Five-year statute of limitations on contributions credit

The Court of Lodi, with judgement No. 99 filed on 6 July 2017, verified that the statute of limitations applied to a credit on a tax payment notice. Specifically, a company that had filed a written appeal registered in February 2017 and duly notified to INAIL, went to Court so as it could declare the credit related to a tax payment slip notified in May 2004 subjected to the statute of limitations. At the outcome of the proceedings, the Judge in charge of the case deemed the request of the petitioning party well grounded, referring to the recent judgement of the Plenary Sitting of the Court of Cassation. The latter, to settle the dispute on the matter, declared that the statute of limitations on contributions is five years even in the case of absence of opposition to the payment notice (judgement No. 23397 dated 17 November 2016). The Plenary Sitting in fact, noted that the deadline – peremptory without challenge – to file an opposition to a payment notice as per article 24, paragraph 5 of Italian Legislative Decree No. 46 dated 1999, even if causing the impossibility to file an appeal, only produces the substantial effect of the irrevocability of the contributions credit without causing also the so-called “conversion” of the brief statute of limitations (in this case, five years, according to article 3, paragraphs 9 and 10, of Italian Law No. 335 dated 1995) into the ordinary one (ten years), pursuant to article  2953 of Italian Civil Code. The latter applies only if the judicial order has become final, while the aforementioned notice, being administrative in nature, does not meet the requirements to acquire a res judicata effect. Based on what was ruled by the Plenary Sitting, the Court stated that the statute of limitations has never been interrupted by the Agency, thus ruling in favour of the appealing company with assignment of compensation of legal expenses.