From June 22 to July 6, 2026, Italy's Ministry of Economy and Finance (Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze, MEF), through its Department of Finance (Dipartimento delle Finanze), ran a public consultation on the draft legislative decree (schema di decreto legislativo) transposing Article 2 of Council Directive (EU) 2025/516 — the "VAT in the Digital Age" (ViDA) package — into Italian law.
Background
The Council of the European Union adopted Directive (EU) 2025/516 on March 11, 2025, amending Directive 2006/112/EC to modernize the EU VAT system for the digital economy; the Directive was published in the EU Official Journal on March 25, 2025. Italy has been granted legislative delegation (delega) to implement Article 2 of the Directive, which covers reforms to the OSS and IOSS special schemes and the introduction of a Single VAT Registration.
The reform’s provisions carry staggered application dates: the first tranche of OSS/IOSS improvements applies from January 1, 2027, while the OSS extension to transfers of own goods — the element that removes the need for businesses to hold multiple VAT registrations — applies only from July 1, 2028.
This consultation follows a pattern seen across the EU in June 2026, with the Czech Republic, Poland, and Spain each advancing their own ViDA transposition measures in parallel, reflecting the compressed timeline member states face to implement the Directive's first tranche of changes by January 1, 2027.
The Legislative Change
The draft decree published for consultation focuses on the evolution of the One Stop Shop (OSS) and Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) regimes and on introducing Single VAT Registration in Italian law, reducing the need for businesses to hold multiple VAT registrations across EU member states. The Department of Finance made the draft decree text available on a dedicated consultation area of its website together with an online submission form.
Scope
The measures apply primarily to e-commerce operators, digital platforms, and businesses that rely on the OSS/IOSS special schemes for cross-border B2C supplies within the EU, as well as businesses currently holding multiple VAT registrations across member states that may be able to consolidate under the future Single VAT Registration framework.
Timeline
- March 11, 2025 — EU Council adopts Directive (EU) 2025/516; published in the Official Journal on March 25, 2025.
- June 22, 2026 — MEF/Dipartimento delle Finanze publishes the draft decree and opens the public consultation.
- July 6, 2026 — Consultation deadline for submission of observations and proposals.
- January 1, 2027 — The first tranche of the decree’s measures is scheduled to take effect — the OSS/IOSS improvements, including natural gas, electricity and heating/cooling supplies treated as intra-EU distance sales, the refined €10,000 distance-sales threshold, and wider access to the Union and non-Union OSS schemes — pending finalization following the consultation. (The OSS extension to transfers of own goods applies only from July 1, 2028; see below.)
- July 1, 2028 — Under the Single VAT Registration reform, the Union OSS scheme is extended to transfers of a business’s own goods between Member States (abolishing and replacing the call-off stock simplification), and a broader mandatory reverse charge applies to supplies by non-established suppliers; Member States may also apply the platform-economy deemed-supplier rules for short-term accommodation and passenger transport on an optional basis from this date.
- January 1, 2030 and July 1, 2030 — Later ViDA milestones: the platform-economy deemed-supplier rules become mandatory (from January 1, 2030) and the Digital Reporting Requirements and structured e-invoicing for cross-border B2B transactions take effect (from July 1, 2030); Member States must then align any domestic digital reporting systems with the EU standard by January 1, 2035. These later milestones will require separate, future Italian implementing measures.
Businesses Affected
- E-commerce businesses and online marketplaces using the OSS or IOSS regimes for cross-border sales into or from Italy.
- Multinational groups holding multiple EU VAT registrations that could consolidate under the future Single VAT Registration regime.
- Tax and finance teams responsible for Italian and pan-EU VAT compliance, including SAP tax determination and OSS/IOSS reporting configuration.
Required Actions
- Review the draft decree text, available via the Dipartimento delle Finanze's consultation portal, and consider submitting comments before the July 6, 2026 deadline. Participation is open to trade and professional associations, economic operators and professionals, research centers and universities, and private citizens.
- Map the current OSS/IOSS registration footprint across EU member states and identify where Single VAT Registration could reduce compliance overhead once implemented.
- Monitor the Dipartimento delle Finanze and MEF websites for the final decree text following the consultation period.
Practical Implications
If enacted as drafted, the decree would simplify multi-country VAT registration management for groups operating across the EU, but implementation will require updates to VAT registration master data, OSS/IOSS reporting configuration, and related SAP tax determination logic ahead of the reform’s staggered effective dates — January 1, 2027 for the first tranche of OSS/IOSS changes and July 1, 2028 for the OSS extension to transfers of own goods.
Because Italy's transposition is proceeding alongside comparable measures in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Spain, multinationals should coordinate a single, group-wide ViDA compliance timeline rather than addressing each member state's transposition in isolation.
Expected Next Steps
The MEF will review consultation feedback before finalizing and publishing the legislative decree. Businesses should expect further implementation and technical measures — such as updated OSS/IOSS return formats — ahead of the January 2027 effective date, followed by additional Italian legislation to address the later platform-economy (mandatory from January 1, 2030), digital reporting (from July 1, 2030) and domestic-alignment (by January 1, 2035) ViDA milestones.
How Can KGT Support You?
KGT supports multinationals through Italy's ViDA transposition and the wider EU rollout with SAP-integrated e-invoicing and VAT compliance add-ons that manage OSS/IOSS registrations and reporting, and with SAP Document and Reporting Compliance (DRC) services that keep Italian and EU-wide digital reporting scenarios configured consistently as Single VAT Registration and later ViDA measures take effect.
Official Sources
This update is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute tax advice. It does not take into account the specific facts and circumstances of any taxpayer.
