From 2005 to 2009, the amount totaled 3 billion BGN ($2.2 billion), spokesman Krasimir Stefanov told Bulgarian daily newspaper Dnevnik.
The wholesale trade in oil and grain with Romania, Russia and Greece are the most vulnerable to tax fraud, Stefanov said.
“The largest VAT fraud attempts in Bulgaria occur in deals between Bulgarian firms and their partners in Greece and Romania. That is why a year ago we started correspondence with the tax authorities of these countries. We have already made an agreement for faster tax data exchange with Romania but the talks with Greece are going more slowly because of the developments there,” Stefanov told Dnevnik referring to the Greek debt crisis.
The spokesman said that issues with VAT fraud in the oil and grain markets were one of the reasons why the Bulgarian Customs Agency started investigating contraband fuel. This eventually led the customs agency to revoke the Russian oil company Lukoil’s storage license in Bulgaria. Authorities also issued an order suspending the tax warehouse licenses of Lukoil’s Neftochim refinery and oil terminal.
Investigators are trying to ascertain exactly how much oil Lukoil is producing. The company controls about 70 percent share in the country’s fuel market.
The Supreme Administrative Court is expected to rule this afternoon if Lukoil can continue operating. Experts expect Bulgaria to face an immediate fuel shortage if the company is forced to stop producing.
