In Italy, every power plant operator that produces, distributes, or consumes electricity above the 20 kW threshold must register an officina elettrica(power plant) with the Italian Customs Agency (ADM) and file periodic AD-1 consumption returns. The specific obligations, which ADM license you need, which quadri of the AD-1 form you must complete, and whether excise duty is due, depend on the operator's declarant category (figura dichiarante) under Arts. 52-54 of the Testo Unico delle Accise (TUA, the Italian Excise Code).

This guide covers the 8 declarant categories recognized by ADM, the corresponding license types, and the AD-1 quadri each category must complete. Once you have identified your category here, our complete guide to the AD-1 declaration walks through how to fill in those quadri and calculate the excise due.

Quick definitions

Power plant (officina elettrica): Fiscal unit recognized by ADM that holds the license, accounting records, and AD-1 filing; it may group multiple sites of the same operator.
Declarant category (figura dichiarante): Category of liable operator (8 types under Arts. 52–54 TUA as updated by D.Lgs. 43/2025); determines license type and mandatory AD-1 quadri.
Operating license (licenza di esercizio): ADM authorization required for renewable producers above 20 kW, BESS with third-party supply, RIU operators, and non-renewable producers.
Authorization (Art. 53 TUA): Lighter ADM act than the license; typical for purchasers with own use or mixed use.
BESS: Battery Energy Storage System; does not produce energy but absorbs and returns it. Triggers obligations when discharged energy is supplied to third parties.
RIU: Rete Interna d'Utenza: private network connecting multiple injection and withdrawal points within a delimited perimeter.
20 kW threshold: Available power (potenza disponibile) at or below which self-consumed renewable plants fall outside the scope of excise (Art. 52, paragraph 2, letter a TUA).

The 8 declarant categories at a glance

Category	Description	Excise due?	Key quadri
1	Renewable producer not subject to excise (PV, wind, hydro; own use, ≤20 kW)	No	None (no AD-1 required)
2	Total grid injection producer (>20 kW, feeds the grid, no own use)	No	A, G + suppliers list
3	Excise-liable producer (any source, own use or sales)	Yes	A, B, C, E, G, J, L, M, P, Q + suppliers list
4	Purchaser for own use (buys from grid, self-consumes)	Yes	B, C, E, H, J, L, M, P, Q
5	Purchaser for resale / distributor	Yes (on sales)	B, C, E, H, I, J, L, M, K, P, Q + client and suppliers lists
6	Mixed-use purchaser (own use + resale)	Yes	Same set as category 5, with own use and resale metered apart
7	BESS operator (storage system)	Depends on use	G (outflow code R), plus the consumption and settlement quadri of the host category
8	RIU operator (internal distribution network)	Yes	G (outflow code A) or I (sale code L), plus the consumption and settlement quadri

Category 1: Small renewable producer not subject to excise

Photovoltaic, wind, or hydroelectric plants with available power at or below 20 kW, where the producer self-consumes the entire output (no grid injection beyond net metering), fall outside the scope of electricity excise under Art. 52, paragraph 2, letter a TUA. No power plant registration is required, and no AD-1 is filed.

This is the most common setup for domestic rooftop solar in Italy. The 20 kW threshold is a capacity test, not a production test: what matters is the available power of the plant, not how many kWh it generates in a year. Available power is also not the same as the nameplate rating of the modules. A photovoltaic array of 24 kWp behind a 20 kW inverter has 20 kW of available power and stays under the threshold.

Category 2: Larger renewable producer in total grid injection

Renewable producers above 20 kW that feed all (or substantially all) of their electricity into the national grid and do not consume it on site. No excise falls on them, because no taxable consumption occurs at the plant. The plant must still be notified, and AD-1 quadri A (production meter readings) and G (outflows by type, which is where grid injection sits) must be filed, together with the suppliers list. That return is annual, not semi-annual: ADM Circular 9/D of May 7, 2026 expressly excludes the parties named in Art. 56-bis TUA from the new semi-annual declarations. The next deadline for tax year 2026 is March 31, 2027.

Category 3: Excise-liable producer

Any electricity producer above 20 kW that consumes part or all of its own output on site, or sells it directly without going through a licensed distributor. This covers:

Commercial photovoltaic plants with self-consumption
Cogeneration (CHP) units
Diesel generators used as primary or backup power
Renewable energy communities (CER) producing for member consumption

Required quadri: A (production meter readings), B (electricity purchased), C (breakdown of own consumption), E (metered transfers out), G (outflows by type), J, L and M (consumption split into out of scope, exempt and taxable), P and Q (excise settlement by territorial area and balance), plus the suppliers list. An ADM production license (licenza di officina) is required.

Category 4: Purchaser for own use

An operator that buys electricity from the grid (via a licensed supplier) and consumes all of it for its own use, without reselling to third parties. This is typical for large industrial consumers buying directly on the wholesale market or under interruptible supply contracts.

Required quadri: B (electricity purchased), C (breakdown of own consumption), E (metered transfers out), H (energy received), J, L and M (consumption by tax status), P and Q (settlement and balance). An ADM consumption license (licenza di utenza) is required.

Category 5: Purchaser for resale (distributor)

Electricity distributors and resellers that buy from the grid or a producer and sell to end consumers. The excise obligation falls on the final sale to the end consumer; the distributor collects and remits excise on behalf of its customers.

Required quadri: B, C, E and H (the measurement and inflow quadri), I (sales by type, with the client list), K (billing corrections spanning earlier periods), J, L and M (consumption by tax status), P and Q (settlement and balance), plus the suppliers list. An ADM distribution license is required.

Category 6: Mixed-use purchaser

An operator that both consumes electricity for its own use and resells a portion to other parties (for example, an industrial site that also supplies electricity to tenant businesses on the same premises). Own-use and resale components must be declared separately.

Required quadri: the same set as category 5. This is the most complex category and usually requires careful metering to separate own-use from resale flows.

Category 7: BESS operator

Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) operators get a specific treatment under D.Lgs. 43/2025: electricity charged into the battery is not taxable at the point of charge, but is taxable when discharged for consumption or sale. The net charge/discharge balance over the declaration period determines excise liability.

There is no dedicated storage quadro: electricity released from a battery into the grid is an outflow in Quadro G under destination code R, while electricity discharged for consumption is reported among the consumption quadri J, L or M according to its tax status and settled in P and Q.

Category 8: RIU operator

Operators of reti interne di utenza (RIU, internal user networks): private electricity distribution networks within industrial sites, business parks, or similar enclosed areas that supply multiple users from a single connection point. The RIU operator is responsible for the excise on all electricity consumed within the network.

There is no dedicated RIU quadro either: supplies to consortium members run through Quadro G under outflow code A, or through Quadro I under sale code L when the member has no autonomous POD. RIU operators need a specific ADM registration and face additional metering obligations to track consumption by individual user within the network.

Identifying your declarant category

The correct declarant category depends on the combination of:

Plant type: production, distribution, storage, network
Available power: above or below the 20 kW threshold
Energy source: renewable vs. non-renewable (affects exemption eligibility)
End use: own consumption, resale to third parties, or mixed
Grid injection: whether surplus is fed into the national grid

If your plant characteristics change during the reference period (for example, you add a BESS or start selling surplus energy), you may need to file under a different or combined category. Deklara's wizard guides you through category selection based on your answers and automatically loads the correct set of quadri for your AD-1.

Italian Power Plant: ADM Licenses and AD-1 Quadri