Deliveries of goods

1.General rule

Delivery of property means the transfer of the power of disposal over tangible property, i.e. the transfer of the power to dispose of the property with the powers attributed to its owner.

For these purposes, gas, heat, cold, electrical energy and other forms of energy have the status of tangible property.

2.Specific rules

They are considered to be supplies of goods, regardless of whether or not there is a transfer of the power of disposal over them:

1. The execution of construction or refurbishment work on a building when the person executing the work provides materials whose cost exceeds 40% of the taxable base of VAT corresponding to the operation.At this point, it should be borne in mind that the concepts of "building" and "refurbishment" have a specific content for VAT purposes defined in the Tax Law itself.

2. Non-monetary contributions of elements of business or professional assets and allotments of this nature in the event of liquidation or dissolution of any type of entity.

   In particular, the awarding of land or buildings developed by the community of property to the co-proprietors in proportion to their share of the community property is considered to be the handing over of property.

   Example:

   The contribution of a plot of land to a community of property if it was part of a company's assets.

   If a community of property constituted by two co-owners promotes the construction of a building and when the construction is completed, 50 percent of the building is awarded to each co-owner, this award is considered as the first delivery of property.

3. Transfers of property by virtue of an administrative or jurisdictional rule or decision, including compulsory expropriation.

   Example:

   These types of transmissions include, among others:

   • Sales of assets at administrative or judicial auction that form part of business assets.The seller will be the foreclosed entrepreneur and the buyer the successful bidder.

   • Supplies made by entrepreneurs or professionals of goods used for their activities to a public body which acquires them by compulsory expropriation, regardless of the nature of the consideration, whether in cash or in kind.

4. Transfers of goods without transfer of ownership shall be supplies when they take place under contracts of sale with reservation of title or condition precedent or contracts of lease-sale.Leases with an option to purchase as soon as the lessee undertakes to exercise the option and leases of goods with a mutually binding transfer of ownership clause are assimilated to supplies of goods.

   Important:

   Accordingly, finance leases are treated as the provision of services until the lessee exercises or undertakes to exercise the purchase option, at which time they are treated as the delivery of goods.

5. Transfers of goods between principal and commission agent acting in his own name, effected under sales commission or purchase commission contracts.

   A commission agent who mediates a delivery of goods may act in his own name or in the name of another.If he acts in his own name, there are two deliveries, one from the supplier to the commission agent and one from the commission agent to the principal in the case of a purchase commission or, in the case of a sales commission, there is one delivery from the principal to the commission agent and one from the commission agent to the customer.

   If acting on behalf of another person, the transaction between principal and commission agent is a supply of services and the transaction between principal and third party (buyer or seller as the case may be) is a delivery of goods.

   	Purchase commission	Sales commission
   Commission in its own name	Supplier-commissioner relationship: delivery of goods Commission agent-commissioner relationship: delivery of goods	The principal-commissioner relationship: delivery of goods Commission agent-client relationship: delivery of goods
   Commission on behalf of others	Supplier-component relationship: delivery of goods Commission agent-commissioner relationship: provision of services	Client-client relationship: delivery of goods Commission agent-commissioner relationship: provision of services

6. The supply of standardised computer products on any material medium, being those which do not require any substantial modification in order to be used by any user.

7. Transfers of securities the possession of which ensures, de jure or de facto, the attribution of ownership, use or enjoyment of a property or part thereof.

3.Distance selling

From 1 July 2021, two new categories are defined within supplies of goods:

1. Intra-Community distance sales of goods:

   The supply of goods dispatched or transported by the vendor, directly or indirectly, or on his behalf, from a Member State other than that in which dispatch or transport to the customer ends, where the following conditions are met:

   1. The recipients are persons whose intra-Community acquisitions of goods are not subject to tax pursuant to Article 14 of the Law on VAT, or any other person who is not a trader or professional.

   2. The goods which are the subject of such supplies are other than new means of transport or goods which are the subject of installation or assembly.

2. Distance sales of goods imported from third countries or territories:

   The supply of goods dispatched or transported by the vendor, directly or indirectly, or on his behalf, from a third country or territory to a customer in a Member State, where the following conditions are met:

   1. The recipients are persons whose intra-Community acquisitions of goods are not subject to tax under the provisions of Article 14 of the VAT Act, or any other person who is not a trader or professional acting as such.

   2. The goods which are the subject of such supplies are other than new means of transport or goods which are the subject of installation or assembly.

Remote sales with the intervention of an electronic interface

In order to ensure effective VAT collection while reducing administrative burdens, from 1 July 2021, those who facilitate certain distance sales via an electronic interface become taxable persons.

Where a trader or professional provides the following operations through an electronic interface of which he is the owner:

1. Distance selling of imported goods whose intrinsic value does not exceed EUR 150, or

2. The supply of goods within the Community by a trader or professional not established in the Community to a person who is not a trader or professional acting as such shall be deemed to have received and supplied the goods himself.

In other words, the above operations are "split" into two deliveries:

1. A handover from the supplier to the electronic interface.

2. A delivery of the interface to the end customer or consumer.

In the case of point (b) the supply from the supplier to the interface shall be exempt and shall not limit the right of deduction.

In both cases, the transport of the goods shall be linked to the delivery by the interface to the customer or final consumer.