In Italy, a dated ticket cannot be returned simply because the buyer changes their mind, but cancelling the event does mean refunding the money. These are two separate rules, and confusing them is exactly what leads to a clause being struck down as unfair. On top of that sits a third layer that doesn't exist in Spain: the ticket is a tax document, and voiding it follows its own deadline, separate from the refund owed to the buyer.
Can a buyer withdraw from a ticket purchased in Italy?
No, not if the show has a set date. Article 59, paragraph 1, letter n) of the Codice del Consumo excludes from the right of withdrawal «i servizi riguardanti le attività del tempo libero qualora il contratto preveda una data o un periodo di esecuzione specifici» ("leisure services where the contract specifies a particular date or period of performance"). A concert, a play or a match with a fixed date and time fall into that last category.
The exception matters because the general rule points the other way. Article 52 establishes that «il consumatore dispone di un periodo di quattordici giorni per recedere da un contratto a distanza o negoziato fuori dei locali commerciali» ("the consumer has a period of fourteen days to withdraw from a distance contract or one negotiated away from business premises"), and Article 56 requires a refund «senza indebito ritardo e comunque entro quattordici giorni» ("without undue delay and in any event within fourteen days"). Selling online on its own usually triggers those fourteen days; selling a dated show does not.
There is one obligation that does apply to you: saying so. Article 49, paragraph 1, letter m), requires buyers to be informed before purchase that, «se non è previsto un diritto di recesso ai sensi dell'articolo 59, l'informazione che il consumatore non beneficerà di un diritto di recesso» ("where no right of withdrawal applies under Article 59, information that the consumer will not benefit from a right of withdrawal"). It isn't enough simply not to refund: you must state that there's no refund, and do so on the purchase page.
One nuance worth reading carefully — and this is our own reading of the text, not a warning from the legislator — is that the exception only applies where the contract specifies «una data o un periodo di esecuzione specifici» ("a particular date or period of performance"). A gift card or voucher with no date or performance window doesn't meet that condition. If you sell open vouchers, don't assume you're outside the fourteen-day window.
What happens if you cancel the event?
The money gets refunded, and not as a goodwill gesture. In provvedimento no. 28416 of 20 October 2020, the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato sums it up: given the supervening impossibility covered by Articles 1463 and 1464 of the Civil Code, «il professionista è tenuto alla restituzione di quanto ricevuto secondo le norme relative alla ripetizione dell'indebito e, dunque, a rimborsare il biglietto ovvero quota parte dell'abbonamento in valore proporzionale agli eventi sportivi non fruiti» ("the trader must return what it received under the rules on recovery of undue payments and, therefore, refund the ticket or the proportionate part of the season pass corresponding to the sporting events not enjoyed").
The case concerned football, but the reasoning applies to any type of show. A.S. Roma made the refund conditional on judicial proof of its «responsabilità diretta (…) per dolo e/o colpa grave» ("direct liability … through wilful misconduct and/or gross negligence"). The AGCM concluded that clauses of that kind «sono vessatorie ai sensi degli artt. 33, commi 1 e 2, lettere b) e t), nonché 34, comma 1, del Codice del Consumo» ("are unfair under Articles 33, paragraphs 1 and 2, letters b) and t), and 34, paragraph 1, of the Codice del Consumo"). On the same day, at the same meeting, the Authority also resolved proceedings CV204 against F.C. Internazionale Milano, provvedimento no. 28414, concerning season-pass clauses drafted along the same lines.
The practical takeaway for a promoter is simple: the duty to refund doesn't depend on whether you're at fault. The AGCM spells this out in point 35 of the Roma decision: that effect «prescinde dunque da qualsivoglia imputabilità dell'inadempimento, fondandosi soltanto sul dato oggettivo del mancato esatto adempimento» ("is therefore independent of any attribution of fault for the non-performance, resting solely on the objective fact that proper performance did not take place"). A storm, an artist's illness or an order from the authorities doesn't exempt you from refunding; at most, it exempts you from paying damages.
