The Relaunch Decree (Article 121) grants the possibility of exercising the options of the invoice discount and the transfer of the credit to persons who in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 have incurred expenses for interventions that benefit from tax bonuses in the building sector, with the exception of the furniture bonus and the green bonus.
For the interventions indicated in Article 119 of the Relaunch Decree, the options are also allowed for expenses incurred from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2025.
In order not to lose the benefits, the options can also be exercised when the tax is incapable and it is not possible to benefit from the deduction in the tax return.
Let's see, in detail, how the invoice discount works and what are the procedures to be observed.
DEFINITION
The discount on the invoice is a contribution granted to the taxpayer and advanced by the entities that carried out the building works.
By applying the discount, the beneficiary of the building bonus obtains a cost saving equal to the discounted amount.
However, the discount does not represent a waiver by the company of the consideration for the works, but a simple method of payment by the taxpayer through the allocation to the company of a tax credit corresponding to the deduction on the subsidised works, calculated on the amounts actually discounted.
The amount of the discount (advance payment) cannot exceed the amount of the consideration itself.
The amounts invoiced must take into account the expenditure ceilings provided for by law for the individual interventions benefiting from the deductions and certified by the fairness certificate issued by a qualified technician. If the ceiling is exceeded, the surplus expenditure remains the responsibility of the taxpayer.
PURPOSE
With the invoice discount the taxpayer has the possibility to upgrade his property even if he does not have sufficient liquidity.
In this case there are two alternatives:
* apply for financing (i.e. a bridging loan)
* find a company/supplier willing to give a discount on the work to be carried out
WHO GRANTS THE INVOICE DISCOUNT?
The companies that carried out the works or the suppliers of goods and services related to the interventions incentivised by the following building bonuses can grant the discount on the invoice:
Superbonus
Facade bonus
Sismabonus
Ecobonus
Renovation bonus
Elimination of architectural barriers
The supply of goods and services must include the installation of the materials or the installation of the goods purchased: the mere seller/supplier cannot grant the discount.
FULL AND PARTIAL DISCOUNT
Invoice discounting is an option granted to the taxpayer but is not an obligation for the chosen supplier.
The possibility of discounting depends on the liquidity available to the company or supplier to advance the cost of materials and employees' wages.
For these reasons, full credit discounting is very rare.
The discount operation has, in itself, a file management cost comprising the following items:
. management of the file with the Inland Revenue Office
. management of the file with ENEA
. cost of certification
. cost of transferring the credit
The total cost of managing the file is generally 10% of the amount of the work.
This is why the discount offered by companies is almost always partial.
When the discount is partial, the taxpayer and the contractor/supplier can claim a deduction on the expenditure they have to bear or, alternatively, opt for the transfer of the remaining credit to other entities, including credit institutions and other financial intermediaries (see answer of the Revenue Agency to interpellation no. 326 of 2020).
INTERVENTIONS FOR WHICH THE OPTION IS ALLOWED
The discount on the invoice is allowed for the following interventions (art. 121 relaunch decree):
. interventions admitted to Superbonus 110 (art. 119 relaunch decree)
. recovery of the building heritage (d.l. 63/2013)
. energy efficiency (d.l. 63/2013)
. anti-seismic measures (d.l. 63/2013)
. recovery or restoration of the facade of existing buildings
. installation of photovoltaic systems
. installation of electric vehicle recharging stations
. overcoming and elimination of architectural barriers
FAIRNESS OF EXPENSES AND COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATE
When the taxpayer exercises the option of the discount on the invoice, but also in case of simple use of the deduction in the case of Superbonus (art. 119, paragraph 11, relaunch decree), the Finance Act 2022 requires the production of the following documentation:
* certification of the adequacy of the expenses incurred by a qualified technician
* certification of compliance by a professional (accountants, bookkeepers, commercial experts, labour consultants and CAFs).
