"How do you issue an electronic invoice in Italy?" "What happens if the SDI rejects it?" "Does it apply to sole traders too?" These questions generate millions of searches every day. The official answers from the Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) exist, but they're fragmented, written in dense bureaucratic language, and difficult to navigate.
This article answers the 15 most common questions about Italian electronic invoicing, clearly and directly, updated to 2026, with a focus on practical scenarios relevant to businesses, professionals, and software vendors integrating into the Italian market.
1. What is electronic invoicing in Italy?
E-invoicing (fattura elettronica) is the mandatory system for issuing, transmitting, and receiving invoices in a structured digital format, specifically, an XML file conforming to the technical specifications of the Italian Revenue Agency. A PDF sent by email doesn't count: every invoice must pass through the Sistema di Interscambio (SDI), the government hub that validates each document before delivering it to the recipient.
Italy has operated this system since 2014 for Public Administration invoicing, and since 2019 for all B2B and B2C transactions between VAT-registered entities.
2. Who is required to issue electronic invoices?
From January 1, 2024, the obligation applies to all Italian VAT-registered entities without exception: companies of any size, freelancers, flat-rate taxpayers (forfettari), entities under the advantageous tax regime, and agricultural operators under special regimes. No revenue thresholds or temporary exemptions remain.
The only entities excluded are those whose operations are exclusively with foreign counterparties not established in Italy, these are handled via the cross-border reporting mechanism (esterometro), not the SDI.
3. Do flat-rate taxpayers (forfettari) have to issue electronic invoices in 2026?
Yes, without exception. Since January 1, 2024, the obligation applies fully to all forfettari, regardless of revenue or activity type. The transitional exemption for flat-rate taxpayers earning under €25,000 expired permanently on December 31, 2023.
In the XML file, forfettari use tax regime code RF19 and do not include VAT on the invoice (exempt under Art. 1, para. 54-89, Law 190/2014). This doesn't change the obligation to transmit via SDI.
4. How do you issue an electronic invoice in Italy?
Three things are needed:
- Software that generates an XML file in FatturaPA format (SDI technical specs 1.9.1, in force since May 2026)
- A transmission channel to the SDI: AdE web portal, SOAP web service, FTP, or PEC (certified email)
- The recipient's destination code or PEC address, to be included in the XML file before sending
The free** "Fatture e Corrispettivi" portal** from the Revenue Agency allows invoicing without additional software, suitable only for low volumes and not integrable with ERP systems. For higher volumes or automation, dedicated software or an e-invoicing API connected to your management system is required.
5. What are the deadlines for sending an electronic invoice?
Deadlines depend on the invoice type:
- Immediate invoices, issued for the supply of goods or services, must be transmitted by midnight on the 12th day following the transaction.
Deferred invoices, accompanied by a delivery note or transport document, must be transmitted by the 15th day of the month following delivery.
For public administration invoices (Fattura PA), deadlines follow contractual terms within statutory civil law limits.
Example: an operation on June 10 must be transmitted to the SDI by June 22 (for immediate invoices).
6. What's the difference between the invoice date and the transmission date?
A common source of errors.
- Invoice date (the Data field in the XML file): this is the date of the transaction: when the sale or service was carried out. This date has VAT implications: it determines which VAT settlement period the transaction falls into.
- Transmission date: the day the file is actually sent to the SDI. This must fall within 12 days of the invoice date for immediate invoices.
Example: transaction on June 1 → Data field = June 1 → SDI transmission by June 13. The most common mistake is entering the transmission date in the Data field instead of the transaction date.
7. What happens if the SDI rejects an invoice?
The SDI issues a rejection notice (ricevuta di scarto) within 5 days, with a specific error code identifying the problem (invalid XML structure, VAT number not found, invalid destination code, etc.). A rejected invoice is considered never issued by the Revenue Agency.
What to do:
- Correct the error identified in the rejection code
- Resubmit with the same invoice number and date within 5 days of the rejection notice → the original date is preserved
- Alternatively, issue a new invoice with a current number and date → treated as a new issuance for all purposes
If the 5-day window expires without resubmission: a late issuance penalty applies. 70% of the VAT amount, minimum €300.
8. What happens if the Public Administration rejects an invoice?
A PA rejection is different from an SDI rejection: the document was delivered successfully, but the entity issues a recipient outcome notification (EC02 Rejection). Common reasons: missing CIG/CUP procurement codes, data inconsistent with the contract, incorrect IPA unique code.
