The Irish Hardware & Building Materials Association has been invited to participate in four regional Shadow Economy Liaison Groups under the auspices of the Hidden Economy Monitoring Group (National Group). These groups are chaired by the Revenue and have participants from the Department of Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation, the National Employment Rights Authority, Department of Social Protection, and various trade representative associations.
The Hidden Economy Group set up the four regional groups in Dublin, East and South East, South West, and BMW (Border, Midlands & West), to facilitate greater local interaction and more immediate responses to insights and issues highlighted within the regions, concerning hidden economy activities, including illegal trading, non enforcement of regulatory issues and fraud.
Your Association requires a representative from each region above to attend a quarterly meeting to discuss and participate as appropriate. As discussed at the recent IHBMA National Council meeting, there are issues in the hidden economy which are directly affecting members’ current trading. These include non enforcement of smokeless coal zones; unregulated markets; illegal use of legitimate VAT numbers; and in some cases, no VAT being charged. This is an ideal opportunity for your Association to take a proactive role in halting these activities, allowing members who are trading legitimately to compete on an equal footing.
