Transfer pricing and sector studies

The court has accepted the defences presented by the taxpayer – an Italian subsidiary of a foreign multinational which during a tax investigation was accused of invoicing insufficient consideration for its activity as commissionaire in Italy on behalf of its Austrian sister company. In particular, the Italian tax authority had (indirectly) contested the consideration’s adequacy by comparing the investigated taxpayer’margin with the one of other distribution companies. The investigated taxpayer firstly contested the comparables chosen (the company being a commissionaire and hence having less functions and less risks compared to a distributor) and secondly objected that according to the sector studies’ results the consideration invoiced was adequate (Milan tax appeal court ruling no. 2961/2017 of 18 April 2017).