The Italian Supreme Court (Cassazione) in Judgment No. 36078/2026, filed 23 October 2026, established that the VAT conformity visa (visto di conformità) does not automatically absolve a company’s legal representative from criminal liability for improper VAT offsetting (indebita compensazione). The Court ruled that reliance on a tax professional’s certification must be assessed alongside the director’s own duty of oversight and the objective evidence available at the time of the offset. The decision stems from a case where a director authorized VAT credit offsets later deemed illegitimate, arguing good-faith reliance on the conformity visa. The Court rejected this defense, emphasizing that the visa attests only to procedural regularity, not to the substantive existence of the credit. This ruling significantly raises the compliance bar for corporate officers signing VAT returns.
Key Takeaways
- No Safe Harbor: The conformity visa certifies formal compliance, not the material correctness of VAT credits; directors remain personally liable for verifying credit validity.
- Enhanced Due Diligence: Legal representatives must implement internal controls to validate VAT credit origination, carryforward calculations, and offset eligibility before authorization.
- Criminal Exposure: Improper offsets above €50,000 trigger criminal proceedings under Legislative Decree 74/2000; the ruling removes a common mitigating argument in defense strategies.
Disclaimer: This article is compiled and summarized by the AI based on publicly available information and is for general information purposes only. It does not constitute any form of formal tax advice, legal opinion, or basis for performance. Please consult a qualified professional tax advisor or legal counsel for tax advice.
Source: Read Official Announcement