Electronic receipt: what changes for e-commerce

Following the introduction of electronic invoicing, the new regulation that has caused quite a stir and discontent, starting from July of this year, the electronic receipt will also be introduced, which will send the old and now outdated purchase receipt directly to the attic. But what exactly does it entail? Will the electronic receipt also include online commerce? Let's take a look together.

Electronic Commerce: A Brief Overview

Before moving on to the technical part, it is good and right to state that electronic commerce can be divided into two main branches: wholesale and retail sales. For retail sales services, the first step to take is to submit a notification of the start of activity to the municipality where the business owner resides. The activity can commence thirty days after the notification. An absence of response from the relevant municipal office is equivalent to acceptance of the application. In the case of a coexistence of wholesale and retail sales, a single website can be designated for both, provided that each branch has a specific and defined section. It is also important to clarify that the relevant regulation, namely decree 114/98, cannot be applied to anything concerning intermediary services, from those carried out by sales agents to occasional sales. The online sales sector can be classified under mail-order sales. Therefore, there is no obligation to issue an invoice, unless explicitly requested by the final customer. The same applies to the issuance of the fiscal receipt. The vast majority of companies issue the so-called "transport document," recording daily totals and noting the receipts of completed online sales in their registers. If there is direct e-commerce, the aforementioned benefits do not apply, and there is an obligation to issue an invoice.

The Electronic Receipt

After providing the necessary introduction, related to regulatory references that help shed more light, it is time to accurately describe the novelty, in effect from July 1, 2019, resulting from the introduction of the electronic receipt. This change is indeed provided for by a draft of the tax decree, which is also linked to the maneuver, containing the rules that make up the so-called "fiscal peace," touted by the current government. The electronic receipt, at least in its initial phase, will exclusively affect all commercial establishments whose revenue exceeds the threshold of 400,000 euros. The imposition in question will, starting from January 1, 2020, be extended to all merchants operating in Italy. The electronic receipt aims not only to reduce tax evasion but also to simplify the tax records of every commercial activity. A primary aspect will arise from the fact that every business will need to equip itself with cash registers that include the functions of telematic transmission and storage of receipts. To expedite this transition phase, the government will grant tax benefits to businesses that adapt, designed in the form of a tax credit amounting to 50% of the expense up to 250 euros. The economic outlay for purchasing new cash registers is around 800 euros. A more economical solution is to keep the old analog cash registers, adapting them to the latest regulations simply by updating the software. Through these updates, it will be possible to send the daily receipts received by any business to the Revenue Agency. Additionally, one will be able to view all data related to their business by simply connecting to the Revenue Agency's portal. As previously mentioned, following this direction will streamline the certification phase of all tax operations, consequently facilitating the preparation of income tax and VAT returns. While it is true that the ongoing digitalization reduces a bureaucracy that is often cumbersome and complex, it is equally true that this will lead to a more effective fight against tax evasion, which in Italy has gradually reached considerable levels. Given the telematic transmission of receipts sent by the business, the Revenue Agency will have the authority to compare the amount of sales made with the VAT paid. Although this may seem like a positively functional measure, there has not been a lack of controversy regarding it. One dissenting voice is that of the president of Confcommercio, Carlo Sangalli. He has explicitly requested a postponement for the implementation of the electronic receipt even for those businesses whose revenue exceeds 400,000 euros. According to Sangalli, the reason for the postponement would be a clear delay in the issuance of the implementing decrees, along with all the technical issues that each business will have to face in adapting their current cash registers or purchasing new ones.

E-commerce: What Changes?

Based on what has been said so far, it can be concluded that this novelty will spare the realm of e-commerce. Electronic commerce, in fact, benefits from aspects related to the exemption from the obligations of certifying sales transactions. The exemption concerns not only the issuance of invoices but also receipts and tickets. Therefore, the exemption from the receipt or fiscal receipt is confirmed for all e-commerce services provided to private individuals. VAT is applied in the country where the business is based. The sphere of e-commerce includes all transactions through which merchants make goods or services available to users in digital form. The legislative decree 42/2015 has established specific provisions regarding the location where sales transactions are completed.

However, strategic choices regarding the introduction of the “lottery of receipts” could lead e-commerce operators to forgo the tax simplifications of e-commerce, in order not to lose market shares.

Indeed, nothing prevents an e-commerce operator from issuing the electronic receipt and/or electronic invoice. They are simply not obligated to do so.