New ATECO 2025 codes – implications for the tax offices and INPS

As previously announced, new ATECO codes for recording economic activities were introduced with effect from 1 January 2025, and the new codes have been legally effective since 1 April 2025. In principle, it was not necessary to actively file any notification of change, as the conversion was carried out ex officio. So much for the theory; in practice, unfortunately, matters are in many cases entirely different:

1. Companies Register:

As early as March of this year, the Bolzano Chamber of Commerce informed all businesses of the planned automatic updates and, as announced, both the old code (ATECO 2007) and the new code (ATECO 2025) are currently shown in parallel on all Chamber of Commerce extracts. The automatic conversion is carried out on the basis of a transition table drawn up by ISTAT which, unfortunately, was in many cases not unambiguous. Accordingly, it may happen that an entirely different activity appears under the new code. Businesses therefore still have until 30 November 2025 to check the codes assigned to them and, where necessary, to correct them, should the automatic conversion fail to correctly reflect the activity actually carried out. A dedicated portal has also been set up for this purpose:

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In practice, however, the use of this portal is not to be recommended, because any corrections take effect only for the Companies Register and not for the tax authorities, as explained below.

2. Tax offices:

The activity codes held by the tax office are not automatically updated as a result of the conversion. For the time being, therefore, the “old” codes reported for the principal and secondary activities remain in place there. The office also confirms (Ruling No. 24/E of 8 April 2025) that a separate notification of change is not strictly necessary. The activity code will therefore only have to be amended when, for example, a notification is filed with the tax office for other reasons (e.g. to report a new legal representative).

In the annual VAT return for 2024, due in April 2025, the old ATECO 2007 code could still optionally be retained. In the income tax return for the 2024 financial year, due in the autumn, by contrast, only the new ATECO 2025 code may be used. And those taxpayers who are subject to the ISA sector-reliability indicators will already have to take the new activity code into account in the tax return for 2024. In this connection, incidentally, an extension of the deadline for the tax payments due on 30 June 2025 is once again currently under discussion.

Recommended course of action:

1. First of all, it should be verified whether the automatic conversion in the Companies Register has been carried out correctly.

2. Should the conversion there fail to reflect the actual activity, in our view a corrective notification should not be filed via the portal proposed above, but rather by means of the single form ComUnica, since this also brings about the update with the Italian Revenue Agency.

3. If, on the other hand, the change made in the Companies Register is correct and faithfully describes the business's activity, but the business has an immediate interest in also updating its activity in the records of the tax authorities (key issues here being the “reverse charge” in the construction sector or a future composition with creditors), it is advisable to send a corrective notification to the Agency without delay using form AA5/6, AA7/10 or AA9/12.

3. NISF/INPS:

The situation at NISF/INPS, however, is even more serious: since 13 May 2025 the social security institute has been sending businesses newly assigned activity codes under the ATECO 2025 classification by means of certified e-mail (PEC) communications. In doing so, however, NISF/INPS has not adopted the conversions made in the Companies Register, but has assigned codes on the basis of its own analyses, and this may in certain circumstances give rise to serious discrepancies. It should be noted here that an incorrect classification by NISF/INPS may have consequences for the registration of the business (traders/craft trades/industry) and for the contribution rates. A meticulous review of the activity code assigned – also in consultation with the labour consultant – is therefore strongly recommended. In its letter, NISF/INPS also invites businesses to make any corrections within 90 days and, as documentation for a correction, requires (INPS Notice No. 1471 of 13 May 2025), among other things, an extract from the Companies Register (where applicable showing the appropriate activity code).

This being said, the following course of action must be recommended:

1. review and, where necessary, correction of the activity code assigned in the Companies Register;
2. correction of the code at NISF/INPS on the basis of a current Chamber of Commerce extract.