A PA-rejected invoice is not automatically cancelled. A credit note (document type TD04) must be issued to reverse the original document, followed by a corrected invoice with updated data if needed.
9. How do you correct an electronic invoice that's already been delivered?
An invoice delivered by the SDI cannot be directly cancelled. The options are:
- Credit note (TD04): reverses all or part of the original invoice value. This is the standard correction method.
- Debit note (TD05): adds amounts to an existing invoice (e.g., charges not included in the original).
There is no "cancel invoice" button in the SDI system. Any correction follows the accounting logic of credit note + new invoice.
10. Where and how must electronic invoices be archived?
Digital preservation (conservazione sostitutiva) is a separate obligation from issuance. Storing invoices on a hard drive or in a management system is not sufficient: the law requires a process guaranteeing integrity, authenticity, readability, and retrievability for 10 years, with a qualified digital signature and timestamp from the Preservation Manager (Responsabile della Conservazione).
There are three main approaches to long-term archiving of e-invoices.
- The free «Conservazione» portal provided by the Agenzia delle Entrate is suited to low volumes and manual use.
- AgID-accredited providers offer paid solutions for mid-to-high volumes, with greater automation.
- For software houses, the most efficient option is archiving via an API embedded directly in the management system, included in the service and fully automated.
Important: the SDI only retains invoices for 5 years for Revenue Agency audit purposes, this does not satisfy the taxpayer's 10-year preservation obligation.
11. What's the deadline for archiving invoices?
The preservation process must be initiated within 3 months of the deadline for filing the income tax return for the relevant year. For invoices issued and received in 2024, with the standard return deadline of September 2025, the practical deadline falls around December 31, 2025 – January 31, 2026.
Penalty for failure to preserve: from €1,000 to €8,000 (doubled if assessed tax evasion exceeds €50,000).
12. What are the penalties for missing or late invoices?
Penalties for failure to issue or late issuance of e-invoices vary depending on the type of violation. For VAT-applicable transactions, failure to issue or late issuance carries a fine of 70% of the tax due, with a minimum of €300.
For VAT-exempt or out-of-scope transactions, fines range from €250 to €2,000 per violation. Failure to archive invoices through long-term archiving is penalised with fines between €1,000 and €8,000.
Late esterometro filing carries a penalty of €2 per document, with a minimum of €500 and a maximum of €1,000 per quarter. Penalties can be reduced through voluntary disclosure: 1/10 of the minimum fine if corrected within 30 days, 1/9 within 90 days, and 1/8 within one year.
Penalties are reduced through voluntary disclosure (ravvedimento operoso): within 30 days, 1/10 of the minimum penalty; within 90 days, 1/9; within 1 year, 1/8.
13. How are invoices from foreign suppliers handled?
Invoices from suppliers not established in Italy don't go through the SDI, they arrive directly (typically as PDFs or in the supplier's country format). The esterometro obligation requires reporting these to the Revenue Agency by transmitting a self-invoice or integration XML to the SDI by the 15th day of the month following receipt.
Document types to use:
- TD17 — purchase of services from abroad (EU and non-EU)
- TD18 — purchase of goods from EU suppliers
- TD19 — purchase of goods already in Italy from a foreign supplier
14. How does electronic invoicing work for private consumers (B2C)?
When the recipient is a private consumer (no VAT number), the invoice must still be transmitted to the SDI using destination code 0000000 (seven zeros). The SDI makes it available in the consumer's AdE personal area.
The supplier is required to provide a paper or PDF copy to the consumer, unless the consumer explicitly waives it. The copy does not replace the electronic invoice, it's a courtesy document only. The legally valid original is the XML file transmitted to the SDI.
15. Will e-invoicing change with ViDA?
Yes, but not immediately. The EU reform ViDA (VAT in the Digital Age) introduces mandatory electronic invoicing and digital reporting for intra-EU B2B transactions from July 1, 2030. For domestic Italian operations, the SDI system remains unchanged.
Italy took its first formal implementation step with Law 36/2026 (March 2026), delegating ViDA transposition to the government. For businesses with customers or suppliers in other EU countries, 2026-2028 is the right window to verify that your system also supports UBL / Peppol BIS 3.0 format, which will become the standard for cross-border transactions under ViDA.
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