- Italy’s Supreme Court held that an IVA/VAT conformity stamp by a professional does not automatically shield a company director from criminal liability when nonexistent VAT credits are used to offset tax debts.
- Reliance on a professional only matters if it is concrete, reasonable, and consistent with the transaction; abnormal or highly unusual transactions require further checks by management.
- In the case, the liquidator of an Italian company was convicted for extinguishing more than €360,000 in tax debts through nonexistent VAT credits used in tax assumption/offset arrangements.
- The Court stressed that directors cannot transfer their oversight duties entirely to advisers; they remain personally responsible for the decision to use the credit.
- The defense based on uncertainty over “non-due” credits did not apply to nonexistent credits, and the company should retain documentation on the origin of the credit and the checks performed.
Source: commercialistatelematico.com
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.
