With its reply to ruling No. 449/2023, the Italian Revenue Agency clarifies that it is possible to request a refund for VAT paid in Italy in any case, even if the goods have not been identified, through the ‘electronic portal’, provided that there are no obstacles provided for by Article 38-bis2 of Presidential Decree No. 633/1972.
The applicant’s question
The taxpayer is a Swedish company, which carries out trading activities and does not have a permanent establishment in Italy or any direct identification for VAT purposes. Its trading activity involves the purchase of goods from both EU and non-EU producers. In the case in question, goods were purchased from Finnish producers and resold in Italy.
An invoice was issued without applying VAT but the applicant later realised that the goods did not originate from Finland but from Italy. In agreement with the suppliers and claiming that the transaction was relevant for VAT purposes, the suppliers decided to apply VAT at 22% while the final supplier applied the Reverse Charge principle.
Following the emergence of the credit, the applicant asks the Agency for clarification on:
“the need for identification in Italy in order to regularise its position with respect to the transactions carried out; and identification of the most appropriate procedure to obtain a refund of the tax paid in Italy“.
The position of the Italian Revenue Agency
The Italian Revenue Agency clarifies that in the absence of impeding causes, the applicant, as an EU taxable subject, may request a refund of the VAT paid in Italy through the ‘electronic portal’. The agency also clarifies the modalities and timeframes for making such a request:
- Annual
- Quarterly
The Agency specifies that the request for a quarterly VAT refund can only be made from the first day following the quarter in question and that such request cannot be made later than 30 September of the following year.
On the other hand, the claim for an annual refund may be made from the first day of the year following the year of reference for the refund, and no later than 30 September of the same year.
urthermore, the Italian Revenue Agency specifies that in the case of a refund request for a period of less than three months, the taxable subjects may submit an annual request from the outset (i.e. without necessarily having to wait until the first day following the quarter) if they are already aware that the transactions in question refer only to that period.