Intrastat Lists: An Overview

The Intrastat lists were introduced by article 50, paragraph 6, of Legislative Decree no. 331/1993 following the abolition of customs barriers within the European Community.

The Intrastat lists are a set of procedures designed to allow the Customs Agency to monitor all B2B transactions within EU based businesses

It is compulsory to submit Intrastat recapitulative statements regarding intra-Community supplies and purchases of goods. As well as supplies of services for which VAT is payable by the purchaser in the application of the general rule on territoriality (article 50, Legislative Decree no. 331/93).

These lists are INTRA 1 and INTRA 2, each of which contains two distinct categories of transactions:

• Intra-Community supplies of goods and services rendered (INTRA1);
• Intra-Community acquisitions of goods and services received (INTRA 2).

Parties required to submit Intrastat lists

Taxable persons (entrepreneurs, professionals, or businesses) who carry out the following transactions are required to submit the Intrastat recapitulative statements:

1. Supply and purchase of intra-Community goods;
2. General services (Article 7-ter of Presidential Decree no. 633/72):
   1. Supplies by taxable persons established in Italy to taxable persons established in other E.U. countries;
   2. Received by persons liable for VAT in Italy from taxable persons established in other E.U. countries.

Non-commercial bodies must also fulfill the obligation to submit the Intrastat lists, but only if they are identified for VAT purposes. Since they have made intra-community purchases of goods for a limit exceeding €. 10,000 or have opted for the application of VAT in the territory of the State.

The obligation to submit the tax return also applies to taxpayers belonging to the “advantageous regime for young entrepreneurs and mobile workers” and subjects operating under the “Regime Forfettario.” However, only with reference to intra-EU purchases and services received from a taxable person of another E.U. country.

Which transactions should be recorded in the Intrastat lists?

The following transactions must be included in the Intrastat lists:

1. Intra-Community supplies and purchases;
2. Services rendered by Italian VAT taxpayers to E.U. taxpayers, which by the principle of territoriality (Article 7-ter of Presidential Decree no. 633/72) are taxable in the country of the purchaser;
3. Services received by persons liable for VAT established in Italy and taxable in Italy under the general principle of territoriality.

About services, transactions subject to specific derogations remain excluded, such as transactions relating to real estate, passenger transport, short-term hire of means of transportation, restaurant and catering services, services for access to cultural events, etc.

If a VAT taxable person receives an invoice containing both supplies of goods and services, these transactions must be indicated and reported separately, according to their nature, in the Intrastat lists.

Transactions to be recorded: supplies of goods and services rendered

The following transactions must be indicated in the Intrastat lists:

• Intra-Community supplies of goods (form INTRA-1 bis);
• General services, as per 7-ter of DPR n. 633/72, rendered to taxable persons established in the E.U. (form INTRA-1 quater).

It must be highlighted that the communication in the Intrastat lists concerns only the transactions registered (or anyway subject to accounting registration) in the reference period of the model (monthly or quarterly). This is what is provided for paragraph 1 of Art. 5 of the Ministerial Decree 22.02.2010.

The following are not included in the transactions to be reported:

• The provision of services, which does not fall under the definition of Art. 7-ter of Presidential Decree no. 633/72, carried out towards VAT taxable persons. I refer to the transactions referred to in 7-quater and Art. 7-quinquies of Presidential Decree no. 633/72;
• All transactions carried out with parties who do not hold VAT positions (so-called “private consumers“);
• Transactions (“extraterritorial”) carried out towards persons established outside the E.U. Transactions carried out towards VAT positions in the E.U. (identification director permanent establishment) of a person established outside the E.U. do not have to be reported either. On this point, see Circular n° 36/E/2010 of the Revenue Agency.

Transactions to be recorded: purchases of goods and services received

Intra-community purchases of goods (form INTRA-2 bis) and generic services, as per Art. 7-ter of Presidential Decree no. 633/72, received by VAT payers resident in the E.U. (form INTRA 2 quater), is relevant only for statistical purposes.

This provision, valid starting from 2018, concerns all taxpayers. Taxable persons are liable for VAT which has made intra-Community acquisitions of goods or services equal to or exceeding specific thresholds identified by provision no in at least one of the four quarters preceding the reference quarter. 194409 of 25 September 2017, the Inland Revenue are required to compile the Intrastat lists for statistical purposes only.

Simplifications for the recapitulative statements relating to the purchase of goods (Form INTRA 2 bis)

Taxable persons for VAT purposes are required to submit, for statistical purposes only, the recapitulative statements of intra-Community acquisitions of goods about monthly periods, if the total quarterly amount of such purchases is, for at least one of the four preceding quarters, equal to or greater than €200,000.

Simplifications for recapitulative statements relating to purchases of services (Form INTRA 2c)

For statistical purposes only, VAT payers must submit the recapitulative statements of services, as per article 7-ter of Presidential Decree no. 633/72, purchased from taxable persons established in another E.U. Member State, about monthly periods, if the total quarterly amount of such purchases is, for at least one of the four previous quarters, equal to or greater than €100,000.

