How to Export to Italy in 2026: 22% VAT, Italian Labels, EORI

Duty and import VAT: rates and base

Italy applies the EU's common customs tariff, so find the duty rate in TARIC under the 10-digit code, with any preferential rate for goods with valid proof of origin. Duty is charged on the customs value, normally the price paid plus freight and insurance up to the point where the goods enter the EU (Union Customs Code, Article 71). As in the rest of the EU, the import VAT base is the customs value plus duties and other taxes due on import, plus incidental costs up to the place of destination.

The Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) states that VAT is charged on imports carried out by any person. The standard rate is 22%. Reduced rates are 4%, for example for some foodstuffs, beverages and agricultural products; 5%, for example for some foodstuffs; and 10%, for example for household electricity and gas, medicines, building renovation works and specified goods and services. Example with an assumed duty rate of 4%:

• Customs value, the price plus freight and insurance to the EU border: EUR 10,000.
• Duty at 4%: EUR 400.
• Transport from the port to the buyer's warehouse in Italy, not in the customs value: EUR 200.
• Import VAT base: 10,000 + 400 + 200 = EUR 10,600; import VAT at 22%: EUR 2,332.
• Paid at import: EUR 2,732; a VAT-registered buyer can normally deduct the EUR 2,332 in its VAT return.

EORI and the customs declaration

Economic operators established in Italy are registered automatically in the EORI database when they lodge their first customs declaration, and their EORI number is the country code IT followed by the VAT number (partita IVA). A number can also be requested from the Customs and Monopolies Agency (Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli), and the procedure takes about 24 hours. A seller outside the EU usually needs no EORI if the Italian buyer or its customs agent declares the goods (see Triplicate's note on EORI numbers).

If you sell DDP and act as importer yourself, you pay the import VAT in Italy and would need an Italian VAT position to recover it; take Italian VAT advice before quoting DDP (see Triplicate's note on DDP vs DAP).

Labels in Italian and consumer parcels

Article 9 of the Italian Consumer Code (Legislative Decree 206/2005) requires all information intended for consumers and users to be given at least in Italian. Where the information is given in several languages, it must also be in Italian, with characters no less visible and legible than those used for the other languages; foreign expressions that have entered common use are allowed. Prepare Italian labels and instructions before the goods ship.

Sales to Italian consumers follow the EU rules: for consignments up to EUR 150, VAT can be collected through IOSS or by the marketplace, and from 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028 distance sales in these consignments pay a customs duty of EUR 3 per item. EU product rules such as the GPSR and CE marking apply as in the rest of the EU (see Triplicate's guide to exporting to the EU).