The Ministerial Decree of March 10, 2026, published in the Italian Official Gazette Gazzetta Ufficiale Serie Generale no. 66 of March 20, 2026 (prot. 26A01335), is the primary implementing act for Legislative Decree 43/2025 on electricity excise. While D.Lgs. 43/2025 sets out what changes in the consolidated excise code (Testo Unico Accise / Italian Excise Code, Art. 56-ter TUA), the DM 10/03/2026 sets out how: plant denuncia di officina (plant declaration) documentation, monthly acconto (advance payment) mechanics, the new dichiarazione semestrale (semi-annual declaration) structure, conguaglio (reconciliation) timing, the 15% cauzione(surety bond) and the new monthly sellers' communications. This article walks article-by-article through the provisions that multinational power plant operators and consultants handling Italian compliance need to know. For the broader context of the obligation itself, including quadri, deadlines and excise calculation, see our complete guide to the AD-1 declaration.
Quick definitions
- DM 10 March 2026
- Italian MEF ministerial decree published in Gazzetta Ufficiale no. 66 of 20/03/2026 (prot. 26A01335); primary implementing act of D.Lgs. 43/2025.
- Art. 7 (monthly advance payments)
- Monthly excise payment due by the end of the current month, calculated on quantities from the previous calendar month.
- Art. 8 (semi-annual declaration)
- Electronic-only AD-1 with deadlines end of September (H1) and end of March (H2); form defined by Determination of the ADM Director.
- Art. 10 (15% bond)
- Bond set at 15% of estimated annual excise, with quarterly adjustment.
- Art. 11 (sellers' monthly reports)
- Monthly electronic transmission of invoiced quantities by use type and territorial scope; obligation starts April 1, 2026.
- Art. 15
- Clarifies exemption for storage-only plants (Art. 52 c. 3 lett. a TUA) and excise liability for renewables > 20 kW consumed off-site (Art. 52 c. 3 lett. b TUA).
- Art. 22 (transitional rules)
- Transition calendar: bond adjustment by April 1, 2026; specific notifications and declarations by March 31, 2026; pre-existing exemptions remain valid.
- Art. 56-ter TUA
- Provision of the consolidated excise code authorizing the implementing ministerial decree for electricity excise.
Law vs implementing decree: how to read them together
The two acts are complementary and must be read together. D.Lgs. 43/2025 is the primary law that rewrote the architecture of Italian electricity excise from January 1, 2026 (see our companion piece on D.Lgs. 43/2025 and AD-1 declarations in 2026). The DM 10 March 2026 is the ministerial decree, signed by the Vice Minister of Economy and Finance, that puts the new framework into operation. Without the DM, the obligations in the primary law would not be enforceable in detail. The decree replaces earlier MEF decrees on electricity excise and reorganizes the entire compliance cycle.
Art. 2: Documentation for the plant declaration
The denuncia di officina (plant declaration) is how an operator notifies the Italian Customs Agency (ADM) of a new power plant or activity. Art. 2 of the DM lists the documentation that must accompany the declaration:
- A technical description of the plant with grid-connection details.
- A prospetto (table) of energy percentages per use type, including exempt, excluded and reduced-rate uses.
- For mixed-use (uso promiscuo) operators: the percentage split across uses, with a written justification of the criteria used.
Art. 7: Monthly advance payments (acconti mensili)
From January 1, 2026 the fixed monthly advance regime is replaced by an acconto mensile based on actual previous-month figures. The decree sets a different calculation base for each declarant category:
- Seller (venditore): excise on quantities invoiced to final consumers in the previous calendar month, broken down by ambito territoriale (territorial scope, i.e. the accounting zone tied to the regional surcharge).
- Own-use consumer (consumatore per uso proprio): excise on quantities consumed for own use in the previous month.
- Consumer-seller (consumatore-venditore): sum of both bases above.
Each acconto is due by the end of the reference month. A transitional rule applies to January 2026 only: the acconto equals the December 2025 installment calculated under the old (pre-reform) method, so the first payment under the new system does not require a full reconstruction of January data.
