ILVA, assisted by Tremonti Romagnoli Piccardi e Associati (partner: Cristiano Caumont Caimi), obtained the annulment of a registration tax assessment which recharacterized a 100% shareholding transfer (in a newly incorporated company to which a branch of business had been previously transferred), in a sale of a going concern, pursuant to Article 20, of the Italian registration tax law (i.e., Presidential Decree no. 131/1986).

The Italian Supreme Court, on the basis of the recent amendments to said Article 20 and the position of the Constitutional Court (which held the view that such amendments were aimed to limit the power of the tax authorities to recharacterize for tax purposes deeds subject to registration), upheld ILVA’s grounds of appeal, according to which the legal scheme used by the parties cannot be recharacterized on the basis of elements that go beyond the effects of the specific deed registered (e.g., by taking into consideration the overall economic effects of the restructuring operations occurred among the parties involved).