26 / 54
The Italian framework of cooperative compliance is being
built since 2014, when it was envisaged by law as part
of a set of measures to establish a more fair, transparent
and growth-oriented national tax system. One year later
the Italian legislator introduced the regime with a twofold
purpose:
(i) to promote enhanced cooperative relations
between tax administrations and taxpayers on the
basis of mutual trust; and
(ii) to prevent tax-related disputes or enhance their
effective resolution.
The regime may apply only to taxpayers regarded as
cooperative, i.e., committed to identify, assess, manage
and monitor risks in relation to violation of tax rules,
general principles or the spirit of the Italian tax system
(tax risk). Condition precedent is that the respective
taxpayers have in place efficient tax risk management
systems.
Taxpayers fulfilling certain requirements and being
admitted to the regime – following respective application
– may enjoy a number of important advantages.
Briefly, they may, indicatively, benefit from:
1. a priori evaluation of tax-risk engendering situations
jointly with tax administrations,
2. abbreviated tax ruling procedures,
3. reduced sanctions for materialization of tax risks
exhaustively communicated (i.e., final findings of tax
law violations),
4. public recording of their cooperative compliance and
5. relief from obligation to provide guarantees in
relation to tax refunds.
Today transfer pricing (TP) is a major source of
tax risk for multinational companies worldwide:
tax authorities target TP matters more and more
aggressively; BEPS measures are transforming the
TP framework creating fields of uncertainty. Thus,
COOPERATIVE COMPLIANCE:
THE ITALIAN FRAMEWORK
ONMAY 26 2017 THE ITALIAN REGIME ON COOPERATIVE COMPLIANCE WAS FURTHER CLARIFIED BY THE ITALIAN
REVENUE AGENCY (IRA OR TAX ADMINISTRATION) BY VIRTUE OF A NEW REGULATION (PROVVEDIMENTO).
ANTONELLA DELLA ROVERE AND FEDERICO VINCENTI OF VALENTE ASSOCIATI GEB PARTNERS EXPLAIN.
By ANTONELLA DELLA ROVERE and FEDERICO VINCENTI, Valente Associati GEB Partners (Italian Correspondent), provided
by IAFEI International Tax Committee. The article was first published on TP Week.com,
https://www.tpweek.com/articles/ITALY
26