Italy: official food control analyses excluded from value added tax
On 9 March 2026 the tax administration confirmed that fees for analyses done by official laboratories within food and feed controls fall outside value added tax.
- Official laboratories are designated by the regions as competent authorities, and designation requires accreditation to UNI CEI EN ISO/IEC 17025.
- The ruling concerns amounts charged to cover the cost of tests, trials and diagnoses under the EU official controls regulation.
- For a laboratory this is not purely accounting: it changes how the price of an official test compares with the same test ordered commercially.