decreto fiscale

REDUCTION of the THRESHOLD

During the conversion process, a provision was introduced that reduces the amount of investments for which it is possible to submit a request for a ruling under Article 2  of the “Internationalization Decree” (Legislative Decree no. 147 of September 14, 2015) from €30 million to €20 million. This rule applies to rulings submitted starting January 1, 2019.

Discipline of the interpellation

The aforementioned law introduced the possibility for companies intending to invest in Italy to submit a request to the Revenue Agency regarding the tax treatment of their investment plan and any extraordinary transactions envisaged for its implementation. The law also specifies the following:

1. the investments must be at least 30 million euros in amount and have “significant employment benefits in relation to the activity in which the investment is made”;
2. the Tax Administration is required to provide a response within 120 days, which can be extended by another 90 days if further information is needed (the second deadline runs from the date of acquisition of said information);
3. this response must be written and reasoned, and is binding on the Tax Authority as long as the factual and legal circumstances on the basis of which it was given remain unchanged;
4. the principle of silence-assent applies in any case.

SCOPE OF APPLICATION

The definition will be permitted for charges entrusted to collection agents from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2017.

REQUEST

It must be submitted by April 30, 2019, using the following forms (to which an identity document must be attached):

• DA-2018 , for the simplified definition of charges entrusted to collection from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2017;
• DA-2018-D , for the facilitated settlement of debts entrusted to collection as own resources of the European Union.

Effects of demand

The submission of the declaration of membership determines:

• the suspension of the terms of prescription and forfeiture;
• the suspension – until the first or only instalment of the sums due is due – of payment obligations arising from previous instalments in existence at the date of such presentation;
• the prohibition on the registration of new administrative seizures and mortgages, except for those already registered on the aforementioned date;
• the prohibition on initiating new enforcement proceedings and continuing those already initiated, unless the first auction has already been held with a positive outcome;
• the condition of “non-default” (and, therefore, of “regularity”) of the debtor within the procedure for the disbursement of tax refunds pursuant to  art. 28-ter  of Presidential Decree no. 602/1973, as well as for the purposes of verifying arrears on the tax roll, for an amount greater than 5 thousand euros, upon payment – by the Public Administration and public companies – of sums of an amount at least equal to the same amount ( art. 48-bis  of Presidential Decree no. 602/1973 and  Ministerial Decree no. 40/2008 ).

Durc

Even for the purposes of the “third scrapping” program, in the event of facilitated settlement of tax debts (pursuant to Article 6  of Legislative Decree No. 193 of October 22, 2016, converted with amendments by  Law No. 225 of December 1, 2016 ), the Single Document of Contribution Regularity may be issued with the taxpayer’s simple declaration of compliance. This is provided for by a provision introduced during the conversion process.

The Durc is therefore not dependent on the payment of the amount due for the purposes of the same definition. In the event of missed, insufficient, or late payment of the single installment or a subsequent installment, the Durc issued in the meantime must be canceled.

PROCEDURE

By June 30, 2019, the debt collection agent will notify debtors who have agreed to the settlement of the total amount owed, as well as, if they have chosen deferred payment, the due date and month of each installment.

PAYMENT

Amounts due and not due

Rate

Payment of the amounts due must be made:

• in a single solution, by July 31, 2019;
• in a maximum of 18 consecutive installments, the first and second of which, each equal to 10 percent of the total sums due, are due on July 31 and November 30, 2019, respectively; the remaining installments, of equal amounts, are due on February 28, May 31, July 31, and November 30 of each year starting from 2020.

“Slight delay”

In the event of late payment of installments by no more than 5 days, the settlement will not be invalidated, and no interest will be due: this is provided for by a provision introduced during the conversion of the decree-law.

Interest on installment payments

They will apply – starting from 1 August 2019 – at the rate of 2 percent per year.

Compensation

Offsetting is permitted with non-statutory, certain, liquid, and collectible credits for supplies, procurement, and services, including professional services, accrued from the public administration.

Enforcement proceedings initiated prior to adhesion to the definition

They will be paid off with the payment of the first or only installment.

