Taxation: from VAT registration fees to the write-off of fines and IMU – Senate gives the green light to the excise duty decree

The Excise Duty Decree III has passed its first reading in the Senate (with the chamber approving it by a show of hands) and is set to move to the Chamber of Deputies for final approval (to be secured by 29 June), alongside the Excise Duty Decree IV. This includes, amongst other things, the rules for the payment of taxes and contributions by 4.5 million VAT-registered businesses subject to tax assessments (the ISAs) and related entities (such as those applying the flat tax), who will be able to make payments until 20 July (compared to the 30 June deadline) and then from 21 July to 20 August with a 0.80 per cent surcharge. Elsewhere, local authorities are granted more time, but there is also a postponement of the window for taxpayers to apply for the ‘rottamazione quinquies’ scheme for local authorities and local bodies. But that’s not all. An end to unsolicited telemarketing: the crackdown on commercial calls is also being extended to the telecommunications sector. The ‘tax shield’ has been approved for the special commissioners of Acciaierie d’Italia (formerly Ilva) in relation to the new €100 million loan granted by the State to ensure operational continuity pending the sale.

The conversion of the decree therefore alters the timetable for the ‘Rottamazione Quinquies’ scheme covering fines, taxes (such as IMU and TARI) and property-related revenue for local authorities and other local bodies. The main changes concern the extension of the deadline for local authorities to sign up from 30 June to 31 July (by this date, the local authority must have published the measure on its website and notified the collection agent) and, at the same time, the revision of the timetable for declarations by affected taxpayers (the window now runs from 16 October to 15 December) and the deadline for the first or single instalment (according to the proposal, this becomes 31 March instead of 31 January 2027). As noted in a statement by ANCI, ‘the 30 June deadline was too tight for most local authorities and prohibitive for the many municipalities involved in local elections in May and June’.

Among the other amendments approved, the ban on unsolicited commercial calls introduced in April by the energy and gas bills decree is now being extended to the telecommunications sector as well. The approved wording (on which the Government deferred to the committee) retains the framework of the restrictions adopted in April, under which a trader may contact a consumer by telephone, including by sending messages, provided that a request has been made directly to the trader or the contact has been made with their own electricity and gas customers who have given specific consent to receive commercial offers. Furthermore, calls must be made by a trader using a number that uniquely identifies them. Otherwise, the contracts are void. Under the approved text, the rules also apply to telecommunications.

A third version of the amendment had been tabled in committee; this did not provide for the possibility of calls where there was a request or consent from the consumer, nor did it include a unique number for professionals, but it was not put to the vote. “This is an important step towards protecting citizens, who are often the target of intrusive and misleading phone calls,” explained Lega senators Massimo Garavaglia, Chair of the Finance Committee, and Giorgio Maria Bergesio, Vice-Chair of the Productive Activities Committee, in a statement regarding the approved amendment.

The tax credit to offset high fuel costs for road haulage is also being extended to passenger buses (with funding remaining unchanged at the current level of €300 million) following bipartisan amendments tabled by both the government and the opposition.