The court case (Cassazione n. 30952) revolved around the criminal offense of failure to pay VAT. The defendant, a legal representative of two construction companies, was accused of omitting nearly 3 million euros in VAT payments. The court ruled that the non-payment due to non-collection from customers did not exempt the defendant from intentional wrongdoing, as the obligation to pay VAT remains regardless of actual collection. Only in exceptional cases would non-collection of VAT from customers constitute a limit to liability. The court rejected the argument that paying employee wages justified omitting VAT payments and confirmed the conviction due to the deliberate strategy of prioritizing other creditors over the tax authorities.
Source: eutekne.info