PAYMENT METHODS

Payment of the amounts due can be made:

• by direct debit to the current account indicated by the debtor in the declaration;
• by means of pre-filled payment slips, which the collection agent is required to attach to the communication;

at the collection agent’s counters. In this case, Article 12, paragraph 7-bis , of Legislative Decree no. 145 of 23 December 2013, converted with amendments by  Law no. 9 of 21 February 2014, and  Ministerial Decree no. 24 September 2014 , apply .

EXCLUSIONS

The following amounts are excluded from the simplified definition in question:

• recoveries of State aid, pursuant to Article 16 of EU Regulation 2015/1589 of 13 July 2015;
• credits arising from convictions by the Court of Auditors;
• fines, penalties and pecuniary sanctions due following criminal convictions and sentences;
• penalties other than those imposed for tax violations or for violation of obligations relating to contributions and premiums due to social security institutions.

TRAFFIC FINES

The regularization will apply only to interest, including the increases referred to in art. 27, paragraph 6 , of Law no. 689/1981.

RELATIONSHIP with PREVIOUS “SCRAPPING”

Debtors who have opted for the simplified settlement pursuant to Article 1  of Legislative Decree No. 148/2018 and who pay the installments due for the purposes of this settlement—due in July, September, and October 2018 by December 7, 2018, will be able to benefit from the automatic deferral of payment of the remaining amounts due for the same purposes. This payment must be made in 10 consecutive equal installments, due on July 31 and November 30 of each year starting in 2019, with interest calculated at the rate of 0.3 percent per annum starting August 1, 2019.

With regard to debts resulting from individual charges entrusted to collection agents from January 1, 2000 to September 30, 2017, the entities referred to in art. 6, paragraph 13-ter  , of Legislative Decree no. 193 of October 22, 2016, converted with amendments by  Law no. 225 of December 1, 2016 , are required to pay the remaining amounts due for the purposes of the facilitated definitions provided for by the same  art. 6  of Legislative Decree no. 193/2016 and by art. 1, paragraph 4 , of Legislative Decree no. 148/2017, in 10 consecutive installments of equal amounts, due on July 31 and November 30 of each year starting from 2019. Interest at 0.3 percent per annum is due on these amounts from August 1, 2019. To this end, the collection agent will send a specific communication by June 30, 2019, together with the pre-filled payment slips.

Debts relating to charges already subject to previous “scrapping” can also be settled, for which the debtor has not completed the settlement with full, timely payment of the sums due for this purpose.

SCOPE OF APPLICATION

The law provides for the automatic cancellation – as of December 31, 2018 – of debts with a residual amount not exceeding €1,000, calculated as of October 24, 2018 and including principal, interest for late registration, and penalties, resulting from individual charges entrusted to collection agents from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2010.

AMOUNTS ALREADY PAID

The law also provides the following:

• the amounts paid before 24 October 2018 remain permanently acquired;
• The amounts paid from 24 October 2018 will be applied to the instalments to be paid for other debts possibly included in the simplified definition prior to the payment, or, in the absence of these, to debts that are overdue or due and, in the absence of these debts, they will be reimbursed, pursuant to art. 22 , paragraphs 1-bis, 1-ter and 1-quater, of Legislative Decree 13 April 1999, no. 112.

SCOPE OF APPLICATION

The disputes must concern tax matters:

• in which the Revenue Agency is a party;
• have as their object tax proceedings, pending at any stage and level of the judgment, including that in cassation and also following referral;
• where the first instance appeal was notified to the opposing party by 24 October 2018 and for which, at the date of submission of the application, the proceedings had not concluded with a final ruling.

DISPUTES EXCLUDED

The following disputes are excluded from the definition:

• relating to acts which are not of a tax nature;
• concerning, even if only in part, the EU’s traditional own resources, VAT collected on imports and sums due as recovery of State aid.

REQUEST

It must be submitted by the person who initiated the proceedings or by whoever took over the proceedings or otherwise has the right to do so.

AMOUNTS DUE

Upon conversion, the fees payable by taxpayers wishing to access the facilitated resolution of pending tax disputes have changed. See the following table in particular:

VALUE of the CONTROVERSY

The value of the dispute is established pursuant to art. 12, paragraph 2 , of Legislative Decree 31 December 1992, n. 546.

