Bulgaria’s National Revenue Agency (NRA) and a number of other government agencies carried out a joint operation on August 27 2010 against people defrauding value-added tax (VAT), the agency said.
 
The operation, named the VAT Drainers, followed an investigation by special teams that studied alleged abuses involving transport deals and fraudulent transactions supposedly involving consulting services.
 
In the operation, which also involved the Chief Director for Combating Organised Crime, the State Agency for National Security, prosecutors and the NRA, at least three people were arrested in Sofia.
 
Earlier, the NRA said that six agency employees in Bourgas had been dismissed for unlawful refunds of VAT and other actions that had damaged revenue collection. The employees were said to have cost the public purse about 2.5 million leva.
 
The action was taken after discussion with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov, an NRA media statement said.
 
NRA executive director Krassimir Stefanov said: "We will be uncompromising towards all our employees who are incompetent or who are suspected of being involved in corruption".
 
Since the beginning of 2010, 60 NRA employees have been fired for corruption or dereliction of duty, the agency said.
 
On August 27, Bulgarian-language daily Klasa quoted Stefanov as saying that NRA inspections of bars and restaurants at the country’s Black Sea coastal resorts had uncovered concealed earnings of three million leva.
 
At the end of summer, the NRA and the Finance Minisry would discuss tougher steps against tax defaulters, including shutting down their businesses, Stefanov said.