Legal issues of improving the inter-institutional cooperation in the fight against the import taxes and import vat fraud: Lithuanian example

Abstract

The article describes t he main characteristics of the import taxes (import value added tax; import VAT) and the legal basis for their administration in the Republic of Lithuania and the EU, including inter - institutional cooperation aspects in the fight against the import taxes and import VAT fraud. I n order to provide relevant insights the article depicts the general institutional framework for the administration of import taxes and import VAT in Lithuania and identifies problems caused by the different import taxes (import VAT) control procedures applied by the different institutions in Lithuania. The article also pays an attention to the actual p ractical issues related to the e xchange of information between the different administrators of import taxes (import VAT) in order to ensure their efficient administration and tax fraud prevention. The arti cle is finalized with the discussion on the possible f uture challenges for the better fight against import taxes fraud and the related reforms of the tax administration system in Lithuania, including the creation of one single tax administration and tax fr aud prevention authority.