The revenue agency (Italian: Agenzia delle Entrate, abbreviated to AdE) is the central Italian tax authority (tax office) and is assigned to the Ministry of Economy and Finance (Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze). As an administratively independent authority, it is responsible in particular for assessing and collecting state taxes. Depending on the procedure, it also performs tasks such as the registration of certain contracts and deeds.
Organisationally, the revenue agency is divided into regional directorates, which in turn oversee the local tax offices. In the autonomous region of Trentino-South Tyrol, there are separate directorates in Trento and Bolzano.
The revenue agency is particularly relevant for companies, managing directors, HR managers and private individuals because it bundles central processes relating to taxes, notifications, payments, data management and digital services.
What does the revenue agency do?
Its typical responsibilities include:
- Setting and administering taxes (e.g. income tax, corporation tax, value added tax)
- Receiving and processing electronic notifications and declarations
- Administration of registration data (master data, tax positions, notices and communications)
- Registration services (e.g. certain contracts and deeds)
- Digital tax and invoicing services (e.g. electronic invoice)
Digital access: "Area riservata" and the most important portals
Most of the revenue agency's services are available digitally. Access is usually via the protected online area (Area riservata) – mostly using SPID, CIE or CNS. These are common forms of digital identification in Italy that enable secure and fast access to the online services of the public administration. Depending on the service, traditional access data (e.g. Fisconline/Entratel) may still be required.
Access is generally granted to the taxable person themselves. In business practice, access is often delegated to an authorised intermediary (e.g. Chartered Accountant) via a power of attorney so that checks, submissions and queries can be handled efficiently, on time and centrally.
Important portals (examples):
- Fatture e Corrispettivi: Platform for electronic invoices and electronic daily receipts (cash register data/receipts)
- Depending on the user profile (private individual, company, intermediary), additional services are available via reserved areas or specialist portals.
Cassetto fiscale: the electronic tax box
A central component of the digital services is the online tax box "Cassetto fiscale". It allows users to view tax documents and information and check their current status with the tax office – without having to visit the authorities.
Common use cases include, for example:
- Checking submitted declarations and notifications
- Checking payments and allocations (F24/F23)
- Viewing refunds, offsets and open items
- Reconciling registration and master data
- Viewing data from the registry office
Typical notifications and declarations that are transmitted electronically to the revenue agency
In current practice, many transactions are transmitted electronically to the revenue agency via an authorised intermediary. Common examples are:
- VAT registration, deregistration and change notifications
- Form AA7: for companies/legal entities
- Form AA9: for natural persons (sole traders/freelancers).
Among other things, main and secondary activities (ATECO), legal domicile, permanent establishments PE, place of storage of documents, etc. are reported.
- Annual returns (depending on taxable status)
- Tax return, tax declaration
- Irap declaration
- Annual VAT declaration
- Single certification CU (Certificazione Unica)
- Withholding tax return 770
- Ongoing accounting reports
- Quartarly VAT report
- Reporting of foreign incoming and outgoing invoices
- Tax payments
- Transmission/processing of tax payments with F24 and F23
- Rental agreements
- Registration/deregistration and renewal of rental agreements (e.g. RLI model).