The concept of Value Added Tax (VAT), which was established in the European Union over four decades ago, was implemented in the Republic of Serbia at the beginning of 2005, with the introduction of the Law on Value Added Tax. It took a relatively short period of time (compared to the tradition enjoyed by this form of tax in the EU), for VAT to gain the reputation of the most lucrative tax (in narrow sense) revenue, participating with 30,28% in the total amount of tax revenues obtained in 2011. The success of VAT collection is owed to the levying mechanism in each stage of the turnover cycle (the fractionated payment system), to its indirect character (the tax is transferred to the final consumer who pays it through the price of goods and services), to a relatively small number of taxpayers with a significant participation in the total amount of tax revenues, but also to the advantages it features from the aspect of its susceptibility to tax evasion in comparison to its biggest competitor - retail sales tax. However, this does not imply that this form of tax is utterly immune to tax evasion. What’s more, the specificity of the leading VAT concept is not only favorable for certain forms of evasion, but also stimulating. Namely, an integral part of VAT’s modus operandi is the claim from the fisc. This is what makes it unique and unlike any other tax form in modern tax systems. All it takes to collect a claim is supplier’s invoice. It is easy to conclude that even superficial knowledge of the leading VAT concept may seem intriguing (to say the least) to a potential perpetrator to make an attempt at getting rich at the expense of the treasury. Paradoxically, while VAT does feed the budget, it also represents a channel for its discharge. Having in mind the dominant participation of this type of tax in the structure of Serbia’s public revenues, the growth tendency of the budget deficit, and alarming signals (above all from EU countries) about the proportion of its evasion, the time seems right to produce a thesis with an aim to identify and analyze the basic forms of VAT fraud; to bring them into connection with the leading VAT concept and also, to point to the possibilities at exchequer’s disposal when fighting evasion, both in the context of the Acquis Communautaire and beyond it. In the research of forms in which evasion of VAT appears, we relied on the interview and content analysis methods. The basic reason for such approach is that it is difficult to find reliable sources in this domain. The existing literature provides only the starting point for further research. We have reached relevant information via discussion and analysis of the available documentation provided by tax bodies about the detected cases of VAT fraud. Both normative and dogmatic methods were applied in order to establish the fundamental principles of the European VAT. The historical-legal method was also essential for understanding what made the European legislator opt for the general, all-stage, indirect, economically neutral consumption tax. Getting to know the fundamental principles of the European VAT concept was crucial to answering several questions. First, can the forms in which VAT fraud appears be related to its system characteristics, and are the alternative approaches in the process of VAT designing an appropriate solution for the evasion issue? Then, relying on the comparative method, to what extent are the European and Serbian taxation systems similar, whether the same forms of fraud may occur in the EU as well as in Serbia and whether anti-evasion measures are mutually applicable? And finally, can an efficient anti-evasion strategy be based on conventional measures, or is a radical reform of the existing system inevitable? The same methods were used to determine what initiated the establishment of anti-evasion policy in the EU based on conventional measures, as well as how ready are the member-states to implement system changes of the existing Acquis Communautaire (the historical-legal method). The normative and dogmatic methods were applied in the investigation of the reconcilability of the proposed measures with the existing Acquis Communautaire. In addition, the comparative method provided us with an insight into the experiences of other countries in the implementation of anti-evasion measures. Based on the given research, we have reached the following conclusions: 1. The specificity of the leading VAT concept is favorable for certain forms of its evasion. However, alternative approaches in the process of VAT designing are not an acceptable solution for this issue. 