 2025, covering data through 2023) places MTIC fraud in a range whose lower bound is only marginally within 'tens of billions'.
• Some academic estimates place cross-border VAT fraud losses as high as €50 billion annually, but the European Commission's own published range is more conservative (€12.5–32.8 billion).

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Commission — VAT Gap (Taxation and Customs Union)MTIC fraud-related losses in the EU range from €12.5 billion to €32.8 billion between 2010 and 2023, representing an average annual VAT revenue loss of 1.2–3.1% of actual VAT revenue.
• SecondaryEPRS Briefing — Targeting VAT Fraud: Role of the Reverse Charge MechanismRecent estimates suggest that annual MTIC fraud-related losses in the EU range from €12.5 billion to €32.8 billion (1% to 3% of total VAT revenue).
• SecondaryEPRS Briefing — Filling the Gap: The EU's Fight Against VAT FraudMTIC fraud resulted in €23 billion in VAT revenue losses in the EU in 2023.