2025 Italy (2025 eInvoicing Country Sheet)

Summary

• B2G mandate: Italy has a mandatory Business-to-Government (B2G) eInvoicing regime in place. Since June 2014, all central government authorities have been required to receive and process structured electronic invoices, with the obligation extended to all public sector entities (including regional and local administrations) from 31 March 2015. The system is based on the FatturaPA format, a national XML standard aligned with the European standard EN 16931[2]. Directive 2014/55/EU was formally transposed into Italian law through Legislative Decree No. 148/2018. All suppliers to public administrations are required to issue and transmit eInvoices via the Sistema di Interscambio (SDI) platform, which validates and forwards the invoices to the appropriate public body.
• B2B and B2C mandates: Italy has a mandatory Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) eInvoicing regime in place. Since 1 January 2019, all Italian VAT-registered businesses are required to issue and transmit electronic invoices for B2B and B2C transactions via the Sistema di Interscambio (SDI) platform, managed by the Agenzia delle Entrate. The eInvoices must be in the FatturaPA XML format, which is aligned with the European standard (EN 16931). This requirement applies to domestic transactions and is part of Italy’s broader Continuous Transaction Controls (CTC) model[3], aimed at improving VAT compliance and digital reporting. Exceptions apply to certain cross-border transactions and specific categories such as micro-enterprises and non-resident entities
• eInvoicing standard: Italy has fully adopted the European eInvoicing standard (EN 16931) for public procurement[4]. All public contracting authorities are required to accept and process structured electronic invoices that comply with this standard. The national XML format, FatturaPA, is specifically designed to align with EN 16931 and is mandatory for all B2G transactions. The technical specifications and compliance rules for FatturaPA are defined in accordance with the European semantic model and are regularly updated to reflect changes in the standard.
• Operating model for B2G eInvoicing: Italy operates a centralised eInvoicing system, the Sistema di Interscambio (SDI), which manages all eInvoice transmissions and checks before forwarding them to public entities.
• Use of CIUS and Extensions: The use of CIUS is mandatory, facilitating translation to the national XML standard as per the Revenue Agency regulations.
• VAT Real-time reporting system: Italy implements a real-time reporting system for all transaction types, including B2B, B2C, B2G, and cross-border transactions, with data transmitted near real-time to the Italian Revenue Agency.
• Monitoring mechanism: SDI is used to check that eInvoices are created and sent correctly. It makes sure the invoices follow the right format and rules before they are accepted.

Highlights

Decision (EU) 2024/3150 of the European Council, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 19 December 2024, allows Italy to continue using Sistema di Interscambio (SDI) for other three years, until 31 December 2027.

Legislation

B2G

As of March 2015, Business-to-Government (B2G) eInvoicing is mandatory in Italy. The obligation was introduced by Decree of 3 April 2013, regulating the transmission and receipt of electronic invoices to be applied to public authorities and modified by Legislative decree n. 148/2018, which transposes Directive 2014/55/EU.

B2B

As of January 2019, Business-to-Business (B2B) eInvoicing is mandatory. The obligation was introduced by Law n. 205/2018. Taxpayers who adopt the flat-rate tax regime (the SME exemption scheme), with an annual turnover no greater than EUR 65 000 were initially excluded from the obligation. As of July 2022, the above-mentioned threshold was reduced to EUR 25 000. The change was introduced by Decree law of 30 April 2022. As of January 2024, the turnover-related exclusion from the obligation was removed. The eInvoicing obligation applies to all businesses independently from the size. The change was introduced by “Milleproroghe” decree-law n. 215/2023.

B2C

As of January 2019, business-to-consumer (B2C) eInvoicing is mandatory. The obligation was introduced by Law n. 205/2018.

Status on the implementation of the European eInvoicing standard

The European standard EN 16931 has been adopted by contracting authorities through the  Legislative decree n. 148/2018. The Legislative decree n. 148/2018 mandates the eInvoices to be compliant with the Italian CIUS.

The Italian government created the Sistema di Interscambio (SDI) to manage eInvoicing for public sector contracts, in line with Directive 2014/55/EU. Public authorities in Italy accept electronic invoices that follow the European eInvoicing standard (EN 16931), even for contracts below EU thresholds. When a business sends an invoice in the European format, SDI automatically converts it into Italy’s national format, called FatturaPA. It then forwards both the original and the converted invoice, along with a summary report, to the public authorities. The authority can choose to process either version, but most are already set up to use the FatturaPA format.

Operating model for eInvoicing

Italy uses a system called Sistema di Interscambio (SDI) to manage electronic invoices. This system checks that each eInvoice is correctly formatted before sending it to the right public authority. Businesses can send and receive eInvoices through SDI either directly or by using a service provider.

Invoices must follow a specific format called FatturaPA, and each invoice is sent to the correct public office using a unique code. SDI only performs basic checks—it doesn’t store the invoices. Instead, once the invoice is delivered, the public authority processes it using their own systems and stores it digitally for 10 years.

The SDI system is managed by the Italian Revenue Agency, with technical support from Sogei, the government’s IT provider. Public authorities may use different tools to handle invoices depending on their size and needs.

Use of Core Invoicing Usage Specifications (CIUS) at national level 

The use of the Italian CIUS is mandatory, through the exchange system (Sistema di Interscambio) for eInvoicing processing. CIUS is used to ensure the translation to the national XML standard. The communication of the CIUS is done through the regulation of the Revenue Agency.  The legislation covering the Italian CIUS is Provvedimento of 18 April 2019.

VAT Real-time reporting system 

The eInvoicing obligation that Italy introduced on 1 January 2019 applies to all transactions carried out by VAT taxable persons resident in Italy or with a fixed establishment therein, thus excluding non-resident businesses. Therefore, transactions carried out by non-resident and non-established taxable persons are excluded, even when the place of supply is Italy.

The reporting obligation applies to all transactions on an invoice-by-invoice basis, and the reporting data has to be transmitted monthly. As of 2019, the reporting obligation was removed for domestic transactions but remained in place for transaction carried out with a non-Italian customer/supplier.

As of 2022, the reporting obligation for non-domestic transactions is to be performed by transmitting each invoice to the Sistema di Interscambio (in place of the monthly report).

Monitoring mechanism

Sistema di Interscambio is the system used also used to implement the monitoring strategy at the central and sub-central level.

The control information is based on the number of suppliers using eInvoicing, number of invoices that are submitted electronically and the number of eInvoices submitted in a specific syntax. 

In order to tackle frauds and tax evasion, the Italian tax administration retains the fiscal part of the eInvoices, namely the data required as mandatory by the VAT Directive, with the exclusion of the quantity and nature of the goods or services supplied (only the taxable amount per rate or exemption is retained).

Next steps 

Currently, no next step has been shared.

[1] The European Standard on EU law sets minimum harmonised rules for tenders whose monetary value exceeds a certain amount and which are presumed to be of cross-border interest. More information can be found via: https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/public-procurement/legal-rules-and-implementation/thresholds_en [2] Ibid.2 [3] The Continuous Transaction Controls (CTC) model is a modern approach to tax compliance and digital invoicing that allows tax authorities to monitor business transactions in real time or near real time. It’s increasingly adopted by governments to combat VAT fraud, improve transparency, and streamline tax collection. [4] The European Standard on EU law sets minimum harmonised rules for tenders whose monetary value exceeds a certain amount and which are presumed to be of cross-border interest. More information can be found via: https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/single-market/public-procurement/legal-rules-and-implementation/thresholds_en

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Last updated:  Aug 14, 2025 17:13