2. The European and Serbian VAT models are based on identical fundamental principles. The implications are: •that member-states, as well as our country are threatened by the same evasion forms, since those can most commonly be related to one of the system’s characteristics. The exception are “carousel” and “chain” transactions in a form specific for the EU territory; -that efficient European anti-evasion policy measures are acceptable for the Serbian legislator and vice versa, as long as they are in compliance with the Acquis Communautaire; -that anti-evasion policy in Serbia can be based on a deviation from the fundamental principles of the European VAT, but that would be a step back in the process of harmonization of the Serbian legislation with Acquis Communautaire. 3. The European Commission insists on an efficient implementation of conventional measures. They are comprehensive and diverse, in line with the basic principles of the European VAT legislation and the existing legal framework. However, they do not eliminate the cause of the problem, and precisely this is their “limited range” in comparison with system measures, which are a superior solution. Unfortunately, prior suggestions for the system change of VAT were either contrary to the fundamental principles and/or had flaws which could not qualify them as adequate options in the existing system. 4. Having in mind everything given above, we firmly believe that Serbia should follow the EU path. Conventional measures enable the treasury interest protection in various ways. The experiences of member-states are directly available to tax administration officers within a special program at the EU level. And finally, basing the Serbian anti-evasion policy on the European model is compatible with the process of harmonization of the Serbian and European law. Koncept poreza na dodatu vrednost, koji je u Evropskoj uniji ustanovljen pre više od četiri decenije, u Republici Srbiji je implementiran početkom 2005. godine, Zakonom o porezu na dodatu vrednost. Za relativno kratko vreme (u poređenju sa tradicijom koju ovaj poreski oblik uživa na području Evropske unije), sa učešćem od 30,28% u ukupno ostvarenom poreskom prihodu u 2011. godini, PDV je u Srbiji izborio titulu najizdašnijeg poreskog (u užem smislu) prihoda. Uspeh u naplati PDV zahvaljuje mehanizmu ubiranja u svakoj fazi prometnog ciklusa (sistem frakcione naplate), indirektnom karakteru (porez se prevaljuje na krajnjeg potrošača koji ga plaća kroz cenu dobara i usluga), relativno niskom broju poreskih obveznika sa značajnim učešćem u ukupno ostvarenom poreskom prihodu, ali i prednostima, koje sa aspekta podložnosti nezakonitoj poreskoj evaziji, poseduje u odnosu na najznačajnijeg konkurenta – opšti porez na promet u maloprodaji. To, međutim, ne znači da je ovaj poreski oblik u potpunosti imun na ovu pojavu. Štaviše, specifičnosti vladajućeg koncepta poreza na dodatu vrednost ne samo da pogoduju određenim oblicima nezakonite evazije, već je i podstiču. Naime, integralni deo modus operandija poreza na dodatu vrednost je potraživanje prema fiskusu. Po tome je on jedinstven i ne nalikuje ni jednom drugom poreskom obliku u savremenim poreskim sistemima. Sve što je potrebno da se to potraživanje unovči jeste račun dobavljača. Lako je zaključiti da već površno poznavanje vladajućeg koncepta poreza na dodatu vrednost može, u najmanju ruku, delovati intrigantno na potencijalnog V počinioca da se obogati na štetu fiskusa. Paradoksalno, dok PDV puni budžet istovremeno je i modalitet za njegovo pražnjenje. S obzirom na dominantno učešće ovog poreza u strukturi javnih prihoda Srbije, trend porasta budžetskog deficita i alarmantne signale (pre svega iz zemalja Evropske unije) o razmerama njegove evazije, čini se da smo izabrali pravo vreme za izradu disertacije sa ciljem da identifikujemo i analiziramo osnovne oblike nezakonite evazije PDV; da ih dovedemo u vezu sa važećim konceptom PDV; i da ukažemo na mogućnosti koje fiskus ima na raspolaganju pri suprotstavljanju evazionom postupanju, kako u kontekstu komunitarnog zakonodavstva, tako i van njega. U istraživanju pojavnih oblika nezakonite evazije poreza na dodatu vrednost oslonili smo se na metode intervjua i analize sadržaja (raspoložive dokumentacije poreskih organa o otkrivenim slučajevima nezakonite evazije PDV). Osnovni razlog za ovakav pristup je teška dostupnost pouzdanih izvora u ovoj oblasti. Postojeća literatura pruža tek polaznu osnovu za dalja istraživanja. Normativni i dogmatički metodi primenjeni su u nastojanju da utvrdimo fundamentalne principe evropskog PDV. I istorijsko-pravni metod bio je nezaobilazan kako bismo shvatili šta je evropskog zakonodavca navelo da se opredeli upravo za opšti, svefazni, indirektni, ekonomski neutralni porez na potrošnju. Spoznaja fundamentalnih principa evropskog koncepta poreza na dodatu vrednost bila je ključna u davanju odgovora na nekoliko pitanja. Najpre, mogu li se pojavni oblici nezakonite evazije dovesti u vezu sa njegovim sistemskim karakteristikama i da li su alternativni pristupi u procesu dizajniranja PDV prikladno rešenje za problem evazije? Zatim, s osloncem na komparativni metod, u kojoj se meri evropski i srpski sistem oporezivanja suštinski podudaraju i da li su isti evazioni oblici obostrano zamislivi, a anti-evazione mere obostrano primenjive? I konačn