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Italian e-invoicing through SDI: a guide

In Italy, invoices between businesses resident or established in the country exist only as XML e-invoices sent through the Sistema di Interscambio (SDI), run by the Agenzia delle Entrate. SDI checks the mandatory fields, the VAT number or tax code, the recipient code and that taxable amount, rate and VAT add up. If the checks pass, it delivers the invoice to your client by codice destinatario or PEC certified email. If they fail, you get a rejection notice and the invoice counts as not issued.

Rules checked
Fattura24 screenshot

Who has to comply

Who it applies to, and who is left out.

Since 1 January 2024 the rule covers anyone running a business, trade or profession in Italy, including flat-rate forfettari. Forfettari with revenue above €25,000 had to comply from 1 July 2022. If you sit outside the scope of VAT you don't have to invoice, though you may do it electronically.

Key dates

From the official sources below.
  1. 1 Jan 2019Electronic invoices through SDI become mandatory for sales between businesses resident or established in Italy.
  2. 1 Jul 2022Forfettari with more than €25,000 revenue the year before must e-invoice, and cross-border data (esterometro) moves to SDI.
  3. 1 Jan 2024The obligation covers every remaining forfettario, whatever the revenue.

Tools that support it

Each checked on the provider's own website.
Fatture in CloudSupported

Signs and sends to SDI, receives with code M5UXCR1 and stores invoices for 10 years.

Source
Aruba Fatturazione ElettronicaSupported

Sends B2B, B2C and public sector invoices through SDI, receives by codice destinatario and stores them.

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QontoSupported

Sends and receives SDI e-invoices inside the business account at no extra cost.

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Fattura24Supported

Fattura24 sends and receives e-invoices through SDI on every plan, including the free account for 15 documents.

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StripePartly

Stripe Invoicing handles Italian e-invoicing only through third-party partners.

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Invoice NinjaNot supported

Generates FatturaPA files, but the vendor says its SDI connection is not live yet.

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Questions

What people ask about Italian e-invoicing through SDI.

Do forfettari have to send e-invoices?

Yes. Since 1 January 2024 every forfettario must e-invoice, whatever the revenue. From 1 July 2022 the rule applied only to those above €25,000 of revenue the year before. Your invoice shows the flat-rate tax regime, a 0% rate marked as not subject to VAT, and the legal reference to Law 190/2014. If the €2 virtual stamp duty applies, you fill in the stamp duty section.

What happens if SDI rejects my invoice?

SDI sends you a rejection notice with error codes, for example when your client's VAT number doesn't exist in the tax register. A rejected invoice counts as not issued. The Agenzia delle Entrate treats it as issued on time if you fix it and resend it within five days of the notice, with the same number and date. Give the file a new name, because SDI rejects file names it has already seen.

Do I have to store e-invoices, and for how long?

Yes, you keep e-invoices in digital form. The Agenzia delle Entrate offers a free storage service you join from the Fatture e Corrispettivi portal, and it keeps invoices for 15 years even after you close your VAT number. Many invoicing apps include legal storage for 10 years. The official pages we checked don't state one single legal period, so confirm the length with your commercialista.

How do I invoice an Italian client from abroad?

If you have no establishment in Italy, you don't have to use SDI: the obligation covers sales between parties resident or established in Italy. Your Italian business client reports your invoice to SDI itself. For services they send an integration document of type TD17, and for intra-EU goods a TD18. You invoice under your own country's rules.

How does an Italian business invoice a foreign client?

You can send an e-invoice through SDI with recipient code XXXXXXX and a country code other than IT, which also covers the esterometro report. SDI doesn't deliver that file abroad, so you email your client a copy. Otherwise you report the cross-border data to SDI within the invoice deadline. Purchases from abroad go to SDI by the 15th of the month after you receive the document.

Official sources

Where the rules and dates on this page come from.