Summary
- Italy has fundamentally rewritten Art. 13(2)(d) of DPR 633/1972 through Legge 88/2026 (converting DL 38/2026), replacing the short-lived cost-based criterion introduced by the 2026 Budget Law with a new rule: the VAT taxable base for barter (permutative) transactions is now determined by the monetary value of goods and services as agreed in the contract, with a mandatory floor equal to total attributable costs to prevent abuse. [normattiva.it], [fiscooggi.it]
- The reform resolves critical practical difficulties that had emerged since 1 January 2026 under the Budget Law’s cost criterion—particularly around which cost components to include and how to handle contracts already in force—while aligning Italian law with the CJEU’s subjective-value approach established in Cases C-33/93 (Empire Stores) and C-380/99 (Bertelsmann AG), which hold that the taxable amount must reflect the value each party is willing to spend, not an objective market estimate. [public.con…dustria.it], [fullegal.com]
- A parallel amendment to Art. 27(2)(d) of the new Testo Unico IVA (D.Lgs. 10/2026) ensures consistency when the consolidated VAT code enters into force on 1 January 2027; transitional rules protect behaviours adopted under both the pre-2026 (valore normale) and the Budget Law 2026 (cost) regimes, with no refunds or adjustments of previously liquidated VAT. [normattiva.it], [osservator…fiscale.it]
Article
- Background: A Rule That Changed Three Times in Six Months
The determination of the VAT taxable base on barter transactions (operazioni permutative) in Italy has undergone three successive changes between December 2025 and May 2026—a turbulent legislative journey that illustrates the complexity of aligning national VAT law with EU principles.
Until 31 December 2025, Art. 13(2)(d) of DPR 633/1972 provided that the taxable base for barter transactions was the valore normale (normal value) of the goods or services exchanged—i.e., the price a buyer would pay in arm’s-length conditions, as defined by Art. 14 of DPR 633/1972. [commercial…matico.com], [IVA operaz…& Partners]
This approach had long been criticised as incompatible with EU VAT law. The CJEU’s established case law—particularly Case C-33/93 (Empire Stores, 2 June 1994) and Case C-380/99 (Bertelsmann AG, 3 July 2001)—holds that the taxable amount for non-monetary consideration is a subjective value, not an objective market estimate. It must correspond to the amount each party is willing to spend to obtain the counter-performance. [fullegal.com], [eu.vlex.com], [public.con…dustria.it]
From 1 January 2026, the Budget Law 2026 (L. 199/2025, Art. 1, comma 138) replaced the valore normale with a cost-based criterion: the taxable base became the total costs (direct, indirect, and ancillary) attributable to each supply. While conceptually closer to EU principles, this criterion immediately raised severe practical difficulties: [commercial…matico.com], [fiscooggi.it]
- Which cost components should be included?
- How to handle depreciated durable goods whose market value had fallen below historical cost?
- How to manage contracts already in force under the old rules?
From 23 May 2026 (date of entry into force of the conversion law), Legge 88/2026 rewrites the rule once more—this time introducing a contractual monetary value criterion with a cost floor. [normattiva.it], [edotto.com]
- The New Rule: Art. 13(2)(d) DPR 633/1972 as Amended
The new text of Art. 13(2)(d), as substituted by Art. 1 of DL 38/2026 (converted by L. 88/2026), now reads:
“For supplies of goods and services referred to in Article 11, [the taxable base is determined] by the monetary value of the goods and services forming the object of each of them, as determined by the contract. In any case, such value cannot be lower than the total costs attributable to the supplies made and services rendered by each of the parties, determined at the time the transactions are carried out.” [normattiva.it]
This creates a two-tier mechanism:
| Element | Rule |
| Primary criterion | Contractual monetary value agreed between the parties |
| Mandatory floor | Total attributable costs at the time of the transaction |
| Anti-avoidance function | Prevents artificial under-valuation of barter supplies |
[edotto.com], [osservator…fiscale.it]
- Alignment with CJEU Jurisprudence
The reform explicitly draws on two landmark CJEU judgments:
Case C-33/93 — Empire Stores (2 June 1994)
The Court held that the taxable amount for a supply of goods where consideration consists of a service is a subjective value: it must correspond to“the amount which [the recipient] is prepared to spend” to obtain the counter-performance. The taxable amount is not the objective market value, but the purchase price paid by the supplier for the goods supplied. [fullegal.com], [eur-lex.europa.eu]
Case C-380/99 — Bertelsmann AG (3 July 2001)
