Italy: New rules for e-invoicing, effective Jan. 1, 2022

Italian tax authorities issued new rules for electronic invoicing. First is Provision No. 293384, which explains the transactions carried out with foreign counterparts. Second is Provision no. 293390 which is related to the transactions carried out upon reception of the declarations of intent. Both Provisions will be applicable starting 1 January 2022.  

First, under Provision No. 293384, the Act covers transactions with foreign counterparties particularly e-Invoicing requirements for cross-border sales of goods and services, the transmission of relevant data using e-commerce exchange platforms, and the technical rules concerning e-invoice reporting.  

• Starting 1st January 2022, all transactions carried out by foreign counterparties are required to submit to the Interchange Data System (“SdI”) in .XML format that is provided for e-Invoices.  
• Additionally, sale transactions carried out by non-resident taxpayers (not established in Italy), it is important that the .XML files that should be submitted to the SdI system are within the invoicing deadlines. For purchases transactions, the transmission of the .XML data is required to be carried out within the fifteenth day of the following month in which the purchase invoice has been received or in which the transaction has been carried out. 

• Penalties

In terms of penalties, Italian tax authorities provides for an administrative penalty of EUR 2 (up to a maximum limit of EUR 400 per month) for each invoice. If the transmission is made within 15 days following the deadline, the penalty will be reduced by a half (maximum EUR 200 per month). 

Second, under Provision no. 293390, the Act covers transactions carried out with declaration of intent. The act is defined by Italian tax authorities as the criteria for internal checks that they will carry out for exporters. In case of non-compliance, the declaration of intent sent by the usual exporter will be invalidated. The invalidation will lead to rejection of the declaration of the e-invoice sent to the SdI system by the supplier. 

Starting January 2022, the supplier who received a declaration of intent, in addition to the indication of the value “N3.5” into the field 2.2.1.14 “Natura”, will be required to fill in the block 2.2.1.16 “AltriDatiGestionali” of the .XML file particularly: 

• field 2.2.1.16.1 <TipoDato> should report the wording “INTENT”; 
• field 2.2.1.16.2 <RiferimentoTesto> should report the tax authorities’ protocol of the declaration of intent and its progressive number separated by the “-” or “/” (e.g., 08060120341234567-000001); 
• the field 2.2.1.16.4 <RiferimentoData> should report the date of the receipt, issued by the Italian tax authorities, that contains the above protocol number. 

Source: Italian Revenue Agency