Italy's Ministry of Finance has launched a public consultation on a draft legislative decree for the implementation of Council Directive (EU) 2018/822 of 25 May 2018. The Directive amends the EU Directive on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation (2011/16/EU) for the reporting of potentially aggressive cross-border tax-planning arrangements and the exchange of such information reported among EU Member States ({News-2018-06-13/A/2-previous coverage}). The reporting obligation primarily applies to intermediaries that design, market, organize, or manage the implementation of a reportable cross-border arrangement, but may also apply to a taxpayer in cases where an intermediary is prevented by law from reporting the info (legal professional privilege) or where there is no intermediary because, for instance, the taxpayer designs and implements a scheme in-house. In accordance with the Directive, the provisions of the draft legislative decree are to take effect from 1 July 2020.

The deadline for submitting comments is 28 September 2018.