DISPUTES on SANCTIONS NOT RELATED TO TAX

For disputes concerning exclusively penalties not related to the tax, the following must be paid:

• 15 percent of the value of the dispute in the event of the Agency losing the last or only non-precautionary jurisdictional ruling on the merits or on the admissibility of the initiating action, filed by October 24, 2018;
• 40 percent in other cases (taxpayer loses, lack of a ruling, etc.).

DISPUTES on TAX-RELATED SANCTIONS

For disputes concerning exclusively penalties connected to the tax to which they refer, no penalty amount is due for the settlement if the tax relationship has also been settled using methods other than the settlement under consideration.

INSTALLMENT PAYMENT

Up to 20 quarterly installments are permitted for amounts over €1,000.

The payment deadline for installments subsequent to the first is August 31, November 30, February 28, and May 31 of each year starting in 2019.

Legal interest will apply to installments after the first, calculated from June 1, 2019, to the date of payment.

COMPENSATION

It is not allowed.

TERMS

The amounts due for the settlement or the first instalment must be paid by 31 May 2019.

INDEPENDENT DISPUTES

A separate application for settlement must be submitted by May 31, 2019, exempt from stamp duty.

ABSENCE of AMOUNTS to PAY

If there are no amounts to be paid, the settlement is completed simply by submitting the application.

SUSPENSION of LITIGATIONS

Definable disputes are suspended only following a specific petition to the judge in which the applicant declares his or her intention to avail himself or herself of the provisions in question; in this case, the proceedings are suspended until June 10, 2019.

By submitting a copy of the application for settlement and payment of the amounts due or the first installment by that date, the proceedings will be further suspended until December 31, 2020.

SUSPENSION of the TERMS for APPEAL

For definable disputes, the terms for appealing, including incidental appeals, against jurisdictional decisions and for reinstatement, which expire from October 24, 2018, to July 31, 2019, are suspended for 9 months.

RELATIONSHIPS with “SCRAPPING”

If the sums involved in the definable disputes are subject to “scrapping” pursuant to  art. 1, paragraph 4 , of Legislative Decree no. 148 of 16 October 2017, converted with amendments by  Law no. 172 of 4 December 2017 , the completion of the resolution of the dispute is subject to payment by 7 December 2018.

DENIAL of the DEFINITION

It must be notified by July 31, 2020 and can be contested within 60 days.

LOCAL AUTHORITIES

By March 31, 2019, local authorities may apply the simplified definition in question to disputes to which they are parties.

CO-OBLIGATORS

The definition that has been perfected by the co-obligor also produces effects for the others, including those for whom the dispute is no longer pending.

CONDITIONS

It is possible to define only the reports for which, as of October 24, 2018, a notice of assessment has not yet been notified or an invitation to a cross-examination has been received pursuant to art. 5, paragraph 1 , of Legislative Decree no. 218 of June 19, 1997.

TERMS

Tax assessment reports notified by October 24, 2018, can be defined through the submission – by May 31, 2019 – of a supplementary declaration or the first declaration, and the payment – by May 31, 2019 – in a single solution or the first instalment of self-assessed taxes.

Installment plan

Payments can be made in a maximum of 20 installments. Upon conversion, installments subsequent to the first must be paid by the last day of each quarter. Legal interest is due on installments subsequent to the first, calculated from the day following the deadline for payment of the first installment.

COMPENSATION

It is excluded.

TERMS OF ASSESSMENT

With reference to the tax periods up to December 31, 2015, which are the subject of the aforementioned tax findings reports, the deadlines referred to in Article 43  of Presidential Decree No. 600 of September 29, 1973, Article 57 of Presidential Decree No. 633 of October 26, 1972, and Article 20, paragraph 1 , of Legislative Decree No. 472 of December 18, 1997 are extended by two years.

DEFINABLE ACTS

The law provides for the possibility of accessing the simplified resolution also for the following documents, if notified by 24 October 2018 (provided they are not contested and are still contestable on the same date):

• assessment notices;
• rectification and liquidation notices;
• recovery procedures.

