VAT Tax Representative
VAT Tax Representative
The VAT tax representative (art. 17 DPR 633/72) must be appointed through a public deed, a registered private deed or a letter recorded in a special register (form VI) at the competent Revenue Agency in relation to the tax domicile of the representative or representative. (The appointment takes place according to the forms established by art. 1, paragraph 4, of Presidential Decree 441/1997, to overcome the presumption of transfer of goods – [formerly art. 53 Presidential Decree 633/72]).
Alternatively, the appointment may also result from an act authenticated by a foreign state notary adhering to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 (ratified in Italy by law 20.11.1966, n. 1253) and bearing the “Apostille” stamp or legalized by the consul general of Italy to the foreign state. The Apostille certifies that the Notary or the government authority that issued the document is actually authorized to do so. The apostille replaces the legalization.
The appointed representative must open the VAT position (declaration of commencement of business) for the principal. With the opening of the VAT position, the foreign entity, through its representative, will be subject to all the obligations and rights provided for by the national VAT legislation. The VAT, to be paid not per single transaction but with the ordinary deadlines (monthly or quarterly), will be determined according to the general rules net of deductible VAT on purchases.
The appointment deed must be prior to the execution of the transaction requiring its appointment and must be communicated to the other party.
The Italian operator who already owns a VAT number, if he becomes a tax representative, will have an additional VAT number. Each VAT number will be managed independently with separate accounting.
A tax representative can be with reference to multiple subjects and therefore can be the owner of multiple VAT numbers, while a foreign operator cannot have more than one tax representative.
It is possible to appoint the representative also for a single operation and not for all the operations carried out by the foreign subject in Italy.
The tax representative can be a natural person or a legal person (resident or based in Italy)
The appointment must be brought to the attention of suppliers prior to the first transaction. In fact, the invoices issued to the tax representative must be co-registered with the representative and the foreign entity.
Opening of the VAT number
The tax representative must submit the declaration of commencement of business. If the representative already has a VAT number, he will receive an additional VAT number. The two or more VAT numbers must be managed separately with separate accounts.
Invoicing of supplies and services
The tax representative must issue an invoice without applying VAT when making services or sales to resident VAT subjects. Correspondingly, the transferees or clients subject to VAT, resident in the territory of the State, who purchase goods or services in Italy from tax representatives of non-resident subjects, are obliged to issue self-billing or supplement the invoice received with VAT (if the transaction is territorially relevant in Italy) (art.17, paragraph 2, Presidential Decree 633/72).
The obligation to issue an invoice without VAT was introduced on January 1, 2010.
The invoices issued by the tax representative must contain both the data of the representative and the data of the represented foreign entity.
We offer Tax Representation services in Italy for foreign companies wishing to enter the Italian market. For information on the VAT tax representative, contact us for free by filling out the following form and one of our professionals will reply shortly.