Your professional business partner in Italy

We are your VAT experts and consultants towards the Italian bureaucracy.
We speak the language, have the experience and the network in Italy, to support your business.
Contact TIMEVAT for advise and assistance.

If a company not established in Italy is providing ‘taxable supplies’ of goods or services in Italy, it may have to obtain a non-resident Italy export VAT registration. In accordance with the EU VAT Directive, foreign traders are legally obligated to register for Italy export VAT in certain circumstances in order to report taxable transactions and declare VAT that must be charged.

It is important that all businesses with any commercial activity in Italy assess their compliance obligations and register prior to commencing taxable transactions if applicable. Did you know that almost all Italian companies have outsourced their VAT reporting?

What you need to know

There are various scenarios that would trigger an obligation to register for VAT in Italy. Some of the most common examples are:

  • Importing goods into Italy from outside the European Union
  • Buying and selling goods in Italy (excluding domestic reverse charge)
  • Selling goods from Italy which are delivered to customers outside of Italy (business or private customers)
  • Acquiring goods in Italy from another EU country (Intra-community acquisitions)
  • Holding inventory at Amazon or other in Italy for sale, distribution or consignment
  • When total E-commerce sales of goods to consumers in EU, exceeds the threshold of € 10,000 companies are now eligible for signing up for (One-stop-shop) called the OSS scheme by SKAT.

If you already do business or plan to do business in Italy, you should contact TIMEVAT immediately. We speak the language, have easy access to the Italian authorities and now the procedures. Please contact us for advise and assistance.

VAT Rates, Formats & Thresholds

VAT RatesVAT DesignationVAT Number FormatDistance Selling ThresholdIntrastat Threshold
22%(Standard)IVAIT12345678901€ 10,000 *)€ 200.000(Arrivals)
4/5/10%(Reduced)€ 50.000(Dispatches)

*) As of 1st of July 2021 companies are eligible to sign up for (One-stop-shop) the OSS scheme by SKAT when the total annual EU sales exceeds the threshold of € 10,000.

VAT return periods
Returns annually; VAT payments monthly or quarterly

Annual returns
Yes

EC Sales Lists frequency
Monthly or quarterly

EC purchase lists
Yes

Other reporting requirements
Yes, please contact us for details

Reverse charge
The supply of goods and services provided by a non-established to a VAT registered customer in Italy are subject to the reverse charge and the customer accounts for the VAT. Please contact us if you would like details of how the extended reverse charge applies in Italy.

Fiscal repræsentation
A business established in a country outside the EU must appoint a tax representative to register for VAT in Italy.