Italy e-invoicing mandate: SdI and FatturaPA
Italy is the EU pioneer: mandatory B2B e-invoicing through the central SdI clearance system since 2019. Format: FatturaPA (XML, aligned with EN 16931).
| Mandatory B2B and B2C e-invoicing | since 1 January 2019 |
|---|---|
| Model | Central clearance via the Sistema di Interscambio (SdI) |
| Format | FatturaPA (XML, aligned with EN 16931) |
| Operator | Agenzia delle Entrate (tax authority) |
Italy was the first EU country with a mandatory B2B e-invoicing clearance model. Since 1 January 2019, all VAT-registered businesses in Italy must issue domestic B2B and B2C invoices electronically through the Sistema di Interscambio (SdI).
Clearance through the SdI
Every invoice passes through the central SdI platform run by the Agenzia delle Entrate and only becomes legally valid — and is delivered to the recipient — after SdI validation. That makes the SdI a genuine clearance model (Continuous Transaction Controls), unlike Germany or France where invoices are exchanged directly between the parties.
The FatturaPA format
The national format is FatturaPA, an XML format aligned with the European EN 16931 data model. Introduced for B2G in 2014, it was extended to B2B and B2C in 2019. By 2035 Italy must align its system with the ViDA rules.
How invowerk helps
invowerk validates the EN-16931-compliant fields of an invoice and explains error codes in plain language (see /codes). For Italian exchange the SdI remains the mandatory channel; the content-level format and field checks against EN 16931, plus UBL↔CII conversion, run upstream in the API.