In 2025, Italy is taking a more aggressive stance on VAT enforcement and tax compliance, targeting both domestic and cross-border e-commerce operators. With tax revenue losses mounting and pressure from EU digital market reforms, Italian authorities are increasing scrutiny, imposing new guarantees, and pursuing high-profile investigations—most notably against Amazon.

For online sellers and marketplaces, the message is clear: non-compliance with Italian tax law now carries operational and financial risk. Adapting to the country’s evolving VAT framework is essential for maintaining business continuity and market access.

Key Developments in Italy’s VAT Crackdown

€1.2 Billion VAT Investigation Into Amazon

In early 2025, Italy launched an investigation into Amazon for alleged €1.2 billion in unpaid VAT over multiple years. The total exposure—including penalties and interest—could exceed €3 billion. Authorities allege that the platform facilitated transactions without proper VAT collection or reporting mechanisms for thousands of third-party sellers, many of them foreign.

New Guarantee Rules for Non-EU Sellers

Italy now requires non-EU sellers to appoint a fiscal representative and provide a financial guarantee of €50,000 per registration to maintain inclusion in the VAT Information Exchange System (VIES). This new requirement applies to both B2C and B2B sellers operating through Italian or EU marketplaces.

VIES Deregistration for Non-Compliance

Suppose non-EU sellers fail to submit the required guarantee or designate a qualified fiscal agent. In that case, they face automatic deregistration from VIES—cutting them off from intra-EU tax documentation and compliance networks. This severely impacts fulfillment, customs clearance, and order processing within Italy and the broader EU.

Marketplace Responsibility for VAT Collection

Under Italy’s updated e-commerce tax model, marketplaces may be held liable for VAT collection on behalf of third-party sellers. Platforms must ensure proper invoicing, VAT registration checks, and periodic reporting to avoid secondary liability.

Impact on E-Commerce Operators

For Non-EU Sellers

• Operational Costs Rise: The €50,000 VAT guarantee adds a significant cost barrier, particularly for small and mid-sized exporters.
  
• Compliance Burden Increases: Sellers must work with certified fiscal representatives and meet strict documentation requirements.
  
• Risk of Market Exclusion: Non-compliance may result in blocked sales, customs holds, or deactivation on major platforms.
  

For Marketplaces

• Stronger Auditing Obligations: Platforms must validate seller credentials and ensure automated VAT collection tools are functioning across all seller accounts.
  
• Joint Liability Risks: Failure to enforce tax obligations may result in substantial fines or reputational damage.
  
• Need for Local Tax Expertise: Growing regulatory complexity requires investments in local legal, tax, and compliance teams.
  

Strategic Recommendations for Sellers and Platforms

• Appoint a Qualified Fiscal Representative: Ensure that your representative is recognized by Italian tax authorities and capable of managing ongoing obligations.
  
• Submit the VAT Guarantee Before Deadlines: Italian authorities are enforcing strict timelines in mid-2025. Missing them may jeopardize your entire EU operation.
  
• Implement Real-Time VAT Validation: Platforms should adopt automated systems to cross-check seller VAT numbers and verify invoice status in real-time.
  
• Stay Updated on EU-Wide VAT Trends: Italy's enforcement may preview broader action across other EU states. Align your compliance roadmap with long-term regional changes.
  

Italy’s intensified approach to VAT and tax compliance is redefining the rules for e-commerce across Europe’s third-largest market. From high-profile audits to stringent guarantee rules for non-EU sellers, the regulatory environment is shifting fast. For platforms and cross-border merchants alike, success now depends on proactive compliance, local representation, and deep awareness of fiscal obligations. Those who adapt early will retain access to a high-value, digitally engaged consumer base—those who don’t may find themselves locked out.

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From the results of "The State of Shopping 2024" survey conducted by ShopFully with Offerista Group, for 65% of Italians, the physical store is the preferred place to shop with only 5% of consumers choosing e-commerce as their main option when shopping.

Despite the spread of online and increasing digitization, physical retail continues to remain the point of reference for consumers.

According to the results of "The State of Shopping 2024" survey - conducted by ShopFully in collaboration with Offerista Group - for 65 % of Italians, the physical store is the preferred place for shopping while only 5% favor e-commerce. The remaining 30% move fluidly between online and offline depending on a number of variables (category, time available, prices etc).

Why physical?

Where does the primacy of physical retail come from? The main reason lies in the ability to see, touch or try products before buying them. And this applies as much to food shopping as it does to buying a dress or a pair of shoes. Only in the case of more "technical" categories, such as consumer electronics, where the emotional component is less significant and the choice is based on price, does a more pronounced inclination toward e-commerce emerge.

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Metro Italia has recently announced the launch of a new digital marketplace. This will be dedicated especially to the non-food HORECA - Hotels, Restaurants, and Catering - offer. For its functioning, the operations of this marketplace will be managed in a warehouse of Casei Gerola, particularly in its logistics park. 

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The birth of Metro Italia's digital marketplace

This new e-commerce service was born in Italy and is renamed Mercato Online. It is a new modality that aims to reach the entire Italian territory, hosting both companies' products and suppliers' products. So far, there are about 70 of them. 

In this way, Mercato Online makes these products available to all types of customers, both those who own a Metro card or a VAT number, who make up Metro Italia's traditional public, as well as the rest of the customers. 

According to Metro, this initiative represents a further step toward the company's strategy of developing digital channels in order to improve the services available to customers throughout the national territory. This includes customers who have not yet been reached through physical points of sale. As part of this quest, the online marketplace aims to strengthen the non-food product offer for all customers. 

Nevertheless, the company has announced that it is also evaluating the possibility of expanding the product range, in order to start adding food products that are dry. 

Why Casei Gerola?

The choice of the Casei Gerola Logistics Park to house this new online marketplace as a hub is based on the fact that it is a maxi pole built by E2k Engineering, according to Sfre's design. It is now under the management of Id Logistics. A quarter of the total surface area of this building is dedicated to the company. 

Towards a multi-channel ecosystem 

According to Metro Italia CEO Tanya Kopps, the company is confident that this new project can soon become a key element in its multichannel ecosystem, thereby increasing its leadership as a partner of choice for its customers. 

Metro's marketplace was already launched globally in 2019 and is now also active in Spain and Germany, selling more than 600,000 Horeca-related products. 

The company's spokespersons have also explained that it plans to continue to develop its assortment and expand throughout Europe. To this end, they hope to be able to multiply sales in the market by a factor of 60 to reach 3,000 million euros in sales by 2030.

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