Following the UK-Germany VAT controversy, on April 6, 2018, many sellers received emails from AMZ asking them to upload their Italian VAT number. As long as they used the Italian FBA warehouse, they needed to apply for an Italian VAT number even if their remote sales did not exceed Italy.
Information required for applying for an Italian VAT tax number:
1. Scanned copy of personal (or company legal person) passport or ID card
2. Business license (Hong Kong companies need BR and CR)
3. VAT agency authorization letter
The people who are suitable for applying for a tax number are:
1. Seller
2. Cross-border e-commerce platform
3. Freight forwarding logistics company
Do I need to re-declare my Italian tax number?
The Italian tax authorities do not require customers to pay additional taxes before issuing a tax number. Customers can choose to pay additional taxes after the tax number is issued, or not.
1. If you take the initiative to pay the tax, you will need to pay an additional 30% penalty/late payment fee.
2. If you do not pay the tax, it may be discovered during a tax audit later, and you will be fined 100%. However, since the tax bureau has fewer channels to verify past sales, this risk is not great.
Italy has quarterly and monthly reports. If the annual sales exceed 700,000 euros, monthly declaration must be made. If it does not exceed, monthly or quarterly declaration can be chosen.
1. If it is a monthly report, 12 declarations per year (tax rate 22%) + 1 annual report;
② If it is a quarterly report, 4 declarations per year (tax rate 22%) + 1 annual report.
Note: If you choose quarterly reporting, each declaration will be subject to an additional 1% interest on top of the tax. After the tax number is issued, you should make your own choice based on your actual situation. (Quarterly and monthly reports can be modified every year)
In fact, VAT is not a terrible thing. Like life, it is inevitable and we might as well let it go.
Does Italian application require double certification?
Currently, many agents on the market are promoting that tax numbers in Italy do not require certification. After confirmation with the tax office, this practice will have great risks. The tax bureau has a five-year retrospective period. During this period, if it is found that the tax number application documents have not been certified, the customer's tax number will be cancelled and both the tax office and the customer will bear high fines. Considering that the Italian tax bureau may soon increase control in this area in the future, we do not support non-certified processing methods. (The company's business license and VAT agency authorization letter in the application materials must be double-certified or Hague-certified)
Italian VAT filing frequency:
① If the annual sales volume exceeds 700,000 euros, monthly declaration is required
② If it does not exceed the limit, the customer can choose monthly or quarterly report
Note: If you choose quarterly reporting, you will need to pay 1% of the tax as interest each time. After the tax number is obtained, the customer makes his own choice, and the declaration frequency can be changed every calendar year.
This is the end of the introduction to Italian VAT in this issue. If you are still confused about Italian VAT, please pay attention and we will continue to answer your questions~