The Italian Tax Administration (Agenzia delle Entrate – Direzione Centrale Piccole e Media Imprese) issued a VAT notice (Risposta n.º 507/2022), related to the following facts:
1. A given taxable person (the Applicant) operates in the field of author protection rights, namely by certifying a given musical work in a blockchain:
o the author registers himself in the website of the Applicant, uploading a given musical piece (mp3 format);
o the AI software verifies that the piece is an original, not protected under third parties’ copyrights;
o the file is added to the blockchain, and a certificate is issued;
o the author pays the service through paypal, and an invoice is issued by the Applicant.
2. The Applicant wishes to issue a utility token, through an ICO, that entitles its acquirers (i.e., authors of original music pieces) to add their works to the blockchain, at a lower rate/price.
Source Pedro Costa Monteiro