The Fiamme Gialle of the Provincial Command of Piacenza, as part of the activities to combat tax evasion and avoidance, carried out targeted interventions against some commercial activities operating in the catering sector.
The soldiers of the Guardia di Finanza, through preliminary information checks carried out in the area – supported by the cross-referencing of data extrapolated from the databases in use by the Corps – have identified three commercial establishments dedicated to the supply of food and drinks to the public, which presented symptomatic elements of possible tax violations combined with potential transgressions also of a hygienic, health and workplace safety nature.
On the basis of this evidence, the blitz was launched by the Fiamme Gialle, firefighters and staff of the Local Health Authority’s Food Safety Program. The outcome of the checks allowed to reveal how two of the three businesses verified were unknown to the tax authorities for failing to submit, in the tax years from 2020 to 2022, the required annual returns for the purposes of income taxes, VAT and IRAP, contesting a taxable base subtracted from taxation of approximately 1 million euros. It is not known – because it was not communicated by the Fiamme Gialle – which restaurants were involved.
In terms of work, irregularities were found, both for the presence of salaries for 5 employees, paid largely with non-traceable instruments as well as for the failure to establish the single labor register, mandatory by law, The total amount of the sanctions amounts to approximately 25 thousand euros.
The managers of the commercial activities were also responsible for health violationsdue to the poor hygienic conditions of the premises in which the catering activities were carried out, as well as in terms of fire regulations, due to the presence of some gas cylinders, stored incorrectly and dangerous for both workers and the public.
Furthermore, an administrative fine was imposed against one of the restaurateurs due to the lack of traceability of food; they were seized to be destined for destruction. A second operator was instead sanctioned for failure to comply with the general and minimum requirements established at European level regarding hygiene. Finally, again following the verification of this last violation, the violation was triggered for the third economic operator the temporary suspension of its activity.
Finally, with regard to the legislation relating to safety in the workplace, fines were imposed on two restaurateurs, requiring, at the same time, the adaptation of the premises to what is required by the regulations in force. The irregularities found, also thanks to the fruitful and synergistic collaboration between the Guardia di Finanza and other institutional bodies, represent concrete evidence of how the body, in addition to protecting correct competition in the commercial field, ensures fairness and guarantees the safety of citizens.
