Christmas is approaching and, despite the pandemic and various restrictions, many Italians are starting to draw up the list of gifts to do for loved ones. On the other hand, this is the time of year when people spend the most, and it is plausible that citizens choose to make massive withdrawals by the respective credit institutions to have cash on hand. Speaking of withdrawals: what does the law say? Is it possible to withdraw as much cash as we want or do we have to respect certain limits? What are the risks?
Withdraw from your account
Let’s start from the fundamental premise: in Italy the withdrawal of money from your account, without transferring it to third parties, does not constitute any violation of the relevant regulations. In theory it is possible to close relations with an institution and withdraw all the money. There are, however, two aspects to consider. First: there is no limit to the withdrawal but there is one inherent to the use of cash. Indeed, Legislative Decree 124 of 2019 reduced the aforementioned limit to 2 thousand euros, with penalties of between 2 thousand and 50 thousand euros for offenders. Those who want to exceed this threshold can do so using traceable payment methods.
The second aspect concerns a whole series of controls which is triggered in the event that withdrawals of large sums occur. In order to combat illegal practices, such as tax evasion and money laundering, in the face of levies that exceed 10 thousand euros, the bank forwards a report to the UIF (Financial Intelligence Unit). If a current account holder decides to make ten withdrawals of one thousand euros each, he would still face a assessment by the Revenue Agency and a possible direct control of the Prosecutor’s Office. The message is clear: cash money it can be withdrawn to be employed in expenses of reduced amounts.
Limits and controls
Another point to underline: there are any limits to withdrawals imposed by individual institutions to be considered. The banks, as mentioned, they are required to report “suspicious” operations. Some examples: banking transactions equal to or greater than 10 thousand euros or withdrawals in fractional form that exceed one thousand euros. It is therefore advisable to make withdrawals from the bank that remain in the one thousand euro channel, and to use traceable methods for transactions that exceed the aforementioned threshold. L’Revenue Agency moreover, it can assert against companies the “presumption of evasion” in the case of cash transactions, including withdrawals, exceeding one thousand euros per day or five thousand euros per month.
Regarding the fiscal controls on cash withdrawn from the current, it is important to distinguish whether the account holder is unemployed, worker, pensioner or entrepreneur. In the first case, the category is not subject to particular controls. However, when withdrawing large amounts it is important not to spend them on luxury goods if the money differs from the tax return. In similar cases it is appropriate to use traceable tools to have proof if a tax assessment should occur. Different speech for entrepreneurs, called to justify the use of money and keep evidence for the movements of the company account.
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