E-commerce is also facilitated for networks of agricultural and agri-food businesses. This is the 40% tax credit that can be granted for the years from 2021 to 2023 up to a maximum of 50,000 euros for each year, which the 2021 budget law (No. 178/2020, art.1, paragraph 131) has provided for the support of Made in Italy and which has extended to networks of agricultural and agri-food businesses. The beneficiary companies, also constituted in a cooperative form or united in consortia or adhering to the regulations of the "wine roads" (art. 2, c. 1, lett. A, law 268/1999), will be entitled to the bonus in case of realization and expansion of IT infrastructures aimed at enhancing electronic commerce. This is what is stated in Provision no. 174713/2022 of the Director of the Revenue Agency of 20 May 2022, who within the spending limit of 15 million euros (5 million for each year) defines the criteria and methods of application and use of the bonus and approves the model of "Communication of expenses for the construction or expansion of IT infrastructures aimed at strengthening electronic commerce" with the relative instructions. The facilitated networks may fall within the definition of "contracted network", without autonomous legal subjectivity, or of "subject network", with autonomous legal subjectivity. In the first case, the "Communication" is presented by the single member companies for the share of expenses referable to them; in the second case from the network itself. In both cases, for 2021 expenses, the sending to the Revenue Agency must take place between 20 September and 20 October 2022.
Let's analyze which investments are facilitated by the legislation:
- for the improvement of distance selling potential to end customers residing outside the national territory;
- for activities and projects related to the increase in exports, relating to technological equipment; software; design and implementation; development of database and security systems.
The bonus. The tax credit is due, for each of the tax periods pertaining to the benefit, according to the prevalent activity actually carried out and declared for VAT purposes:
a) 40% and up to a limit of 50,000 euros of the amount of investments made in each of the periods envisaged for SMEs operating in the primary production of agricultural products;
b) 40% and up to a limit of 25,000 euros of the amount of investments made in each of the periods envisaged for large companies operating in the primary production sector;
c) 40% and up to a limit of 50,000 euros over three financial years of the amount of the investments made in each of the periods envisaged for agri-food SMEs.
The tax credit can be used as compensation starting from the working day following the publication of the Provision of the Agency which will establish the maximum amount of the bonus that can be used in relation to the available resources.
Sending the Communication. Generally it must be sent to the Revenue Agency from February 15th to March 15th of the year following that of making the investments. For expenses incurred in 2021, the communication must be sent from 20 September 2022 to 20 October 2022.
