Tax authorities, trial requested for Amazon and 4 managers for fraud of 1.2 billion

Milan, Mar. 12 (LaPresse) – The Milan Prosecutor’s Office has requested that Amazon EU Sarl and four European and American managers of the tech giant stand trial on charges of VAT fraud amounting to 1.2 billion euros. Prosecutors Elio Ramondini and Eugenio Fusco asked investigating judge Tiziana Landoni to order the indictment of all the defendants on the charge of fraudulent declaration in relation to the logistics business model for goods in the period from 2019 to June 30, 2021, the date on which Italy adopted EU Directive 2017/2455 on value-added tax for the supply of services and distance sales of goods. This is the first request for a trial in Italy against a big tech company. During the investigation Amazon paid 511 million euros to the Italian tax authorities as part of a settlement agreement with the Revenue Agency over tax violations. During the two-year period covered by the prosecution’s accusations, Decree-Law 34/2019 was in force, introducing specific tax obligations for the “sale of goods through digital platforms” that must be observed by “taxable persons” who facilitate “distance sales of goods within the European Union” through an “electronic interface.” According to the regulation, the “taxable person,” facilitating sales through “platforms” and “virtual marketplaces,” is “considered liable for the tax” for “distance sales” for which it “did not transmit” or “transmitted incompletely” to the Revenue Agency a series of data concerning suppliers. Among these, in particular, the total number of units sold in Italy, the total amount of sales prices or the average sales price that Amazon EU Sarl did not communicate.