On what exactly gets refunded, the Italian ticket itself helps settle the argument. Article 3 of the DM of 13 July 2000 requires the ticket to show, printed separately, the «ammontare del corrispettivo incassato a titolo di prevendita» ("amount charged as a booking/advance-sale fee") and the amounts for any ancillary services. The show price and the booking fee are itemised separately from the moment of issue, so any refund policy that treats them differently needs to say so upfront, not afterwards.
What if you change the date, time or venue?
This is the clause the AGCM struck down explicitly. Article 5 of A.S. Roma's purchase conditions read: «Variazioni di data, orario, o luogo di disputa delle partite non daranno diritto al rimborso del prezzo del biglietto» ("Changes to the date, time or venue of matches shall not give rise to a right to a refund of the ticket price"). The ruling, in point b), declares it unfair under Articles 33, paragraphs 1 and 2, letter b), and 34, paragraph 1, of the Codice del Consumo. Carrying that kind of wording over into a festival's terms and conditions means copying a clause the regulator has already censured.
The reasoning sits in point 40 of the same decision, and it's the part most worth understanding: supervening impossibility «ricorre non solo ove sia divenuta impossibile la sua esecuzione, ma anche quando sia divenuta impossibile l'utilizzazione della stessa a favore della controparte, se tale impossibilità non è imputabile al creditore e il suo interesse a riceverla sia venuto meno» ("arises not only where performance has become impossible, but also where the use of that performance by the other party has become impossible, provided that impossibility is not attributable to the creditor and their interest in receiving it has lapsed"). If you postpone a concert from April to November, a buyer who was travelling from abroad may well have lost interest in the performance, and the AGCM accepts that they can then claim a refund instead of accepting the new date.
That doesn't turn every change into an automatic refund. Shifting the start time by thirty minutes doesn't destroy anyone's interest. What matters is whether the change affects what the buyer actually bought: date, city, venue or line-up. The practical answer is to get ahead of it and open a refund window the moment you announce a postponement, with a clear deadline and procedure. That's exactly what a well-built ticket refund policy recommends — here, though, with a regulator that has already said what it won't accept.
When must the ticket be voided in the biglietteria?
Refunding the money doesn't close the file: the ticket still has to be voided in the tax system. Article 7, paragraph 1, of the DM of 13 July 2000 sets this out: «Il titolo di accesso puo' essere annullato, tramite idonea registrazione, anche della causale, nel sistema automatizzato che ha permesso l'emissione del titolo stesso, da effettuarsi entro il quinto giorno lavorativo successivo a quello dell'evento» ("The ticket may be voided, through suitable recording, including of the reason, in the automated system that issued it, and this must be done within the fifth working day following the event"). A mandatory reason code and a short deadline.
For digital tickets the deadline is tighter. Point 10.2.1 of the Agenzia delle Entrate's provvedimento 223774/2019 states that «i titoli di accesso in forma digitale possono essere annullati entro e non oltre l'inizio dell'evento con l'indicazione della causale» ("digital tickets may be voided no later than the start of the event, stating the reason"). The same provvedimento adds that voiding transactions for digital tickets must go through traceable payment systems.
Put side by side, the two texts yield a practical rule that appears in neither of them on its own — this is our own calculation based on both: for a Friday 8pm concert sold on digital tickets, the window to void closes at 8pm that Friday; with a paper ticket, it runs until the following Friday, counting five working days. If your customer service team replies within 48 hours and the event was on a Saturday, the digital case is already out of time before anyone reads the message.
| Scenario | Deadline to void the ticket | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| Paper ticket for an event that took place | Up to the fifth working day after the event | Art. 7, para. 1, DM 13 July 2000 |
| Digital ticket or "print at home" | No later than the start of the event | Point 10.2.1, provvedimento 223774/2019 |
| Ticket issued in error and not delivered | Immediately, before delivery | Art. 7, para. 2, DM 13 July 2000 |
| Event that did not take place | Up to the deadline for paying the relevant taxes | Art. 7, para. 3, DM 13 July 2000 |
| Ticket already voided | Must be kept in full as a tax document | Art. 7, para. 4, DM 13 July 2000 |
Record-keeping isn't a minor detail: paragraph 4 requires the voided ticket to be kept «integro in tutte le sue parti a norma dell'art. 22 del decreto del Presidente della Repubblica 29 settembre 1973, n. 600» ("intact in all its parts under Article 22 of Presidential Decree no. 600 of 29 September 1973"). Point 7.2 of the 2019 provvedimento clarifies that such record-keeping «può essere effettuata anche mediante strumenti informatici» ("may also be carried out using IT tools"). And voided tickets don't vanish from the record: the single list of tickets for an event includes «tutti i singoli titoli di accesso emessi per un determinato evento compresi quelli annullati» ("all individual tickets issued for a given event, including those that have been voided").