By certifying the fairness of the expenses, the qualified technician certifies the fairness of the expenses with respect to certain parameters indicated in the MITE decree of 14 February 2022 (for the interventions indicated therein), the Regional price lists or the DEI price lists.
The technician shall attach to the affidavit the estimated metric calculation indicating the specific maximum costs for each type of intervention.
With the certificate of conformity the professional certifies the existence of the conditions for the recognition of the deduction.
If these costs are higher than the eligible ones, the deduction is applied within the maximum limits.
The certificate of appropriateness and the compliance certificate are not required in the following cases:
. declaration submitted on the basis of the pre-filled form
. declaration submitted through the tax withholding agent
. interventions carried out in free building
. interventions with a total amount not exceeding € 10,000
. Sismabonus purchases and Bonus purchases of renovated buildings (in this case the deduction is applied to the sale price and not to the expenses incurred)
From 1 January 2022, the expenses incurred for the issuance of the above-mentioned documentation are always tax deductible and enjoy the same rate associated with the bonus deduction.
The Inland Revenue has clarified that the expenses for certification and endorsement incurred in the period 12 November - 31 December 2021, (period of validity of the anti-fraud decree, repealed and merged into the Finance Act 2022) are also deductible.
TAXPAYER'S BURDENS
The primary responsibility for the correct application of the deduction lies with the taxpayer.
In particular, he is subject to several burdens:
. verifying the existence of the requirements required by law for access to the deduction
. to produce and keep the documentation relating to the necessary building permits, the works carried out and the expenses incurred
. comply with the procedures prescribed by law
. respect the deadlines
The “support decree ter" has extended the deadline for reporting the transfer of credit and the invoice discount to 29 April 2022.
The rule applies to the remaining instalments of the 2020 deductions and to expenses incurred in 2021.
THE ENERGY DECREE
The Energy Decree (Decree-Law No. 17/2022) has made certain changes regarding the options of the invoice discount and the transfer of credit in building bonuses.
Firstly, corporate income tax (IRES) taxpayers and VAT holders who must file their income tax returns by 30 November 2022 have until 15 October 2022 to notify the Revenue Agency of their intention to take advantage of the invoice discount or credit transfer options.
The new provisions apply to notifications of the first assignment of the credit or invoice discount sent to the Revenue Agency with effect from 1 May 2022.
REGULATOR REFERENCES
* art. 14, legislative decree 63/2013, "Urgent provisions for the implementation of Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings"
* art. 10, d.l. 34/2019 (growth decree)
* L.d.. 34/2020 (relaunch decree), "Urgent measures on health, support to work and economy, as well as social policies related to the epidemiological emergency from COVID-19"
* Circular Revenue Agency Circular No. 24/E of 8 August 2020, "Deduction for energy efficiency measures and reduction of seismic risk of buildings, as well as option for transfer or discount in lieu of deduction provided for in Articles 119 and 121 of Decree-Law No. 34 of 19 May 2020 (relaunch decree) converted with amendments by Law No. 77 of 17 July 2020 - First clarifications"
* Law 234/2021 (Finance Act 2022), "Budget of the State for the financial year 2022 and multi-year budget for the period 2022-2024"
* MITE Decree of 14 February 2022 (new ceiling decree)
* L.d. 4/2022, converted by l. 25/2022 (support decree ter)
* L.d. 13/2022 (Fraud decree), "Urgent measures to combat fraud and safety in the workplace in the building sector, as well as on electricity produced by plants from renewable sources"
* L.d. 17/2022 (Energy decree), "Urgent measures for the containment of electricity and natural gas costs, for the development of renewable energies and for the relaunch of industrial policies"
* Revenue Agency’s Circular No. 19/E of 27 May 2022, "Amendments to the Superbonus and Bonuses other than the Superbonus - Anti-fraud measures - Amendments to the rules on the assignment of credits under Articles 121 and 122 of Decree-Law No. 34 of 19 May 2020"
