The special voluntary disclosure was introduced, exceptionally, by the 2023 Budget Law and allowed the taxpayer to rectify and regularize certain tax violations in tax returns, benefiting from a reduction in penalties to 1/18 of the minimum statutory, and also allowing installment payments.
The rectification of the violation and the payment of the amounts (or the first installment) were required to take place no later than September 30, 2023, and had to concern violations committed up to December 31, 2021.
Extension of the special voluntary disclosure
Subsequently, Article 3, paragraph 12-undecies of the DL of December 30, 2023, no. 215, the so-called “Milleproroghe Decree,” extended the possibility of benefiting from the special voluntary disclosure exclusively regarding violations of tax returns validly submitted in 2023, relating to the tax period ending on December 31, 2022.
In this case, the payment to rectify the irregularities and settle the violation had to be made either in a single installment by March 31, 2024, or in four installments of equal amounts, with the first installment always being paid by March 31, 2024.
The Council of Ministers approves the draft decree-law
On March 26, 2024, the Council of Ministers approved the draft decree-law containing urgent measures on tax benefits, which provides:
- the possibility of accessing the special voluntary disclosure for the tax years 2021 and earlier;
- The extension of the deadline from March 31, as provided for the analogous regularization concerning declarative inaccuracies relating to the tax year 2022 (autonomously regulated by Article 3, paragraph 12-undecies, of DL 215/2023), to May 31, 2024.
Which violations can be rectified with the special voluntary disclosure
Violations that can be rectified include:
- all those included in the ordinary voluntary disclosure (Article 13 Legislative Decree no. 472/1997), provided that the declaration for the relevant tax period has been validly submitted;
- irregularities relating to income from foreign sources, the tax on the value of foreign financial assets (IVAFE), and the tax on the value of real estate located abroad (IVIE) that cannot be identified through automated checks pursuant to Article 36-bis of Presidential Decree no. 600 of 1973, despite the violation of monitoring obligations, as specified in Article 21, paragraph 1, letter b) of DL no. 34/2023.
| Violations | The deadline for the payment of the amounts (or the first installment) and for the removal of the violation (e.g., submission of the supplementary declaration) |
| Tax year 2022 | Submission of supplementary declaration for the year 2022 by May 31, 2024. Payment in a single installment of the additional taxes due, interest, and penalties by May 31, 2024. Alternatively, with installment payments: – 1st installment by May 31, 2024, – 2nd installment by June 30, 2024, – 3rd installment by September 30, 2024, and – 4th installment by December 20, 2024. On installments subsequent to the first, interest at a rate of 2% per annum is also payable. |
| Regarding the year 2021 and earlier. | Submission of supplementary declaration for the year 2021 and earlier by May 31, 2024. Payment in a single installment of the additional taxes due, interest, and penalties by May 31, 2024. Alternatively, with installment payments: – Payment of the first five installments due on September 30, 2023, October 31, 2023, November 30, 2023, December 20, 2023, and March 31, 2023, by May 31, 2024 – 2nd installment by June 30, 2024, – 3rd installment by September 30, 2024, and – 4th installment by December 20, 2024. On installments subsequent to the first, interest at a rate of 2% per annum is also payable. |