The Court confirmed that the taxable amount for goods supplied without extra charge to customers who meet certain conditions is the purchase price or cost price of those goods for the supplier—reinforcing the subjective-value principle. [public.con…dustria.it]
By anchoring the taxable base to the contractual value (i.e., the value the parties have mutually agreed to attribute to the exchanged goods/services), the Italian legislator adopts a criterion that:
- Reflects the subjective value each party assigns to the transaction;
- Avoids the practical difficulties of reconstructing “normal value” for non-standard goods;
- Maintains a cost floor as an anti-avoidance safeguard. [osservator…fiscale.it], [public.con…dustria.it]
As Confindustria noted in its analysis, the cost floor raises an interpretive question: costs should be actualised to the moment of the transaction (not frozen at historical acquisition cost), so that durable goods whose value has declined over time are not artificially over-valued. [public.con…dustria.it]
- Transitional Rules
The conversion law establishes a detailed transitional framework to protect taxpayers during the period of legislative instability:
| Scenario | Applicable Rule |
| Contracts concluded/renewed from 1 January 2026 | New contractual-value criterion applies |
| Contracts concluded before 1 January 2026 | Rules in force at 31 December 2025 (valore normale) apply until the conversion law’s entry into force |
| Behaviours adopted under Budget Law 2026 cost criterion (1 Jan – 22 May 2026) | Saved (fatti salvi) |
| Refunds or VAT adjustments | Not permitted in any case |
The Budget Law 2026 provisions on barter transactions (Art. 1, commas 138 and 139 of L. 199/2025) are formally abrogated. [normattiva.it]
- Mirror Amendment to the Testo Unico IVA (D.Lgs. 10/2026)
In parallel, Art. 1(4) of DL 38/2026 amends Art. 27(2)(d) of the new Testo Unico IVA (D.Lgs. 19 January 2026, n. 10), which consolidates Italian VAT law and enters into force on 1 January 2027. The wording is identical to the new Art. 13(2)(d) of DPR 633/1972, ensuring continuity when the consolidated code takes effect. [normattiva.it], [fiscoetasse.com]
- Practical Implications for Multinationals
For multinational companies—particularly those with intercompany barter-type arrangements—the reform has several practical consequences:
- Review existing barter/permutative contracts: Any agreement involving reciprocal non-monetary supplies (advertising barter, reciprocal service agreements, contra-trading, marketing exchanges) must explicitly state the monetary value of each supply.
- Document the cost floor: Maintain contemporaneous documentation of total attributable costs at the time of each transaction to demonstrate compliance with the minimum threshold.
- Transfer pricing alignment: The contractual value used for VAT purposes should be consistent with transfer pricing documentation; discrepancies could trigger scrutiny.
- Sectors most affected: Real estate, automotive, marketing/advertising, sports sponsorships, and commercial barter arrangements. [IVA operaz…& Partners], [osservator…fiscale.it]
- ViDA readiness: As Italy moves toward the new Testo Unico IVA (effective 2027) and prepares for ViDA Digital Reporting Requirements, the barter transaction rules will need to be embedded in e-invoicing templates and reporting logic.
- Assessment
The reform is a welcome clarification after months of uncertainty. The contractual-value criterion is more practical and predictable than either the old valore normale or the Budget Law’s cost-based approach. The cost floor, while introducing some residual interpretive complexity, serves a legitimate anti-avoidance purpose.
However, as Confindustria and the Osservatorio Riforma Fiscale have noted, further administrative guidance is needed on: [public.con…dustria.it], [osservator…fiscale.it]
- The exact scope of “total attributable costs” (direct, indirect, overhead allocation);
- Whether costs must be actualised or can be taken at historical value;
- The treatment of below-cost transactions supported by valid economic reasons (rejected as a legislative amendment but potentially arguable in practice).
Sources
- Normattiva – Testo Coordinato DL 38/2026 (Art. 1) [normattiva.it]
- FiscoOggi – Conversione in legge del DL fiscale [fiscooggi.it]
- Confindustria – Osservazioni sulla Legge n. 88/2026 (PDF) [public.con…dustria.it]
- Edotto – Decreto fisco 2026 convertito [edotto.com]
- Osservatorio Riforma Fiscale – Permuta e IVA: base imponibile determinata come da contratto [osservator…fiscale.it]
- VATupdate – Assonime Proposes Amendment to VAT Base Calculation [vatupdate.com]
- EUR-Lex – Case C-33/93 Empire Stores (Judgment) [eur-lex.europa.eu]
- Gazzetta Ufficiale – D.Lgs. 10/2026 (Testo Unico IVA) [gazzettaufficiale.it]
- Italy rewrites barter VAT rules – vatcalc.com
