Why Cross-Border Sellers See Italy as a "Difficult Market" — and Why That's Not Accurate
Italy is not a difficult market. It is a market with clear rules, enforced rigorously. The €50,000 VIES guarantee that puts most sellers off does not have to be paid in cash, and a surety policy covers it for a fraction of that amount.
When we talk with non-EU sellers who plan to enter Europe by selling cross-border through Amazon and other e-commerce sites, without a company or office of their own on the ground, we often hear the same thing: "We're moving ahead with Germany and France, but Italy looks difficult, so we're leaving it for later."
Ask why, and the answer is almost always tax and registration complexity. The most common concern: "I heard you need a €50,000 guarantee to register for VIES."
Is Putting Italy Last the Right Call?
Servix International has provided tax services in Italy for many years. Last year alone, we completed Italian VAT and VIES registrations for around 20,000 non-EU sellers. That experience lets us say this with confidence: Italy is not a difficult market. It is a market with clear rules, enforced rigorously.
The Main Reason Italy Seems Difficult: The €50,000 Guarantee
Let’s start by setting out the rule that worries so many sellers.
Since April 2025, non-EU/EEA businesses that hold an Italian VAT number through a fiscal representative and carry out intra-community transactions must provide a guarantee to be included in, or remain in, the VIES database. The legal basis is Article 35(7-quater) of the Italian VAT Decree (D.P.R. 633/1972); the operating rules are set out in the Agenzia delle Entrate’s Provvedimento n. 178713 of 14 April 2025.
For a non-EU seller on Amazon, VIES registration is not optional. Amazon checks the VAT numbers entered in Seller Central against VIES, and a number that is not active there can fail the check and limit what the account can do. And as soon as your stock moves between EU countries — which is exactly how Pan-European FBA works — each transfer is an intra-community transaction that requires a VAT number valid in VIES. For Amazon sellers, the guarantee is therefore not a formality they can skip: it is the entry ticket to the Italian market.
The guarantee can take the form of a deposit of government securities, a surety insurance policy (polizza fideiussoria), or a bank guarantee. The minimum amount is €50,000, and it must run for at least 36 months from filing with the competent provincial tax office.
Looked at purely as a number, €50,000 does seem like a heavy burden. It is understandable that many sellers stop at the evaluation stage.
There is also a procedural hurdle. In most other European countries, a VAT number is automatically valid in VIES once issued. In Italy, VIES inclusion must be requested separately from VAT registration and is subject to review. This raises the administrative bar and increases the risk of being blocked partway through the process.
Misconception 1: “You Have to Put Up €50,000 in Cash”
This is the biggest misunderstanding. The law does not require you to deposit €50,000 in cash. It requires you to provide a guarantee with a minimum value of €50,000, and a surety insurance policy (polizza fideiussoria) is an accepted form.
When an insurer underwrites the guarantee, the seller does not have to tie up €50,000 of capital. Servix International offers access to this surety policy for around €3,500 for the full 36-month term. The impact on cash flow is greatly reduced, making it a realistic entry cost.
Misconception 2: “Italy Alone Is Unusually Strict”
Italy’s rule sits within the framework of EU VAT law. Article 273 of the EU VAT Directive allows Member States to impose the obligations they consider necessary to ensure the correct collection of VAT and prevent evasion. Within that framework, Italy has turned measures against VAT fraud by non-EU businesses into concrete rules ahead of most other Member States.
The purpose is clear. If the guarantee is not provided, the Revenue Agency notifies the fiscal representative and starts the procedure to exclude the business from VIES. Fiscal representatives must also check that the documents submitted are true and complete. Those who fail to do so face administrative penalties of €3,000 to €50,000.
From the seller’s point of view, this means a market where careless operators find it hard to enter. For properly registered sellers, it means less unfair competition from non-compliant, low-price sellers. The same logic is behind the separate guarantee the law places on fiscal representatives themselves — see why Italian customs blocks incoming goods.
Misconception 3: “The Procedure Is Too Complex to Know Where to Start”
The procedure follows a set order. Businesses without an Italian VAT number provide the guarantee together with the start-of-activity declaration in which they opt for VIES inclusion. Businesses that already hold a VAT number provide the guarantee before requesting VIES inclusion. We walk through each step in our guide to Italian VAT and VIES registration.
For sellers who want the procedure done accurately, working with a multinational tax service firm is the best option. That way, sellers never have to work through Italian-language documents themselves. Servix International’s team includes staff who speak English, Chinese, Spanish, French, Hindi and Japanese. For foreign sellers who are not confident in Italian, this significantly lowers the barrier.
Italy Is Too Big a Market to Ignore
So far we have shown that the barriers can be overcome. But is it worth overcoming them?
Italy’s e-commerce market is large and still growing. According to the Netcomm – Politecnico di Milano eCommerce Observatory, online purchases by Italian consumers are expected to exceed €66.6 billion in 2026, up 6% year on year. In 2025, online product sales passed €40 billion, and the number of online shoppers passed 35 million.
Online sales also account for only 11.2% of total retail product purchases in 2025, and a forecast 11.5% in 2026. There is still plenty of room to grow.
The Opportunity Is Now, While Others Hesitate
Many non-EU sellers are holding back from Italy because they think it is difficult. Put the other way round, sellers who register properly face far less competition.
VAT fraud is a challenge across the whole EU, so other Member States may well move in the same direction as Italy. Setting up a compliant structure in Italy now is therefore also preparation for growing your business across Europe — and the wider picture of how VIES works from one member state to the next is in our guide to VIES for non-EU companies.
Summary
- Italy is not “difficult”. It applies the EU VAT framework rigorously.
- The €50,000 guarantee is not a cash deposit. It can be covered by a surety insurance policy, available through Servix International for around €3,500 for the full 36-month term.
- The procedure follows a clear order. With multilingual specialists handling it, the burden on sellers is small.
- The market is large, and with so many competitors hesitating, now is the time to enter.
Last year alone, Servix International completed Italian VAT and VIES registrations for around 20,000 non-EU sellers. If you are considering entering the Italian market, we would be glad to hear from you.
Sources: Agenzia delle Entrate, Provvedimento n. 178713 of 14 April 2025 · Agenzia delle Entrate, VAT registration for non-residents through a fiscal representative — legislation · Council Directive 2006/112/EC (EU VAT Directive), EUR-Lex · Consorzio Netcomm, B2C e-commerce in Italy exceeds €66.6 billion in 2026 (6 May 2026) · Osservatori Digital Innovation – Politecnico di Milano, B2C e-commerce in Italy grows in 2025.
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