Storage and transmission of daily transaction data

Law Decree no. 119/2018 introduced the general obligation to store and transmit data related to daily transactions. The requirement will apply as follows:

As of 1 July 2019 for taxpayers with a turnover exceeding EUR 400,000;
As of 1 January 2020 for all other taxpayers.

Types of Information to be Filed

This obligation applies to a taxpayer’s daily transactions involving, for example:

Supplies of goods and services in premises/shops open to the public;
Hotel/restaurant services;
Supplies of food and drink;
Supplies of passenger transport services.

For these types of operations, a sales receipt or a tax receipt is sufficient for tax purposes. But, if the customer asks for an invoice, one must be issued and filed with the tax authorities.

The obligation to electronically store and transmit data daily with respect to the consideration for the supply of goods and services replaces the obligations to maintain such information in a VAT register.

Taxpayers involved in distance selling activities are exempt from the obligation to record and transmit the payments electronically, but they must maintain a register of those payments.

Telematics recorders

This new obligation requires the use of telematic recorders (RT) that store and transmit the payments. The technical specifications of these technological tools have been defined by the official document released by the Director of the Revenue Agency dated 28 October 2016 n. 182017.

To facilitate the purchase or update of such recorders, in 2019 and 2020 taxpayers can claim a tax credit. In the case of the purchase of such devices, a tax credit of 50% of the expenditure, up to EUR 250 is available; in the case of an update to such a device, the maximum credit available is EUR 50.

Francesco Grandolfo
francesco.grandolfo@bdo.it