Tax Observatory › Assessment, collection and litigation › Tax penalties from 2027: Legislative Decree No. 471/1997 is repealed and the rules move to the consolidated Act under new article numbers

Tax penalties from 2027: Legislative Decree No. 471/1997 is repealed and the rules move to the consolidated Act under new article numbers

From 1 January 2027 administrative and criminal tax penalties will be governed by the consolidated Act on tax penalties approved by Legislative Decree No. 173 of 5 November 2024: Legislative Decree No. 471/1997 is repealed in full, Legislative Decree No. 472/1997 almost in full and Legislative Decree No. 74/2000 except for two articles. Administrative violations committed before that date remain subject to the law in force when they were committed, unless a later law is more favourable and the penalty decision has not yet become final (Article 2 of the consolidated Act); for criminal offences Article 2 of the Criminal Code continues to apply.

What is repealed, and when

The consolidated Act applies from 1 January 2027 (Article 102), the date set by Article 4 of Decree-Law No. 200 of 31 December 2025, converted into law by Law No. 26 of 27 February 2026. From that date Article 101 repeals Legislative Decree No. 471/1997; Articles 1 to 18, 20, 21 and 23 to 29 of Legislative Decree No. 472/1997; Legislative Decree No. 74/2000, except for Articles 21-bis and 21-ter; and Articles 1 to 4 of Legislative Decree No. 87/2024. Articles 19 and 22 of Legislative Decree No. 472/1997, on enforcement of penalties, charges on real property and precautionary attachment, cease to apply on the same date under the consolidated Act on tax litigation (Legislative Decree No. 175 of 14 November 2024).

Where the rules will be found

• multiple and continuing violations: Article 13, formerly Article 12 of Legislative Decree No. 472/1997;
• ravvedimento operoso (self-correction with reduced penalties): Article 14, formerly Article 13 of Legislative Decree No. 472/1997, with the same reductions and relettered points;
• income tax and IRAP (regional tax on productive activities) returns: Article 27, formerly Article 1 of Legislative Decree No. 471/1997, with the inaccurate-return penalty at 70 per cent and a minimum of EUR 150;
• VAT returns: Article 30, formerly Article 5 of Legislative Decree No. 471/1997;
• late or missed payments: Article 38, formerly Article 13 of Legislative Decree No. 471/1997, at 25 per cent, halved for payments made within ninety days;
• criminal offence of failure to file: Article 77, formerly Article 5 of Legislative Decree No. 74/2000.

Violations straddling 1 January 2027

Article 2 of the consolidated Act reproduces Article 3 of Legislative Decree No. 472/1997: no one may be penalised except under a law in force before the violation; no penalty applies to conduct that a later law no longer treats as a violation; where successive laws provide for different penalties, the more favourable one applies, unless the penalty decision has become final. Article 5 of Legislative Decree No. 87/2024 remains in force, so the penalties reformed in 2024 apply to violations committed on or after 1 September 2024. In our view the relocation of the provisions does not extinguish earlier violations: the consolidated Act carries over the definitions of those violations, and Article 101, paragraph 3, redirects old references to the corresponding provisions.

There is, however, no general transitional rule for assessment proceedings and assessments by agreement (accertamento con adesione) pending on 1 January 2027. The new location of the assessment rules is explained in our article on the consolidated Act on tax compliance and assessment; the draft corrective decree given preliminary approval by the Council of Ministers on 13 October 2026 may still amend individual articles.

Two examples

• A VAT payment due in December 2026 and made with ravvedimento in January 2027: the penalty is 25 per cent, halved if paid within ninety days, under both Article 13 of Legislative Decree No. 471/1997 and Article 38 of the consolidated Act, and the ravvedimento reductions are the same. What changes is the provision to be cited, not the amount.
• An inaccurate income tax return for 2025, filed in 2026, for which a penalty notice is served in 2028: the 70 per cent penalty under Article 1, paragraph 2, of Legislative Decree No. 471/1997 applies, identical to the penalty in Article 27, paragraph 3, of the consolidated Act; a later, more lenient law would prevail as long as the notice has not become final.

In practice

• From 1 January 2027 businesses and professionals should update calculation sheets, letters and ravvedimento templates with the new references, keeping the former ones alongside for earlier violations.
• For every penalty or assessment notice served on or after 1 January 2027 on earlier violations, check that the penalty is the one in force at the time, or the more favourable one if the notice has not become final; any error should be raised in the contraddittorio (prior consultation on the draft notice) or in the appeal.
• For every ravvedimento straddling the year end, keep the calculation showing the date of the violation, the provision applied and the reductions used.

Frequently asked questions

Does ravvedimento change from 2027?

Not in substance: Article 14 of the consolidated Act reproduces the reductions in Article 13 of Legislative Decree No. 472/1997, with relettered points and references updated to the new assessment rules.

Is a 2026 violation notified in 2027 penalised under the consolidated Act?

The law in force when the violation was committed applies; a later law prevails only if it is more favourable and the penalty decision has not become final (Article 2, paragraphs 1 and 3).

Do tax offences remain in Legislative Decree No. 74/2000?

No: from 2027 Legislative Decree No. 74/2000 will be repealed, except for Articles 21-bis and 21-ter, and the offences will be in the criminal part of the consolidated Act; failure to file, for example, will be in Article 77.

Sources

Legislative Decree No. 173 of 5 November 2024, consolidated Act on administrative and criminal tax penalties, Articles 2, 13, 14, 27, 30, 38, 77, 101 and 102 (from 1 January 2027)

Legislative Decree No. 472 of 18 December 1997, Articles 3, 12, 13, 19 and 22 (text in force on 12 November 2026)

Legislative Decree No. 471 of 18 December 1997, Articles 1, 5 and 13 (text in force on 12 November 2026)

Legislative Decree No. 74 of 10 March 2000, Article 5, and Criminal Code, Article 2

Legislative Decree No. 87 of 14 June 2024, Article 5

Legislative Decree No. 175 of 14 November 2024, consolidated Act on tax litigation

Decree-Law No. 200 of 31 December 2025, converted into law by Law No. 26 of 27 February 2026, Article 4

Council of Ministers, press release No. 192 of 13 October 2026