Art. 8: The semi-annual declaration (dichiarazione semestrale)
The annual AD-1 is replaced by two semi-annual declarations per year. Art. 8 sets the structure:
| Half-year | Reference period | Filing deadline |
|---|---|---|
| H1 | January 1 to June 30 | End of September (same year) |
| H2 | July 1 to December 31 | End of March (following year) |
The decree requires electronic-only submission. The actual AD-1 model and technical specifications for the new semi-annual filing are defined by a separate Determinazione of the ADM Director under Art. 55 c. 14 TUA. The determination number appears in some early commentary but, as of this writing, we have not independently verified it against the ADM portal. Operators should rely on the version published on the official ADM site.
The content required for each declarant category mirrors the acconti structure:
- Sellers: quantities per ambito territoriale multiplied by the applicable rates at the moment of supply, per semester.
- Own-use consumers: quantities consumed for own use multiplied by the applicable rates at the moment of consumption.
- Consumer-sellers: both of the above.
Art. 9: Conguaglio (reconciliation payment)
The conguaglio is the semi-annual reconciliation between the sum of monthly acconti paid in the half-year and the excise actually due as reported in the dichiarazione semestrale. Under Art. 9, the conguaglio payment is due by the end of the same month in which the semi-annual declaration is filed (end of September for H1 and end of March for H2). Sellers and consumer-sellers must settle the conguaglio per ambito territoriale. Credit balances can be carried forward to later periods or claimed as a rimborso (refund).
Art. 10: Cauzione, 15% of estimated annual excise
The bond (cauzione) lodged with the ADM is set at 15% of the estimated annual excise, calculated from the data declared in the denuncia di officina. After the first determination, the bond is subject to quarterly recalculation based on actual figures from the monthly cycle. For operators already active before the reform, the new 15% rule applies from April 1, 2026 under the transitional provisions of Art. 22 (see below). In practice, that means renegotiating the bond instrument with the issuing bank or insurer.
Art. 11: Monthly sellers' communications
From April 1, 2026, sellers must send the ADM a monthly communication reporting, for the previous month:
- Quantities invoiced to final consumers.
- A breakdown per destinazione d'uso (end use) and per ambito territoriale.
- Corresponding excise amounts.
This is a new structural obligation that did not exist under the previous regime and materially increases the data flow between sellers and ADM. It runs alongside (not in place of) the monthly acconto payment and the semi-annual declaration.
Art. 15: Storage plants and the 20 kW renewables clarification
Art. 15 contains two clarifications that operators ask about often:
- Storage-only plants: electricity consumed in plants connected to the grid and made up primarily of accumulation systems (BESS, battery energy storage systems) is exempt from excise (clarifying Art. 52 c. 3 lett. a TUA).
- Renewable production >20 kW: electricity produced from renewable sources at plants above 20 kW that is consumed outside the production site or by parties other than the producer is not exempt (clarifying Art. 52 c. 3 lett. b TUA). The 20 kW exemption for renewable own-consumption at the production site remains unchanged.
Art. 22: Transitional provisions (the dates that matter)
For operators that were already active on December 31, 2025, Art. 22 sets out a calendar of transitional duties. The key dates:
| Date | Obligation | Who |
|---|---|---|
| March 31, 2026 | Submit notification of full-grid-injection production activity | Plants already active on 31/12/2025 producing electricity entirely fed into the grid |
| March 31, 2026 | File denuncia di officina | Renewable producers ≤20 kW selling to final consumers |
| April 1, 2026 | Bond adjusted to 15% of estimated annual excise | All existing authorization/licence holders |
| April 1, 2026 | Monthly sellers' communications start | All sellers |
Existing consumer exemption declarations (non-sottoposto, esente) remain valid. Operators do not need to refile them to keep their exempt status under the new framework.
Art. 22, paragraph 5 of the decree of March 10, 2026 - full text
Paragraph 5 targets non-obligated subjects (soggetti non obbligati) operating a plant connected to the transmission or distribution grid that feeds the entire output back to the grid. The verbatim Italian text, as published in the Official Gazette (Gazzetta Ufficiale) no. 66 of March 20, 2026 (prot. 26A01335), reads:
«I soggetti diversi dai soggetti obbligati che esercitano un'officina, collegata alla rete di trasmissione o distribuzione, che produce energia elettrica con modalità diverse da quelle previste dall'articolo 52, comma 2, lettere a), b) e d) del TUA o con le modalità di cui all'articolo 52, comma 2, lettera c), del medesimo TUA con potenza disponibile superiore a 50 kW, già in attività alla data del 31 dicembre 2025, adempiono all'obbligo di cui all'articolo 14, comma 1, inviando, entro il 31 marzo 2026, all'ufficio competente, una comunicazione, nella quale riportano i dati indicati nell'articolo 14, comma 2, primo periodo, nonché il codice identificativo, qualora ne siano già in possesso. Nella medesima comunicazione i predetti soggetti confermano la cessione alla rete dell'intero quantitativo di energia elettrica prodotto.»
