Governmental Tax and Customs Annual Plan for 2023

Through this informative note we highlight the actions that will be carried out both to prevent and correct tax deviations in the area of indirect taxation (customs, VAT, excise and environmental taxes).

Notwithstanding the foregoing, by way of preamble, we consider it relevant to anticipate the following actions:

• As regards tax penalties, for the purpose of assessing the imposition of a penalty, with respect to the qualification of the subjective element of the penalty, the taxpayer’s record of compliance will be taken into account, in particular, in cases of late filing of self-assessments without payment and without the consequent economic damage to the Tax Administration
• The verification of applications for refunds and the effective application of tax benefits will continue this year
• Fiscal combing will be reactivated: the presence on the street of the Audit staff dedicated to checking the reliability and quality of the census information as well as the detection of irregularities in invoicing
• Review of the information and activities carried out within the framework of the Register of Intra-Community Operators (VIES) and the VAT Monthly Refund Register
• Verification of traders and transactions carried out through e-commerce
• As a continuation of the “warning letters” used during 2022, in 2023 the Tax Agency will analyze the taxpayer’s reaction to the receipt of these “letters”, extending this analysis to the taxpayer’s family and professional environment
• The presence of the Tax Agency at the premises of taxpayers will be reinforced

Below, we identify the risk profiles and list the control activities that will be subject to verification during the 2023 fiscal year, in the areas of customs and indirect taxation:

Customs

• Review of companies starting import activity
• Checks on imports of consumer products, textiles and other products with Asian origins
• Control of imports linked to Excise Warehouses and VAT warehouses
• Control of the declared customs value at import of agricultural goods (entry price system)
• Verification visits to analyze the goods subject to customs supervision (special customs regimes and customs simplifications).
• Particular control in: special regimes, global guarantees, ADT (temporary storage warehouses), LAME (authorized places for the presentation of goods), customs warehouses, authorized consignors and consignees (transits) and AEO (authorized economic operators).

VAT

• Continuous control through cross-checking of information provided by the SII
• Control of the mandatory compliance with the obligation to provide information (SII)
• Intra-Community transactions linked to the first deliveries linked to imports of electrical material and components (not covered by the reverse charge) will be subject to control
• Special monitoring of intra-community VAT transactions in the vehicle sector
• Control of the settlement system underlying electronic commerce and whose effective application involves courier companies
• Controls on the management of VAT warehouses and on the goods linked to them
• Special monitoring and control of taxpayers in the hydrocarbon sector and the intra-Community vehicle purchase and sale activity (verification of fraudulent fixing of addresses)

Excise Duties and Environmental Taxes

• The movement and stock of excise goods in factories, excise warehouses and bonded warehouses will be controlled through the Excise Stock Accounting System (SILICIE)
• Control of the authorized warehouses within the framework of the new regulation of the Fluorinated Greenhouse Gas Tax (Law 14/2022 of July 8)
• Implementation and effective follow-up of the Register of Extractors for the purposes of the Excise Duty on Alcohol and Beverages and the Excise Duty on Hydrocarbons
• Checks on taxable bases, tax rates, exemptions and cases of non-taxation, with special attention to the Excise Duty on certain means of transportation
• Registrations and self-assessments in relation to the Excise Duty on Electricity
• Physical verification of excise warehouses and authorized receivers created to instrument false product receipts
• Verification actions on the taxable bases of the Excise Duty on Electricity
• Checks on the tax bases, taxpayers, exemptions, non-taxpayers and formal obligations of the new Tax on Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases
• Verification of dates and amounts included in self-assessments for purposes of the Tax on the Value of Electricity Production
• Checks on Nuclear Fuel Production and Radioactive Waste Tax obligations
• Verification of the compliance obligations for manufacturers and intra-community purchasers of goods subject to excise duty on non-reusable plastic containers

How can we assist you?

We recommend anticipating tax compliance in domestic and international transactions with tax implications, and in particular, those on which the Tax Agency foresees imminent audits.

Salinas & Partners, with more than 30 years of experience in indirect taxation and in preventive and corrective audits, we are at your disposal for any questions or comments you may have.