“Decreto Anticipi”, Key Tax Updates
Introduction
The Decree Law No. 145 of October 18, 2023, has been converted into Law No. 191 of December 15, 2023, published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale No. 293 of December 16, 2023, and entered into force on December 17, 2023. Below, we analyse the most relevant tax updates.
Repayment of Research and Development Tax Credit Improperly Offset – Further Extension
The deadlines for carrying out the voluntary repayment procedure for the R&D tax credit improperly offset, resulting in the exclusion of administrative and criminal penalties, have been further deferred. The regularization concerns improper offsets of the R&D tax credit made up to October 22, 2021 (date of entry into force of DL 146/2021), limited to expenses incurred but deemed ineligible. This includes credits for activities carried out from the tax period following that in progress on December 31, 2014, up to the tax period ending on December 31, 2019 (years 2015 – 2019 for “calendar year” taxpayers).
Article 5 of DL 145/2023 provides that the repayment can be made upon submission of a specific request to the Italian Tax Authorities, by July 30, 2024. The payment deadline – in one-off payment or the first instalment – has been postponed to December 16, 2024. The remaining two instalments (in case of instalment payments) subsequently expire on December 16, 2025, and December 16, 2026, with the application of statutory interest from December 17, 2024. Payment cannot be made by offsetting credits under Article 17 of Legislative Decree No. 241/97.
Taxpayers who have already submitted the application to access the repayment procedure but have not yet paid the entireamount or the first instalment may revoke the application by June 30, 2024. The procedures for revocation will be defined by a measure of the Italian Tax Authorities.
New Developments in Electronic Invoicing and Telematic Payments
During the conversion into law of DL 145/2023, two provisions concerning telematic payments and electronic invoicing were inserted.
Firstly, as of January 1, 2024, the obligation to transmit daily payments to the “Sistema Tessera Sanitaria” (National Health Card System, Article 4-quinquies, paragraph 3 of DL 145/2023) by subjects conducting transactions under Article 22 of Presidential Decree No. 633/72 and required to send data for health and veterinary expenses to said System (e.g., pharmacies, parapharmacies, opticians) has been abolished. It is noted that this transmission to the ”Sistema Tessera Sanitaria” remains applicable on an optional basis.
Furthermore, the need for final consumers to make an explicit request for access to the consultation service for electronic invoices issued to them (Article 4-quinquies, paragraph 4 of DL 145/2023) has been eliminated. Non-VAT-registered buyers or customers can therefore retrieve electronic invoices received within their reserved area on the website of the Italian Tax Authorities without the need for prior registration.
VAT Rate for Food Supplements
In the process of conversion into law, Article 4-ter of DL 145/2023 introduced the application of the 10% VAT rate for food supplements referred to in Legislative Decree No. 169 of May 21, 2004, “as food preparations neither named nor included elsewhere, classifiable under customs heading 2106 of the combined nomenclature referred to in Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2658/87 of July 23, 1987”. These products, regardless of their form or presentation, are included in the scope of item 80) of Table A, Part III, attached to Presidential Decree No. 633/72, relating to “food preparations neither named nor included elsewhere (former 21.07)”. The exclusion provided for in the aforementioned item 80) of Table A, Part III, for “syrups of any kind” does not apply to the products in question.
Assistance During Tax Audits
Article 8-bis of DL 145/2023 updated the protections provided to the taxpayer in case of a tax audit. Ordinarily, during a tax audit, the taxpayer has the right to be assisted by a qualified professional in defense before the tax courts (chartered accountant, lawyer), in which case the power of attorney is authenticated by the professional himself/herself. The new provision provides, while maintaining that the taxpayer may be represented by a general or special proxy, that the defender does not necessarily have to be a subject qualified for defense. If the power of attorney is granted to the spouse or to relatives/affiliates up to the fourth degree or to one of the employees of the legal entity, the power of attorney may not be authenticated. It is emphasized that this provision concerns exclusively the pre-litigation administrative phase and the phase before the tax courts.
Tax Settlement in Restructuring Agreements and Participation of the Italian Tax Authorities
Article 4-quinquies of DL 145/2023 establishes that, for the purpose of adhering to the proposal for tax settlement in debt restructuring agreements (pursuant to Article 63 of Legislative Decree No. 14/2019) with a reduction of the debt by the Tax Authorities, the opinion of a central structure of the Italian Tax Auhtorities is required, to be defined by a measure of the director of the Authorities, when the following conditions are met:
- the proposal for settlement concerns taxes administered by the Italian Tax Authorities;
- adherence to the proposal for settlement concerns taxes administered by the Italian Tax Auhtorities and provides for a “reduction of the original debt, including related accessories”;
- the amount of this reduction exceeds a threshold of significance to be determined by a measure of the Italian Tax Authorities
The effective date of the modification will be identified by a measure of the Italian Tax Authorities and will, in any case, apply to settlement proposals submitted from February 1, 2024.
Decreto “Milleproroghe”: Key Tax Updates
Introduction
On December 30, 2023, the “Milleproroghe Decree,” DL No. 215/2023, was published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale No. 303 of December 30, 2023, entering into force on December 31, 2023, containing a series of “Urgent provisions on regulatory deadlines”. Below, we report the most relevant newprovision
One-Year Extension of the Deadline for Notification of State Aid/De Minimis Recovery Acts
Article 3, paragraph 6, provides for a one-year extension of the deadlines for notification of State Aid/De Minimis regime recovery acts expiring in the period December 31, 2023 – June 30, 2024:
- not subject to the issuance of provision for granting; or
subject to the issuance of any kind provision for granting or authorization for usewhose amount is determinable only following the submission of the taxpayer’s income tax return, for which the relevant authorities have not complied with the obligation to register the specifica aid in the RNA (National Register of State Aids)
The Firm remains available for any further clarifications.
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