In Italian expense reports or invoices, the term excise duty (accisa) is often replaced by one of the following terms: consumption tax, production tax or state tax.
Compared to value added tax, which is also an indirect tax, excise duty has the following special features:
Excise duties serve to generate fiscal revenue, but are also used to implement economic, political or social objectives.
Excise duties are an important source of revenue for the Italian state and regions. Excise duties and similar levies (production taxes, monopolies) have historically accounted for a significant proportion of indirect taxes.
Typical product groups subject to excise duty in Italy are:
Which specific goods are subject to excise duty depends on their classification in the Combined Nomenclature (CN) of the European Union.
In Italy, excise duties are administered by the Customs and Monopolies Agency (Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli).
The central national legal basis is the Consolidated Law on Excise Duties (Testo Unico Accise). At European level, directives on the general excise duty system and, in particular, on energy products and electricity regulate the basic structure and minimum requirements.
As excise duties are quantity-based, the tax rates are applied to physical units, for example:
The specific rates are based on national tariff tables, which are adjusted regularly.
The structure and basic principles of excise duties are harmonised within the European Union. Member States generally set their own tax rates, but must comply with minimum requirements under EU law.
Important principles:
An electronic administrative document (e-AD – electronic Administrative Document) is used for the movement of excise goods under duty suspension within the EMCS (Excise Movement and Control System); a simplified electronic document (e-SAD) is used for goods that have already been taxed.