Complete guide to the commercial bill (1/3)
It is the tax document by far the most important, so fundamental that for VAT purposes of income tax. Some documents are born as its simplified variants (the receipt, the receipt ...), for the preparation of other invoice data are indispensable elements (registers, statements ...).
Despite this, the manner of issuance and content of invoices are many common questions, and not infrequently happens to see blunders in their compilation.
It therefore seems useful guidance on the drafting of the bill, in order to clear up the doubts. Since the invoice described in the Consolidated Value Added Tax (DPR 633/1972), it seems necessary to offer some basic definitions.
Because a transaction is defined as "taxable" for VAT purposes are needed together three requirements: it must be a supply of goods or provision of services (objective requirement) committed in the exercise of a business, trade or profession (objective requirement) performed in the Italian territory (geographical requirement). Imports, however, may be taxed by whomsoever made.
Therefore, the sale that an individual makes your TV, or the sale of an industry in China by the Italian possessed of a factory on site are not taxable transactions, due to lack of one or more of the conditions described.
There is talk of operations "included" in the absence of the requirements, or when the law itself expressly define "out of range" certain operations, for example, the payment of default interest, the sale of postage stamps, contributions in company etc..
The operations "exempt" are those which, in theory, have all the requirements and yet, for socio-political reasons, the law exempts from VAT: for example, health care or education, insurance contracts, the transport services, the services of museums and libraries.
The requirement for so-called "geographical" presents the more complex consequences, if we analyze the operations that take place at the turn of several countries.
First, it is necessary to distinguish the operations of import and export with the purchase and intra-Community: with the first one refers to the operations on the border between Italy and one non-EU country, while the second is instead involved in another member country of the EU.
The law defines taxable imports, by whomsoever made (including individuals), while export sales are in a class of its own, the "non-taxable".
At the moment, intra-Community acquisitions are treated as imports, while exports are associated with intra-Community supplies.
In the future, should come into force a different European VAT system based on taxation in the country of origin, which should reverse the perspective. However, this system "definitive" is expected to be more than twelve years without any hint of implementation.
The territoriality of a transaction is often difficult to spot: think of a Italian consultant who performs a service via the Internet to a U.S. customer. Cases of this kind there is an anthology of circular of the Revenue, the judgments of the Supreme Court and doctrinal interpretations, but there are still many difficult knots to untie.
Now, determined that economic transactions may be taxable, non-taxable, exempt and excluded, the obligation to issue an invoice exists only in the first three cases.
Excluding transactions are not to be billed, since there is no VAT to be applied. And if an excluded incidentally falls within a tax (for example, a practitioner asks the client to pay the fee and to reimburse certain expenses incurred in its name and on its behalf), the invoice need to specify explicitly that this 'latter amount is excluded, indicating the article in the DPR 633/1972 laying down such exclusion.
The taxable, non-taxable and are therefore exempt from charge forever. But when he has to be invoiced?
The law establishes some very precise rules: if the transaction is a sale of real estate has the date of the public sale, while if it is movable counts the date of their delivery or shipment.
For the provision of services, however, the invoice must be issued on receipt of the payment, unless it is continuing supplies (for example, a subscription to ADSL) for which the invoice is issued periodically at intervals agreed contractual .
In all cases, if the sum is recessed above the dates indicated, the invoice must be issued at the time of collection. If you received an advance payment or a down payment, the transaction should be immediately billed for the amount of the same.
Finally, it should be noted that the dates given are in fact the deadline for issuing invoice: in truth, nothing stops emitting it even earlier. This, however, is not convenient because the invoice acts as an automatic consequence chargeability of the tax (and, for those who receive it, the deductibility of the same).
The tax is called "chargeable" when is the debt for the repayment from the tax authorities of the same, or to compensate with the input tax on purchases.
Chargeability is usually with the issuance of the invoice, or at least with the occurrence of the event that would require its issuance. Therefore, if a seller sells an asset without issuing the invoice illegally, the fact remains that the state can still claim the VAT in addition to the failure to punish it for billing purposes.
For some operations, however, the conditions in which the time is deferred at the time of collection. The facility, which traditionally provided for sales to the public and in the pharmaceutical industry, has recently been generalized by introducing the so-called "tax cash."
The invoice must always be issued in two copies: one to be handed to the customer and the other to be retained by the issuer.
There are two modes of issue: the analog system and the electronic one. The bill is the traditional analogue, on paper. The electronic invoice, however, is prepared using a system based on digital signature and time stamp, which are secured both the origin and date of the invoice, and his immutability over time. The technical features of the electronic invoice shall be determined by ministerial decrees some very detailed.
However, it is to be noted that the invoice may be issued in electronic format only if the customer accepts this system: otherwise, it is obligatory to analog output.
To save on paper, the legislature has decided to focus strongly on the electronic invoice: it is established, in fact, that by the middle of 2010, anyone who needs to issue an invoice to any public body can do it exclusively through electronic means. The public body, in fact, will be banned to pay the fee if the item does not happen in the specified format.
In this sense, it is good that both those currently contracted with the Public Administration that those who work occasionally you start to worry about the time of the operation of the digital technique. The transition will be epochal epotrebbe overwhelm the novice electronics, and promote instead the consultants that will open up a new market and very expensive. They will not be few, in fact, business owners in difficulty that will require a technical rescue for the issuance of electronic invoices.
It should be pointed out, finally, that simply sending the document by e-mail by no means "electronic invoice" is just a special way to send an invoice analog, which must therefore be compulsorily printed on paper by the recipient, under penalty to be considered as not emitted.
20/01/2009
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Translated via software
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Source:
Italian version of ReteIngegneri.it