Italy raises the tourist VAT-refund minimum purchase to EUR 70 from 1 February 2024

What changed in detail

Law 30 December 2023, n. 213, the 2024 Budget Law (Gazzetta Ufficiale n. 303, supplemento ordinario n. 40, of 30 December 2023), Article 1, comma 77, amends article 38-quater, comma 1, first sentence, of DPR 633/1972. That article lets goods for personal or family use, carried in personal luggage out of the EU customs territory by travellers domiciled or resident outside the EU, be sold without VAT, or the VAT be refunded, provided the purchase exceeds a minimum amount including VAT.

The minimum was still written as “lire 300 mila”, about EUR 154.94. Comma 77 replaces those words with “euro 70”. The comma states its purpose as supporting the recovery of the national tourism sector and Italy’s international attractiveness to tourists.

The new threshold applies to supplies made from 1 February 2024.

What it means

Since 1 February 2024, a non-EU traveller has been able to claim tax-free treatment in Italy on a purchase of more than EUR 70 including VAT, rather than more than about EUR 155. Many more purchases have qualified as a result.

The EUR 70 threshold is still in force. The text of article 38-quater in force in mid-2026 reads “superiore a euro 70”. The 2026 Budget Law, L. 199/2025, Article 1, commi 934-935, later changed the procedure. It extended from the fourth to the sixth month the deadline for returning the customs-stamped invoice to the seller, and provided for a single validation process for refunds. It did not change the threshold. From 1 January 2027 article 38-quater is abrogated and replaced by the VAT Testo unico, D.Lgs. 10/2026 (record).