Discipline

The Provision of the Director of the Revenue Agency dated 9 November 2018, no. 298724 , intervened on this matter  .

AMOUNTS DUE

The simplified settlement is completed with the payment of the sums due for taxes only, without penalties, interest and any additional charges, by November 23, 2018 or, if longer, within the deadline referred to in art. 15, paragraph 1 , of Legislative Decree 19 June 1997, no. 218, which remains after the same date.

INVITATIONS TO CONTRADICTION

The amounts contained in the invitations to a hearing pursuant to Articles  5, paragraph 1 , letter c), and  11, paragraph 1 , letter b-bis), of Legislative Decree no. 218/1997, notified by 24 October 2018, could be settled with the payment of the amounts due for taxes only, without penalties, interest and any additional charges, by 23 November 2018.

CHECKS WITH ADHESION

The tax assessments signed by October 24, 2018, could be completed with the payment, within the deadline set out in art. 8, paragraph 1 , of Legislative Decree no. 218/1997, of the taxes only, without penalties, interest, and any additional charges.

PAYMENT BY INSTALLMENTS

For all the above definitions, it is possible to opt for payment in installments, up to 20 quarterly installments of equal amounts.

COMPENSATION

It’s forbidden.

VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE

Documents issued under the voluntary collaboration procedure referred to in Article 5-quater  of Legislative Decree No. 167 of 28 June 1990, converted with amendments by  Law No. 227 of 4 August 1990 , are excluded from the simplified definition.

SCOPE OF APPLICATION

During the conversion of the decree, Article 9 was rewritten: the provision now provides for the possibility of accessing a simplified resolution of formal violations, which:

• they are not relevant to the determination of the taxable base for the purposes of income tax, VAT and IRAP and to the payment of taxes;
• were committed up to October 24, 2018.

Implementing discipline

It will be contained in a specific provision.

PAYMENT

200 euros for each tax period to which the violations refer.

Installment plan

Payment must be made in two equal installments, by May 31, 2019, and March 2, 2020.

VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE

The amnesty does not apply to documents contesting or imposing sanctions issued within the scope of voluntary disclosure (pursuant to art. 5-quater  of Legislative Decree no. 167 of 28 June 1990, converted with amendments by  Law no. 227 of 4 August 1990 ).

FOREIGN ACTIVITIES

The law also precludes access to the simplified definition for the disclosure of financial and patrimonial assets established or held abroad.

VIOLATIONS ALREADY DISPUTED

Violations that have already been contested in documents that have become definitive on the date the law converting the decree comes into force are excluded from the amnesty in question.

NOTIFICATION OF DISPUTE

For violations committed up to 31 December 2015, which are the subject of a PVC, the deadlines for notification of the dispute (pursuant to art. 20, paragraph 1 , of Legislative Decree 18 December 1997, no. 472) are extended by 2 years.

EASIER DEFINITION of the ACTS of the ASSESSMENT PROCEDURE (1)

Amateur sports clubs and associations registered with CONI as of 31 December 2017 are also eligible: to this end, it is necessary to pay an amount equal to:

• 50 percent of the additional taxes assessed (for VAT see below);
• 5 percent of the fines imposed and the interest due.

However, VAT is due in full.

EASIER DEFINITION OF PENDING LITIGATIONS (1)

It is perfected with the payment of an amount equal to:

• 40 percent of the value of the dispute and 5 percent of the penalties and interest assessed if, as of October 24, 2018, the dispute is still pending in the first instance;
• 10 percent of the value of the dispute and 5 percent of the penalties and interest assessed, in the event of the Revenue Agency losing the case in the last or only jurisdictional ruling issued and not yet final as of October 24, 2018;
• 50 percent of the value of the dispute and 10 percent of the penalties and interest assessed in the event of a losing case for the sports club or association in the last or only judicial ruling issued and not yet final as of October 24, 2018.

SCOPE OF APPLICATION

The charges entrusted by the Customs and Monopolies Agency for collection from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2017 as European Union own resources (i.e. duties) and VAT collected on imports may be subject to simplified settlement.

