Clarification and tax qualification of the battery energy storage system (BESS)
Edited by Francesco Pizzo, Annarita Terrone and Katia Nucifora
The Italian Customs Authorities, with the Circular Letter no. 17, dated May 31, 2024, released clarification, under an excise duties point of view, related to the battery energy storage system (i.e. “BESS”), with particular reference to the obligation to submit a specific request for the activities’ start and the obtaining of a license.
According to the art. 1 of the Law Decree n. 7/2002, the battery energy storage systems (i.e. “BESS”) qualifies as system having public utility to ensure the security of the national electrical system.
With the above-mentioned Circular letter, it is clarified that the above-mentioned system, under a fiscal point of view, qualifies as electrical workshop, according to the definition provided by the art. 54, paragraph 1, of Legislative Decree n. 504/1995 (“Testo Unico Accise” – “TUA”) and, therefore, the payment of the annual license is due, as provided by the art. 63, paragraph 3 and 4 of TUA.
The operator should submit a specific request for the activities’ start to the competent Customs Office, pursuant to art. 53, paragraph 7, of TUA, providing also all the relevant documentation.
That said, in relation to the classification of the electrical workshop under a fiscal point of view, it is clarified that it is necessary to distinguish the case in which the BESS is operated in combination with production devices (i.e. powered by fossil sources or renewable sources) from the case in which the BESS is a “stand-alone” system.
For the first case, the license that should be obtained is related to both the technical cases, meaning both the “production workshop” and the “storage workshop”. In the second case, the license fee due for the “stand-alone” system is equal to 77,47 euro, as provided by art. 63, paragraph 3, letter b) of the TUA.
Finally, the Italian Customs Authorities confirmed that the consumption of electricity used for the BESS plant’s auxiliary systems are exempt from an excise duties point of view, according to art. 52, paragraph 3, letter a) of the TUA.
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