Italian VAT Registration

Italian VAT number registration

VAT Rates Italy

VAT rates Italy:

  • General or high VAT rate in Italy = 22%
  • Low VAT rate in Italy = 10%, 5% and 4%

Italian E-commerce figures

  • Italian population = 60.36 million
  • 2020: 60% of the population in Italy buys online

Top 5 e-commerce retailers Italy:

  • Amazon.it = €2.375 billion
  • Zalando.it = €500 million
  • Esselungaacassa.it = €500 million
  • Unieuro.it = €498 million
  • Apple.com = €447 million

When do you need an Italian VAT number?

You need an Italian VAT number if:

  • you buy goods in Italy, and therefore pay Italian VAT, and you then deliver these goods (1) within Italy and other EU countries or (2) export these goods outside the EU
  • you import goods into Italy from outside the EU and then you sell them in Italy and other EU countries
  • you sell goods online to private individuals in Italy and reach the distance selling threshold of €35,000
  • you transfer your own goods to Italy, this is a fictitious intra-Community delivery
  • you sell goods online through Amazon. When you sell goods in other EU countries through the Pan-European* FBA** program, you must register directly for VAT in those EU countries

*Are you planning to start selling Pan-European through Amazon? Then you have to take into account that you are in 6 EU countries (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic). **FBA stands for Fulfillment by Amazon. Amazon’s repositories are called “fulfillment centers.”

Threshold amounts Italy (valid until July 1, 2021)

Threshold amount VAT registration Italy for distance sales: € 35,000 Intrastat threshold amounts in Italy:

  • Arrival € 0
  • Dispatches € 0

Threshold amounts invalid after July 1st 2021, what’s next? (One Stop Shop VAT number request Italy)

The thresholds for intra-EU distance sales per EU country will expire on 1 July 2021. Instead there will be 1 joint threshold of 10,000 euros (valid for all intra-EU distance sales of goods together with the sale of digital services to consumers in the EU). If your total amount of foreign sales in EU countries remains below 10,000 euros annually, you can continue to charge Dutch VAT as a Dutch webshop as long as the transport of the shipment starts in the Netherlands and that you have a branch in an EU country. As soon as you exceed the threshold of 10,000 euros, you will charge the VAT rate of the EU country where your customer is located. You can arrange your foreign VAT return in 2 ways:

  1. You file a local VAT return per EU country in which you have sold.
  2. You register your company for the ‘Union scheme’ within the new one-stop shop system of the Tax Authorities.

Requesting an Italian VAT number for Amazon FBA

To sell successfully on Amazon, it’s best to stock up locally. This means that the customer receives the product the next day. To use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) you will need an Italian VAT number. If you do not do this, your Amazon account will be blocked immediately.

What do I get when I apply for an Italian VAT number?

When applying for an Italian VAT number you will receive the following documentation from us:

  1. Il numero di registrazione IVA (P.IVA): the Italian VAT number. For example: IT12345678901 (IT + 11 characters)

How can you register for an Italian VAT number?

Do you want us to register an Italian VAT number for you? Our local Staxxers are happy to help you and are at your service.

Apply for an Italian VAT number