Three directors of a company which had been commissioned by the House of Representatives to provide a VIP guided tour to a delegation in 2017 were fined €700 each after no VAT receipt was issued for the service.

VIP Tours Limited directors Glorianne Mizzi, of Swieqi, Douglas Stephen Barbaro Sant, of Balzan, and Erika Farrugia Harding, also of Swieqi, were found guilty of breaching VAT regulations when they failed to issue a VAT receipt for services provided to the House of Representatives.

Magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace heard that the company had not issued a VAT receipt to parliament, which had appointed them to provide a tour in 2017.

The invoice for €118 was sent to parliament, which settled the bill some time later.

According to the accounts section, parliament usually waits for three months to receive a VAT receipt and then reports the matter to the VAT Department when this does not arrive.

VAT inspectors pounced on the company in November 2017 requesting the receipt issued in July when it had provided the service.

The company accountant told the court that it was normal practice that no VAT receipt is issued when it is a business-to-business service because the invoice has the company’s VAT number on it.

Magistrate Micallef Stafrace noted that the tour company had paid the VAT due on the service it provided to the House of Representatives but had not issued a VAT receipt because the company considered parliament ­as a business.

She said that although parliament had a VAT number and was VAT registered, it could not be considered a business.

Moreover, the tax invoice issued by the company did not include parliament’s VAT number while the VAT receipt was only issued after the department’s inspection.

The magistrate, therefore, found the three directors, who were charged separately, guilty of the charges and fined them €700 each.