Italy has a complex VAT landscape — multiple rates, extensive anti-fraud measures, and mandatory e-invoicing for domestic transactions. Understanding Italian IVA is essential for anyone doing business in the country.
Italian VAT numbers — Partita IVA — follow the format IT followed by exactly 11 digits, with no letters or separators. The last digit is a check digit. Example: IT12345678901.
Italy applies four rates. The standard rate of 22% applies to most goods and services. The 10% rate applies to restaurants, hotels, passenger transport, and some food. The 5% rate applies to certain social care services. The super-reduced rate of 4% applies to basic foodstuffs, books, newspapers, and medicines.
Italy mandated electronic invoicing for domestic B2B and B2C transactions since 2019. All domestic invoices must be issued and received through the government's SdI (Sistema di Interscambio) platform. This does not directly affect intra-community VAT invoices to foreign buyers, but businesses dealing with Italian suppliers should understand that their counterparts operate under mandatory e-invoicing rules.
Italian VAT data is generally well maintained by the Agenzia delle Entrate. Use our free tool to verify any IT Partita IVA instantly.
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