DEADLINE for APPLICATION to MEMBERSHIP

April 30, 2019

MODEL

DA-2018-D

HOW TO SUBMIT THE APPLICATION

The question may be:

• delivered to the Revenue Agency-Collection offices

or

• sent via certified email together with a photocopy of the identity document, to the certified email address of the relevant regional office. (1)

REVENUE COLLECTION AGENCY OBLIGATIONS

The “Communication of the sums due” and the payment slips with the individual deadlines will be sent by 31 July 2019.

AMOUNTS DUE

The taxpayer is required to pay:

• the capital, and therefore the tax;
• interest for late registration;
• the expenses incurred by the collection agent;
• an amount as default interest. (2)

PAYMENT TERMS

These are the deadlines:

• I or single installment: September 30, 2019
• Second installment: November 30, 2019
• Subsequent payments: (3) July 31 and November 30 of each year.

PAYMENT METHODS

They are the same as those seen above.

(1) The list of which is published on page 4 of the  DA-2018-D form  and published on the web portal.
(2) Which will be determined by the Customs and Monopolies Agency.
(3) A maximum of 8 further installments; therefore a total of 5 years.

ELECTRONIC INVOICE – SANCTIONS (ART. 10)

Penalties are excluded for the first half of the 2019 tax period if electronic invoices are issued after the deadline, but still within the terms for periodic VAT settlement (monthly or quarterly): this is provided by the new  art. 1, paragraph 6 , of Legislative Decree no. 127 of 5 August 2015.

Transferee

If the transferee has deducted the tax without an electronic invoice, the penalties will not apply if the document is issued within the deadlines for its periodic payment.

ELECTRONIC INVOICE – EXCLUSIONS – THIRD SECTOR (ART. 10)

Upon conversion into law, it was established that taxable persons who exercised the option set forth in Articles  1  and  2  of Law No. 398 of 16 December 1991 and who in the previous tax period earned income from commercial activities amounting to no more than 65,000 euros ( Article 1, paragraph 3 , Legislative Decree No. 127 of 5 August 2015) are exempt from the electronic invoicing requirement. The law also specifies that if these persons earned income from commercial activities amounting to more than 65,000 euros in the previous tax period, they are required to ensure that the invoice is issued on their behalf by the VAT-taxable buyer or customer.

The invoicing and registration obligations relating to sponsorship and advertising contracts held by entities referred to in Articles 1 and 2 of Law No. 398/1991, towards taxable persons established in Italy, are fulfilled by the assignees.

ELECTRONIC INVOICE – STORAGE – SOGEI (ART. 10)

The provision, introduced during the conversion into law, establishes that Sogei Spa cannot use third parties for the free electronic invoice storage service made available by the Revenue Agency ( art. 1, paragraph 6-bis , Legislative Decree 5 August 2015, no. 127).

ELECTRONIC INVOICE – HEALTHCARE WORKERS (ART. 10-BIS)

The provision—introduced during the conversion into law—establishes that for the 2019 tax period, those required to send data to the Health Card System (STS) for the purposes of the pre-filled tax return are exempt from electronic invoicing requirements. However, the exemption is limited to invoices whose data are sent to the Health Card System.

ELECTRONIC INVOICE – OPERATORS OFFERING PUBLIC UTILITY SERVICES (ART. 10-TER)

The provision – introduced during the conversion process – delegates to a subsequent provision by the Revenue Agency the definition of the technical rules for the issuance of electronic invoices through the Interchange System (SdI) by VAT taxable persons providing services governed by Ministerial Decrees no.  366 of 24 October 2000 and  no. 370 of 24 October 2000 , towards natural persons who do not operate in the context of business, art or profession (art. 1, paragraph 6-quater,  Legislative Decree no. 127 of 5 August 2015 ).

These technical rules, however, will apply exclusively to electronic invoices issued to end consumers with whom contracts were signed before January 1, 2005, and whose tax code could not be identified.

ISSUANCE of INVOICES (ART. 11)

From 1 July 2019, invoices can be issued within 10 days of the transaction being carried out ( art. 21, paragraph 4 , of Presidential Decree no. 633/1972).

REGISTRATION OF ISSUED INVOICES (ART. 12)

All invoices issued must be recorded by the 15th day of the month following the month in which the transaction was carried out ( art. 23, paragraph 1 , of Presidential Decree no. 633/1972).