Should exempt or non-taxable VAT transactions be included in the Intrastat lists?

One aspect that is often the result of an error concerns the management of VAT-exempt operations, or non-taxable operations, due to the lack of the territoriality requirement. It is essential to know that services for which no VAT is due in the purchaser’s country must not be reported in the Intrastat lists (see paragraph 4, of Art. 5 of the Ministerial Decree dated 22.02.2010).

Following this rule, if the client is established in Italy, it is not necessary to submit the Intra lists in case of services that are (according to national legislation):

• Non-taxable;
• Exempt.

On the contrary, if the client is established in another E.U. country, the Italian service provider must verify whether the service in question can be qualified as exempt or non-taxable VAT in the country of the client (which is not always easy to do). To obtain this verification, the supplier must request and obtain from the E.U. client a declaration stating that the transaction is classified as exempt or non-taxable in his country.

Modalities and deadlines for submission

The Intrastat lists must be submitted exclusively by telematic means. Transmission must be made through the ENTRATEL and FISCONLINE services. Transmission can be made either directly or through authorized intermediaries or delegated subjects.

Submission deadline and monthly or quarterly frequency

The deadline for submitting Intrastat lists is the 25th of the month following the reference period:

• The general rule becomes that the lists must be submitted every month;
• Individual countries may provide for quarterly periodicity. The amount of intra-Community transactions (supplies of goods and services) does not exceed, either for the reference quarter or for each of the four preceding quarters, € 50,000.00.

As mentioned above, the forms relating to the purchase of goods or services received must be submitted only by those taxable persons for VAT who, in at least one of the four preceding quarters, have purchased goods or services:

• They have made intra-Community acquisitions of goods for an amount equal to or greater than €200,000, quarterly;
• They have received services from E.U. entities for an amount equal to or greater than €100,000

Example of exceeding the periodicity threshold for Intrastat lists

If, for example, in the January-March quarter, the threshold of € 50,000.00 has been exceeded only about the supply of goods, INTRA-1 models must be submitted monthly. In contrast, INTRA-2 models maintain the quarterly frequency.

Correction of errors or omissions in Intrastat lists

Widespread are cases where errors or omissions in Intrastat lists already submitted have to be corrected. In such cases, the Intrastat lists already submitted must be updated. In detail, a distinction must be made between the following different operational cases:

1. In the case of changes to supplies already made and reported in Intrastat, the related documents (supplementary invoices or credit notes) shall be registered in the Intrastat statements for the period during which these adjustments were recorded;
2. In case of omissions in the Intrastat relating to services rendered or received, a specific declaration must be filled in, indicating as reference period the month or the quarter in which the omission occurred. Fill in section 3 of the form;
3. Finally, in all remaining cases of errors relating to services, including the case of inclusion in Intrastat of transactions that should not have been declared, Section 4 should be completed. This section concerns corrections concerning services rendered or received.

In case of omissions or inaccuracies in the presentation of the Intrastat lists by companies and entities, there is a penalty ranging from €. 516 to €. 5,164 (Article 11, Legislative Decree no. 322/89). The sentence is reduced by half in case of presentation within 30 days from the request sent by the office.

While, following the omission of the presentation of the lists, their regularization, not intended as a formal violation, can be made through the means of the “ravvedimento operoso,” within the deadline set for the submission of the annual VAT return, and with the payment of a penalty equal to € 64 (1/8 of €. 516 applying the truncation).

Intrastat lists for the Regime Forfettario

As mentioned above, also the entities operating under the Regime Forfettario, ex Law 190/14 and subsequent amendments, are required to submit the Intrastat lists. However, in this case, the submission concerns:

• Services rendered and received towards taxable persons for VAT purposes established in another E.U. country;
• The intra-EU purchases of goods are referred to in 38 of Legislative Decree no. 331/93. This is the case if the person under the Forfaiting Scheme has made, during the previous calendar year, intra-EU purchases for an amount exceeding the threshold of € 10,000 (Art. 38, paragraph 5, letter c) of Decree-Law n. 331/93).

The sanctions regime linked to Intrastat lists

Failure to submit or incorrect submission of Intrastat lists is subject to administrative sanctions by the Revenue Office. For this reason, it is necessary to pay due attention when sending these models. Failure to submit the Intrastat forms results in the application of an administrative sanction ranging from a minimum of € 500 to a maximum of € 1,000 for each omitted or late Intrastat list.

This sanction is reduced to half (from € 250 to € 500) if the taxpayer sends the Intrastat form within 30 days from the request sent by the offices authorized to receive the list or in charge of its control. The demand for regularization can also be sent after the expiry of the terms for the “ravvedimento operoso”.

According to a jurisprudential interpretation, the violation would not be punishable as long as it does not hinder the control activity. However, it should be noted that operationally for the tax authorities, such penalties are never formal, as they relate to acts that, by definition, are subject to control.