Practical reading: plants already active on December 31, 2025 that feed their entire production into the grid - using methods other than self-consumption or on-site exchange (letters a, b, d) or, for letter c, with available power above 50 kW - must send the competent ADM office a communication by March 31, 2026. The communication must include the data listed in Art. 14, paragraph 2 (registry data, technical data, identification code if already assigned) and confirmation that all generated electricity is fed into the grid.
What this means for non-Italian operators
Multinationals supplying or consuming electricity in Italy through an Italian permanent establishment or licensed entity should plan for three operational shifts in 2026:
- Monthly cash-flow tracking: the acconto regime requires booking actual previous-month invoiced or consumed quantities by territorial scope, every month. Annual roll-ups no longer cut it.
- Bond renegotiation: for many operators, the move to 15% of estimated annual excise will change the size of the bond instrument and trigger a fresh underwriting cycle with the bank or insurer before April 2026.
- Two filing windows per year: end of September and end of March. The September deadline falls in mid-summer and is easy to miss without scheduled internal reminders and a June 30 meter reading process.
Frequently asked questions
When does DM 10 March 2026 enter into force?
The decree was published on March 20, 2026 in the Italian Official Gazette (Gazzetta Ufficiale) no. 66 (prot. 26A01335) and is the primary implementing act of D.Lgs. 43/2025. Operative provisions phase in across 2026 per the schedule in Art. 22; in particular, the bond adjustment and monthly sellers' communications start on April 1, 2026.
What are the deadlines for the semi-annual AD-1 declaration?
Art. 8 of the DM sets two annual electronic-only deadlines: end of September for the first-semester declaration (H1, January to June) and end of March of the following year for the second semester (H2, July to December). The semi-annual AD-1 form is defined by a Determination of the Director of ADM under Art. 55 c. 14 TUA.
How is the 15% bond calculated?
Art. 10 of the DM sets the bond at 15% of the estimated annual excise, calculated from the data in the denuncia di officina (plant declaration). It is subject to quarterly adjustment. For operators already active on December 31, 2025, the adjustment starts on April 1, 2026 (Art. 22 c. 1).
What must electricity sellers report monthly to ADM from April 1, 2026?
Art. 11 requires sellers to submit to ADM each month the quantities of electricity invoiced to final consumers in the previous month, broken down by destinazione d'uso (use type) and ambito territoriale (territorial scope), with the corresponding excise amounts. The technical format will be defined by a Determination of the ADM Director.
What changes for storage systems and renewables?
Art. 15 clarifies two points. Electricity consumed in grid-connected plants made up primarily of storage systems is exempt (Art. 52 c. 3 lett. a TUA). Conversely, electricity from renewable sources above 20 kW is NOT exempt when consumed outside the production site or by parties other than the self-producer (clarifying Art. 52 c. 3 lett. b TUA).
Legal sources
- DM 10 March 2026 - Gazzetta Ufficiale Serie Generale no. 66 of 20 March 2026 (prot. 26A01335)
- D.Lgs. 14 March 2025, no. 43 - Reform of the Testo Unico Accise (TUA)
- Art. 56-ter TUA (legal basis for the DM); artt. 52, 53, 53-bis, 55 TUA (operative rules)
- ADM Circular 32/2025 and 34/2025 - compilation instructions and transition guidance
- ADM Director Determination on the semi-annual AD-1 model (art. 55 c.14 TUA) - to be verified directly on the ADM portal
Further reading
- Complete Guide to the AD-1 Declaration - pillar reference on quadri, deadlines and excise tax calculation.
- D.Lgs. 43/2025: What Changes for AD-1 Declarations in 2026 - the primary law that the DM 10 March 2026 implements.
- Power Plant Surety Bond in Italy 2026: The New 15% Calculation - deep dive on the Art. 10 bond formula and quarterly recalibration.
- Italian Power Plant: Declarant Categories, ADM Licences and Filing Obligations - the 8 declarant categories that drive which quadri apply to your plant.