The Court of Cassation, in its sentence no. 45868 of Dec. 13, 2024, ruled that the crime of aggravated fraud to obtain public disbursements is already consummated by the creation of a tax credit in lieu of tax deductions for fictitious interventions aimed at the renovation and refurbishment of buildings, even if this is not used or collected.
The case in object
The case concerns a person involved in a conspiracy to commit aggravated fraud by generating nonexistent tax credits, specifically exploiting the so-called 110% Superbonus.
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The defendant had opted to sell the same credits based on work that was never performed to companies interested in purchasing and subsequently using them, without actually monetizing or offsetting them in reality.
The defense argued that there was no fiscal damage, since the credits were not used (they were rejected, with the result that the tax credits remained in the transferor’s tax drawer).
However, the Court of Cassation in Sentence no. 45868 rejected this argument, stating that the damage to the State already materializes with the creation of the fictitious tax credit, since it represents a nonexistent obligation on the state, potentially intended to be used in compensation.
This ruling marks a change of direction from an earlier sentence (no. 23402/2024), which held that the redemption or actual offsetting of the claim was necessary to set up the fiscal damage.
It should be noted that for the purposes of opting for the invoice discount or the transfer, taxpayers are required to have a certificate of conformity of the documentation, attesting to the existence of the prerequisites that entitle to the tax deduction, issued by specific authorized parties (including chartered tax accountants and tax assistance centers) on the other hand, an affidavit by qualified technicians regarding compliance with the technical requirements and the appropriateness of the expenses incurred in relation to the subsidized interventions.
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