Prepared by Davide Accorsi and Paola Bramato
As of January 1, 2022, Law 215/2021 converting Decree Law 146/2021 (so-called “Fiscal” Decree) aligned the national legislation on the VAT exemption for the international transport of goods with what was established in the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of June 29, 2017, Case C-288/16[1].
In this regard, Article 9, paragraph 1, number 2, of Presidential Decree 633/1972, qualifies as international services or services related to international trade, exempt from VAT (with right to deduction), “transport relating to goods in export, in transit or in temporary import, as well as’ transport relating to goods in import whose consideration is included in the taxable base pursuant to the first paragraph of Article 69”.
The wording of the provision in force until the end of last year therefore subordinated the VAT exemption to the sole fact that the transport service related to goods subject to international transport, thus allowing the application of the exemption also in the event that transport was invoiced to other carriers or third-party contractors (in this regard, see, among others, ministerial circular letter no. 26 of August 3, 1979).
The Fiscal Decree intervened by specifying in the text of the above-mentioned article 9 that “the services referred to in paragraph 1, number 2), do not include transport services rendered to parties other than the exporter, the holder of the transit procedure, the importer, the consignee of the goods or the supplier of the services referred to in paragraph 1, number 4)”[2].
Therefore, the application of exemption must now be assessed by paying attention also to the subjective qualification of the purchaser of the transport service.
[1] The Court of Justice of the European Union, expressing its opinion on the correct interpretation of article 146, paragraph 1, letter e), of Directive 2006/112/EC, has established that, for the purposes of applying the exemption from VAT for the international transport of goods, the service must be provided directly to the exporter, the importer or the consignee of the goods, depending on the case.
[2] The services referred to in number 4) are the services of shipping the goods being transported.
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