02. Ministerial Decree of 27 June 2025 and fiscal coordination of OIC 34

02. Ministerial Decree of 27 June 2025 and fiscal coordination of OIC 34

In continuity with the previous in-depth analysis dedicated to the tax coordination of OIC 34 implemented by the Ministerial Decree of 27 June 2025.

Sales with right of return

Article 4 of the Decree addresses the tax treatment of sales with a right of return, incorporating the significant changes introduced by the new accounting principle.

As a preliminary matter, OIC 34 distinguishes between:

• sales for which the risk of return cannot be assessed on a mass basis; and

• sales for which this risk lends itself to a mass assessment.

Nel primo caso, i ricavi sono rilevati solo se il venditore è ragionevolmente certo, sulla base di esperienza storica, elementi contrattuali e dati previsionali, che il cliente non eserciterà il diritto di reso. Il D.M. qualifica tale valutazione come processo di qualificazione dell’operazione, riconoscendone pertanto la piena rilevanza anche ai fini IRES e IRAP, in applicazione del principio di derivazione rafforzata.

Conversely, if the risk of return can be assessed on a mass basis, OIC 34 requires the recognition of a revenue adjustment with a corresponding entry in a provision for charges. In this case, the Ministerial Decree attributes this provision to the tax nature of an accrual, resulting in its non-deductibility until the return actually occurs.

The Decree also regulates the tax implications of the separate registration of goods sold with the right of return among inventories (paragraph 29, OIC 34). In particular:

• in the event of a specific evaluation of the return, the transfer is not considered to have taken place even for tax purposes and the value of the goods continues to be included in the inventories;

• In the case of mass valuation, the fiscal irrelevance of the revenue adjustment is accompanied by the fiscal irrelevance of the cost of goods sold with the right of return, which does not contribute to the determination of the fiscal value of the closing inventories.

The costs of dismantling and removing assets

Still within the scope of the tax coordination outlined by the Ministerial Decree of 27 June 2025, Article 6 of the Decree addresses the tax effects of the new accounting model introduced by the amendments to OIC 16 and 31 regarding the obligations to dismantle, remove, and restore assets.

The new accounting structure provides for the recording, in the financial year in which the obligation arises:

• of the entire estimated amount of the liability as an increase in the cost of the asset, with a corresponding provision for charges; and

• the subsequent depreciation of the overall cost of the asset, including dismantling and restoration costs, over the useful life of the asset.

Article 6, paragraph 1, of the Ministerial Decree confirms the full fiscal relevance of this approach: depreciation is deductible based on the overall cost of the asset, within the limits of Articles 102 and 103 of the TUIR (Consolidated Income Tax Code), and the same tax cost is also relevant for the purposes of calculating the ceiling for ordinary maintenance expenses pursuant to Article 102, paragraph 6, of the TUIR (Consolidated Income Tax Code).

Paragraph 2 extends the tax relevance to updates to the estimate of capitalized costs, as provided for by OIC 31. Otherwise, updates to the provision attributable to the passage of time or to the adjustment of the discount rate are classified for tax purposes as accruals and are therefore non-deductible.

Al fine di garantire la neutralità fiscale tra differenti modalità di rappresentazione contabile del medesimo fenomeno, il comma 5 dell’art. 6 prevede che, in ogni caso, debba essere determinata la quota parte riferibile al trascorrere del tempo. In assenza di evidenza contabile, tale componente è determinata in via forfetaria nella misura del 5% dei costi di smantellamento e ripristino, quota fiscalmente non rilevante da ripartire per quote costanti lungo il periodo di ammortamento del cespite.

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