PROGRESSIVE NUMBERING OF INVOICES (ART. 13)

It is repealed ( art. 25, paragraph 1 , of Presidential Decree no. 633/1972).

VAT DEDUCTION (ART. 14)

The right to deduction can be exercised for all invoices received and recorded by the 15th day of the month following the month in which the transaction was carried out ( art. 1, paragraph 1 , of Presidential Decree 23 March 1998, n. 100).

VAT REGISTERS – SIMPLIFICATIONS and EXEMPTIONS (ART. 15)

Starting with VAT 2020, the Revenue Agency will make drafts of the following documents available to all VAT taxpayers resident and established in Italy in a dedicated reserved area of ​​its website:

• registers of issued invoices and purchases (pursuant to articles  23  and  25  of Presidential Decree no. 633/72);
• periodic VAT liquidation;
• annual VAT declaration.

Exemptions

For VAT taxable persons who – even through the intermediaries referred to in art. 3, paragraph 3 , of Presidential Decree no. 322 of 22 July 1998 – validate or integrate the data contained in such drafts, the obligation to keep the aforementioned registers referred to in articles  23  and  25  of the VAT decree no longer applies, except for the maintenance of the revenue register of subjects using simplified accounting (pursuant to  art. 18, paragraph 2 , of Presidential Decree no. 600/1973).

However, the obligation to keep VAT registers remains in place for those who opt to keep the registers according to the methods set out in art. 18, paragraph 5 , of Presidential Decree 600/1973 ( art. 4 , Legislative Decree 5 August 2015, no. 127).

SENDING OF FEES (ART. 17)

A general obligation to electronically store and transmit receipts is introduced. The current optional regime for electronically storing and transmitting receipts ( Article 2 , Legislative Decree No. 127 of August 5, 2015) is thus superseded.

Effective Date

This obligation will come into force:

• from 1 July 2019 for entities with a turnover exceeding 400 thousand euros;
• from January 1, 2020, for everyone else.

“LOTTERY of FEES” (ART. 18)

It will start on January 1st, 2020.

EXTENSION

The extension of the “optional” reverse charge until June 30, 2022, has been established. Specifically, the law amends Article 17, paragraph 8 , of Presidential Decree No. 633/1972, which currently provides that the “optional” VAT reverse charge for certain specific transactions applies until December 31, 2018.

In this regard, it is recalled that:

• for the transactions referred to in Article 199  of Directive 2006/112/EC, the application of the reverse charge may be adopted by Member States without the need for prior authorization, a simple communication to the VAT Committee referred to in Article 398 of the same Directive being sufficient;
• the subsequent  art. 199-bis  of Directive 2006/112/EC identified further cases in which Member States can decide to apply the reverse charge mechanism (subject to prior communication to the VAT Committee);
• Article 17, paragraph 6 , letters b), c), d-bis), d-ter), and d-quater), of the VAT Decree, indicates the categories of goods and services for which Italy intends to make use of the exemption. These are the following activities:

• 1. sales of mobile phones, excluding components and accessories;
  2. supplies of integrated circuit devices, such as microprocessors and central processing units, made before their installation in products intended for the final consumer (computers and their accessories are however excluded);
  3. sales of game consoles, tablet PCs and laptops;
  4. transfers of transferable greenhouse gas emission allowances;
  5. transfers of other units that can be used by operators to comply with the aforementioned  Directive 2003/87/EC  and of gas and electricity certificates;
  6. supplies of gas and electricity to a taxable reseller.

SANCTIONS

During the conversion process, a provision was introduced that—through the insertion of  paragraph 1-bis in Article 63  of Legislative Decree No. 231 of November 21, 2007—modifies the sanctions applicable to issuing checks lacking the non-transferability clause. Specifically, for such violations, if the amount is less than €30,000, the minimum penalty is 10 percent of the transferred amount.

The rule applies:
• when the circumstances of less serious violation occur, ascertained pursuant to art. 67  of the aforementioned Legislative Decree no. 231/2007;
• also to administrative proceedings underway on 24 October 2018.