Frodi alimentari e fiscalità

In this contribution the Authors will make some remarks related to the possibility of using tax law tools as a way to confronting frauds in the food sector. In this respect, it will be provided a brief overview that considers food frauds within the broader legal framework against illegal activities provided in tax law and assessed the mechanisms and tools that are traditionally predisposed under tax law to address the cases where taxpayers conduct illicit activities. After this section, the research will focus on the analysis of customs-law profiles, that could provide some useful reflections for countering food frauds. In this regard, the analysis will focus on the issues concerning the customs procedures provided with regard to the control and assessment of the origin of the goods, underlying, in particular, the conditions and principles governing the attribution of a treatment of reduced customs duties for goods and products coming from countries which have signed tariff agreements with the European Union. Finally, the qualification of the compulsory contributions paid to consortia or other private bodies entrusted with public-law powers as contractual fees or tax charges will be investigated and some conclusory thoughts will be formulated in relation to the possibility of using the tax mechanism in a generalized way as a suitable instrument to encourage the creation and strengthening of public institutions able to contrast food frauds and — more generally — aimed at ensuring the community as regard the compliance of food processes and products with the legislation currently in force.