Commentary: The Italian Customs Reform: Lights and Shadows

On 4 October 2024, the reform of the customs regulations complementary to the European Union Code came into force in Italy. Legislative Decree No. 141/2024 introduced significant amendments to the previous regulatory provisions, which had been in place for over fifty years. The amendments pertained to various aspects of customs regulation, including border duties, the contract of mandate for the purposes of customs representation, and other matters. The procedures for online and ex-post verification, and above all, on criminal and administrative penalties, were modified with the declared aim of adapting them to the principles of effectiveness, proportionality and dissuasiveness laid down in Article 42 of the EU Customs Code and repeatedly affirmed by the EU Court of Justice. A review of the regulatory text nevertheless creates some uncertainty, both with respect to the Union discipline that the Italian legislature has also stated it wishes to implement, and with respect to the rulings of the Luxembourg Court, whose principles do not seem to have been correctly implemented.