CJEU Confirms that Italy may Impose both Administrative and Criminal Penalties for VAT Noncompliance

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) recently issued its judgment concerning whether Italy may, after imposing administrative penalties for value added tax (VAT) non-compliance, also impose criminal penalties. The case involves an Italian resident individual who had failed, in his capacity as proprietor of a sole trading business, to pay annual VAT of approximately EUR 282,495 within the time limit under law. As a result, an administrative penalty equal to 30% of the VAT due was…