Guarantee Obligation For NON-EU Persons With An Italian VAT Registration Number

It certainly represents a tax news of great relevance for non-EU subjects represented for VAT purposes in Italy pursuant to Article 17, paragraph 3, of Presidential Decree No. 633/1972, the provision of the obligation to issue a guarantee in the hypothesis that they request to be included in the VIES for the performance of intra-Community transactions.

The new provision concerns all economic operators that find themselves in this situation, including companies operating in various roles in the nautical world and, therefore, not only shipyards, but also all those selling components or charter companies that for whatever reason have found themselves or find themselves in the condition of having to carry out intra-Community operations.

More specifically, following the introduction of paragraph 7-quater in Article 35 of Presidential Decree No. 633/1972 and the approval of the Ministerial Decree of 4 December 2024, taxpayers other than those resident in a State of the European Union and in one of the States adhering to the European Economic Area (Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein), represented for VAT purposes in Italy, must provide the Revenue Agency with a guarantee with a maximum value of at least €50,000 if they intend to be included in the VIES (VAT information exchange system), in order to be able to carry out intra-Community transactions. The provision of a minimum amount - as clarified by the illustrative report to the aforementioned Ministerial Decree of 4 December 2024 - leaves the taxpayer the possibility of providing a higher coverage, should they deem it appropriate.

The guarantee is provided in the form of a guarantee in government or government-guaranteed securities or of a bank guaranty or guarantee policy, while its duration must be at least equal to 36 months from the date of delivery to the Revenue Agency, with no obligation to be renewed. The setting of a minimum duration, instead of a fixed period, is aimed at ensuring greater flexibility for the taxpayer, also in view of the possible discrepancy between the date of stipulation and the date of actual delivery to the Revenue Agency.

The above obligation applies not only to new applications for inclusion in the aforementioned VIES, but also to all positions already in place at the date of publication of the Provision of the Director of the Revenue Agency defining the operational modalities for the implementation of the obligation. Therefore, non-EU entities, as better defined above, represented in Italy for VAT purposes and included in the VIES are obliged to submit the guarantee within 60 days from the publication of the Provision. If they have not complied, they may still do so following a specific communication from the tax authorities, with the risk of being removed from the VIES if they do not comply even within the subsequent 60 days from such communication.