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.