Other countries closed the VAT gap - then Sweden became the fraudsters' target

- This is an expression that it should be easy to be an entrepreneur in Sweden, but then it will also be more difficult to access the criminals, says fraud expert Anders Björkenheim at Accessus.

Both the Swedish Tax Agency and the Swedish Environmental Crime Agency emphasize that it is not possible to access the fraud with only investigations.

- An investigation is like coming up with a Wettex cloth when there is a water leak, it is too late and too little, says chief prosecutor Jan Tibbling at the Swedish Environmental Crime Agency.

The change in the law that makes the fraud impossible is called reverse VAT.

In recent years, it has been introduced for mobile commerce in a number of EU countries, and the Swedish Tax Agency has then noted a clear increase in mobile-linked VAT fraud in Sweden (see fact box).

The Swedish government has also initiated a reverse VAT obligation on trade in mobile phones, but we are late on the issue and the change will not take effect until 1 April this year.

This is because the business community needs a preparation time, according to Minister of Finance Magdalena Andersson (S).

- We would have liked to have seen it before, but this is very administratively burdensome for the business community.

But other EU countries have introduced it several years ago?

-Sweden has previously had lower VAT fraud than other countries.

Waiting with IP telephony

The Swedish law change will only apply to trade in mobile phones, and not trade in IP telephony.

As SVT previously reported, the government removed IP telephony from the original bill after criticism from the business community.

- It is a door that has been left open, says prosecutor Jan Tibbling.

SVT's review shows that 70 of the more than 100 companies that can be connected to the mobile complex, also state that they trade with IP telephony.

- We would have liked to have seen it included in the change in the law, says Liz Kilenius at the Swedish Tax Agency.

However, Magdalena Andersson wants to wait for the result of the first tightening of the law for mobile commerce.

- But if it turns out that it is not effective, we are prepared to look further at IP telephony.

At the same time, there are signs that suspected fraudulent companies may move on to further new product groups.

- We can expect new products around the corner, says Peter Forsman, fraud expert at Fidi.