Supplier’s Defense Is Tough When the Intent Declaration Is False

• If a declaration of intent is found to be fake, the VAT exemption disappears unless the supplier can prove no involvement in the fraud.
• The supplier must verify that the declaration of intent was actually filed with the tax authority before completing the transaction; failing to do so triggers penalties.
• Italian Supreme Court case law takes a strict approach: the supplier must show it took all reasonable steps to avoid participating in the fraud.
• Courts assess fraud indicators as a whole, such as unusual company changes, implausible business history, mismatched delivery locations, missing tax filings, underpriced resale, early payments, and absence from the VIES database.
• The supplier’s defense is difficult if these warning signs would have alerted a prudent professional to possible falsity.

Source: eutekne.info

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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