Deduction of the import VAT without customs bill: the clarifications provided by the Italian Customs Authorities

Prepared by Lorenzo Ontano, Luca Ghelli and Andrea Casalini

The Italian Customs Authorities, with the Circular Letter no. 22, dated June 6, 2022, released some clarifications related to the import customs declarations to be submitted by means of telematic tracks from H1 to H5. These latter are part of the project to reengineer the import customs clearance IT system.

In this respect, of particular interest is the commentary on the Directorial Determination prot. 234367 dated June 3, 2022 by which, the Italian Customs authorities, together with the Italian Tax Authorities, have approved a new document (so-called  “Prospetto di riepilogo ai fini contabili”) needed to deduct the import VAT.

It is worth pointing out that the implementation of the above-mentioned telematic tracks means that the customs declaration is originated by the exchange data through electronic messages. Therefore, the Single Administrative Document (i.e. SAD) in paper format is not available anymore.

That said, it can be considered resolved the issue raised by several operators regarding which documents should be registered to deduct the import VAT due according to the of Article 25 of the Presidential Decree No. 633/1972, which identifies the customs bill as the only proper document for exercising of the VAT deduction.

The “Prospetto di riepilogo ai fini contabili“ reporting the data relating to the payment of customs duties (duty, VAT and other taxes), organized by rates, will be released at the same time as the release of the goods.

Together with the prospetto di riepilogo, the following documents will be available:

  • “Prospetto sintetico della dichiarazione”: a summary document made available for practical purposes;
  • “Prospetto di svincolo”: document aimed at facilitating the control activities carried out by the Italian Financial Police (i.e. Guardia di Finanza), directed at the affixing of the exit visa (so-called “Messaggio AQ”).

All the documents listed above will be available on the web portal of the Italian Customs Authorities (i.e. “Portale Unico Dogane e Monopoli – PUDM”).

The Italian Customs Authorities, will release details about how to access the services for consultation.

Let’s Talk

For a deeper discussion, please contact:

Francesco Pizzo

PwC TLS Avvocati e Commercialisti

Director

Lorenzo Ontano

PwC TLS Avvocati e Commercialisti

Director

Luca Ghelli

PwC TLS Avvocati e Commercialisti

Senior Manager