The European Commission has given the temporary go-ahead, which must be unanimously approved by Ecofin, for the "split payment" of VAT requested by Italy. This is a "temporary" decision, the spokeswoman for tax affairs indicated.
The Italian provision provides that public administrations, even if they do not hold the status of VAT taxpayer, are required to pay the tax charged directly to the tax authorities by the suppliers. In essence, when the public administration receives an invoice, it withholds the VAT and pays it directly to the tax authorities.
