ALFA S.p.A. is a multinational company that supplies electronic components to the automotive sector and is a strategic supplier to the BETA Group. To ensure the stability of the production process and the supply of “ignition coil” components to the BETA Group, they have entered into an agreement (the “Accordo”) wherein BETA recognizes ALFA’s support in the form of three measures: the purchase of inventories, the purchase of patents and intellectual property, and a support payment.
The first measure involves the transfer of certain goods produced under the “YY” project to GAMMA (a BETA Group company) in an EU member state. The second measure includes the transfer of intellectual property to DELTA and GAMMA (both part of the BETA Group). The third measure consists of a support payment made by various companies within the BETA Group to safeguard ALFA’s production of components for the BETA Group.
ALFA treats these support measures as three separate transactions for VAT purposes. Specifically, the first measure is considered a non-taxable intra-community transfer of goods, while the second and third measures are seen as non-taxable services due to the lack of territorial connection.
The request seeks clarification on whether the entire operation or parts of it constitute a transfer of a business branch and whether the support measures are autonomous transactions for VAT purposes, with specific focus on the third measure’s characterization as an onerous service not subject to VAT in Italy.
Source: gov.it
