Please refer to the article by Anna Mallia entitled ‘Complicity in undeclared work’ published on page 12 of The Malta Today Midweek of Wednesday 1 July 2009.
In this article Dr Mallia suggests that before issuing a VAT number to a person, the VAT Department should request documentation that the person is registered with the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC).
May I point out that VAT is harmonised throughout the EU and the VAT Act is based on Council Directive 2006/112/EC (also known as the VAT Directive). Such Directive regulates the way member states should impose obligations that are strictly required in connection with VAT and therefore it is outside the spirit of such Directive to introduce measures in VAT in order to safeguard the provisions of legislation in other areas not connected to VAT.
Notwithstanding this, I would like to inform your correspondent that there is full co-operation between the VAT Department and ETC on this matter. In fact, upon the authority of the Prime Minister in terms of Article 56 of the VAT Act, the VAT Department has been passing information regularly to ETC on persons who have a VAT number, for ETC to conduct its own investigations.
This is proof that the VAT Department, within the parameters of VAT legislation, extends full co-operation to other Government organisations or departments in the implementation of their own enforcement procedures.
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