FAQ Entry #81

This is a respond to a previously asked question about the A' Design Award and Competition. The full list of frequently asked questions can be accessed here.

#81: We would like to submit our works to A' Design Award and Competition, but we have an EU VAT (IVA) number, do we still need to pay taxes when we pay the processing fee for our works?

Yes, as confirmed with our Commercialista (Legal Accountant) and again with the Chamber of Commerce you need to pay taxes for the processing fee for joining the A'Design Award and Competition even if you have an EU VAT number (for private people). The authorities explains the reason is that because the service we provide is given in Italy physically (by the meeting of jury, the platform etc) it therefore means that the "product or service" is legally created and consumed in Italy, so even if you have an EU VAT number we have to make the standard Fattura (Invoice) with the tax included as written in the Italian legislation. However, the reality is that while some aspects are created and consumed in Italy, since 2009 we moved everything to digital; so the service is created digitally (such as online voting etc) and therefore we can issue no-iva invoices for companies. In any case, the fees are listed with or without IVA, so it means that the price does not change even if you get an invoice with or without IVA (companies will receive 0 iva invoice for participation fees but they will not get a discount, they will be asked to pay the whole amount). In most cases, we issue the right invoice after the payment by verifying which type of invoice that should be issued.

Keywords: EU VAT number, VAT exclusion, tax exclusion, tax exemption, VAT exemption, design competition tax, tax for design competitions

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