Regulatory updates - Italy

On December 19, 2024, the Council Implementation Decision 2024/3150, allowing Italy to continue with mandatory e-invoicing, was published. Compared to the Proposal Decision, this Decision includes updated information and extends the timeline until December 31, 2027. The deadline will apply unless the Council implements a new general electronic invoicing system based on Article 113 or any other relevant provision of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

Article 113 of the TFEU addresses harmonizing legislation concerning indirect taxation within the EU. Specifically, it authorizes the EU Council to adopt measures for aligning the laws, regulations, and administrative actions of the Member States related to turnover taxes, excise duties, and other forms of indirect taxation. This harmonization aims to ensure the internal market's proper functioning and prevent distortion of competition.

Following the European Union’s cross-border SME scheme and Legislative Decree 180/2024, the Revenue Agency’s (Agenzia delle Entrate) Provision outlines the criteria for this category of small businesses and the information that must be included in the notification to the Revenue Agency before businesses may benefit from this regime.

Pre-requisites for businesses and notification submission

• Businesses established in the European Union with a total annual turnover in the European territory below 100,000 EUR;

• The annual turnover of the enterprise in each Member State where SMEs want to make use of the VAT exemption must not exceed the national annual threshold (currently 85,000 EUR in Italy) or sectoral threshold;

• From January 1, 2025, it’s possible for businesses to transmit the required notification via the Revenue Agency’s web services to obtain a so-called EX identification number.

Once the EX identification number is received from the Revenue Agency the business can start applying the exemption regime.

More details are listed on the Revenue Agency’s website (in Italian).

Legislative Decree 1/2024 on Rationalization and Simplification of the Rules on Tax Compliance was published early in 2024, aiming to simplify compliance and efficiency for businesses. Article 24 of this Decree allows the use of software solutions as an alternative to traditional telematic registers for the storage and transmission of daily receipt data (corrispettivi giornalieri). The software solution must allow a secure and fully integrated method as well as integration and interaction between the daily receipt registration and the electronic payment processes.

The Revenue Agency submitted the draft technical specifications to the EU Commission in August this year under EU Directive 2015/1535. This Directive specifies that technical drafts must be submitted for review before adoption, and drafts can be reviewed in the EU's Technical Regulation Information System (TRIS) database.

Following the end of the three-month standstill (review) period in November, during which the Member State could not adopt the technical regulation, it is now expected that the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) will finalize the technical specifications. While there are no specified timelines for this development, it is expected to happen soon.