Mandatory land registry update for Superbonus works
2024 Budget Law Superbonus
Law no. 213 of 30 December 2023 (2024 Budget Law) art. 1, paragraph 86, establishes/confirms that upon completion of the works supported by the deductions linked to the Superbonus and in general to tax bonuses, it is necessary to send the communication of the cadastral change to the Revenue Agency (where applicable).
It has been a widespread and widely shared opinion among professionals that there is no actual obligation to report such matters to the land registry for C.I.L.A.S. procedures, i.e., extraordinary maintenance works for energy efficiency that have benefited from the 110% Superbonus, since there is no theoretical change in size (number of rooms), category (intended use), or class (quality level of the property).
Extraordinary maintenance works
Article 3 of Presidential Decree 380/01 defines extraordinary maintenance works, meaning those works or modifications necessary to renovate and replace parts (including structural ones) of buildings, as well as to create and integrate sanitary and technological services, provided that such modifications do not alter the volumes, surfaces, or intended uses of individual real estate units.
These interventions include:
C – the complete re-doing of the roof covering
E – Adaptation, renewal and replacement of technological systems (heating, air conditioning, ventilation, extraction, elevator and lifting systems in general).
H – repair or replacement of fixtures
Therefore, throughout 2024, there has been a debate regarding the contents of the 2024 budget law, to determine when and where there is an actual obligation to submit a notification to the land registry for energy efficiency works taking advantage of the Superbonus.
Ministry of Economy and Finance Decree 19 April 1994 n. 701
Law 213 states that the Revenue Agency is able and required to verify from its databases the completed declaration to the land registry of properties undergoing energy efficiency improvements with the Superbonus (Article 119 of Legislative Decree No. 34 of 19 May 2020), recalling Article 1 (paragraphs 1 and 2) of the regulation pursuant to the Minister of Finance Decree No. 701 of 19 April 1994, also for the purposes of any effects on the income of the property listed in the land registry documents.
In questo decreto si evidenzia che in presenza di unità immobiliari urbane di nuova costruzione e nel caso di immobili che abbiamo subito “variazione dello stato dei beni” il dichiarante deve provvedere alla comunicazioni in catasto secondo le modalità previste.
For 30 years, it has been implicitly assumed (as has been common practice until now) that if there is no change in consistency, category, or class, no communication to the land registry is even required.
But the law goes on to state that the declarant has the right to propose the consistency, category, and class (which determine the attribution of the cadastral income); he or she cannot assume that it has not actually changed.
This income remains in the records as a “proposed income” until the land registry uses its own verification methods (including random sampling) to confirm or define a different income, and in any case within 12 months of the communication.
But to propose a proposal, the communication must have been made.
The bureaucratic quibble
While for 30 years, reporting extraordinary maintenance works to the Land Registry was considered “not due and/or unnecessary” (because they simply restored the property’s original performance), in the case of the Superbonus, a report to the Land Registry is required, which, if worded in these terms, would sound “mandatory.”
The result is that the Revenue Agency, having effective evidence of who benefited from the Superbonus and the related credit transfer, can easily trace those who failed to comply with this communication, so much so that it is reportedly preparing to send 500,000 letters to taxpayers.
In this way, the government obtains:
- The possibility of reviewing the income of all properties undergoing energy efficiency improvements so as to be able to tax second homes (currently) higher.
- Collect the fees for submitting the application to the land registry (from €50.00 they have increased to €70.00)
- Collect penalties (repentances) for communications made more than 30 days after the end of the works (entirely preferable to subrogation actions, or penalties that could in principle reach €8,000.00).
In our opinion, this is an easy and “clean” way for the Meloni government to recover some of the lost tax revenue from the Superbonus.
Advice for those who have not provided this communication
For those who have completed energy efficiency improvements, if they haven’t notified the Land Registry, I wouldn’t wait to receive a notification from the Revenue Agency. Instead, I would immediately consult a professional, before the rush to process land registry procedures erupts. Once overwhelmed (again) by the number of requests, they will be unable to respond effectively and in a reasonable timeframe, inevitably driving up prices. For any additional information, please contact us without obligation.