New norms on periodic VAT settlements and payments

Law Decree no. 193 dated 22 October 2016 introduced new measures, such as the abolition of Equitalia (Italian tax collection office) starting from 1 July 2017, regulations on local tax collection and strengthening the collection terms in general, the reopening of the terms for the participation in the voluntary disclosure programme, as well as of provisions concerning VAT more strictly. These are aimed mainly at preventing tax avoidance by introducing new compliance procedures or reintroducing past ones with a more organic and systematic approach, so to increase the regular transmission of information between taxpayers and the Revenue Office. The purpose of the new regulation is to increase the tax revenue, on the one hand by incentivizing compliance and, on the other hand, by fostering a regular flow of information between taxpayer and Tax Authorities facilitating the collection of VAT.

However, this implies an increased compliance effort for taxpayers, but that could result in a future reduction of information required. It is perfectly clear that it will not be easy for taxpayers to comply with such new fulfilments; this article is aimed at offering a simple guide to allow concerned subjects to better understand these complex issues, as well as at pointing out some inconsistencies in the system and, where necessary, the need of prompt interventions by the Tax Authorities to streamline such fulfilments.

 For more information, contact Mario Spera and Gianluca Lacidogna