Can you recover the VAT on a refunded ticket?
It depends on when you issue the refund, and the hinge point is the start of the show. Article 74-quater of DPR 633/1972 places the moment of the transaction at the start of the performance: supplies «si considerano effettuate nel momento in cui ha inizio l'esecuzione delle manifestazioni, ad eccezione delle operazioni eseguite in abbonamento per le quali l'imposta è dovuta all'atto del pagamento del corrispettivo» ("are deemed to take place at the moment the performance begins, except for season-pass transactions, for which tax becomes due on payment of the price"). Season passes are taxed on payment; single tickets, on the start of the show.
From that follows a consequence — our own reading of both texts, worth checking with your commercialista — that if you refund and void the ticket before the event starts, the transaction never actually took place for tax purposes. If the refund comes afterwards, the route is a correction. Article 26 of DPR 633/1972 allows the trader to deduct the tax corresponding to the adjustment when the transaction «viene meno in tutto o in parte (…) in conseguenza di dichiarazione di nullità, annullamento, revoca, risoluzione, rescissione e simili» ("ceases to apply, wholly or in part … as a result of a declaration of nullity, voidance, revocation, termination, rescission or similar"), and paragraph 3 sets a one-year limit «dall'effettuazione dell'operazione imponibile» ("from the date the taxable transaction took place") when the change arises from a later agreement between the parties.
The deadline for an event that doesn't take place can also be pinned down. Article 7, paragraph 3, of the 2000 DM refers to voiding «entro i termini di versamento delle imposte» ("within the deadlines for paying the taxes"), and Article 1 of DPR 100/1998 sets the monthly settlement «entro il giorno 16 di ciascun mese» ("by the 16th of each month"). For an organiser on monthly settlement, an event suspended on 10 March leaves the deadline for voiding its tickets at 16 April. That's our own calculation based on the two provisions, not a date published by the Agenzia delle Entrate.
What's left of the Article 88 voucher?
Less than what gets repeated in forums. Article 88 of decree-law no. 18 of 17 March 2020 built an exceptional regime: the buyer submits the request «entro trenta giorni dalla data di entrata in vigore del presente decreto, o dalla diversa data della comunicazione dell'impossibilità sopravvenuta della prestazione» ("within thirty days of this decree entering into force, or of the date on which the supervening impossibility of performance is notified"), and the organiser «provvede al rimborso o alla emissione di un voucher di importo pari al prezzo del titolo di acquisto» ("must refund the money or issue a voucher equal in value to the price of the ticket"), which under the text currently in force must be used within 36 months of issue.
That mechanism was born tied to the health-emergency suspensions, and its wording still refers back to them. Outside that scope, a voucher doesn't replace money unless the buyer agrees to it: the underlying rule remains the restitution set out in Articles 1463 and 1464 of the Civil Code that the AGCM relies on. Importing the voucher mechanism into a 2026 festival's terms and conditions, as if it were the ordinary regime, is exactly the kind of clause the Authority scrutinises.
Article 88 itself also includes a safeguard built for live music: the organiser of popular-music concerts must refund the amount paid «quando la prestazione dell'artista originariamente programmata sia annullata, senza rinvio ad altra data» ("when the originally scheduled performance by the artist is cancelled, with no new date set"). Even under the most promoter-friendly regime Italy has had, cancellation with no new date always ended in a refund.
Alternatives to a refund: name changes and official resale
When the event does go ahead, Italian law offers a way out other than a refund. For shows with a capacity above 5,000 spectators, where the ticket is personalised, point 6.3 of the 2019 provvedimento requires every system holder to guarantee «la possibilità del cambio di nominativo di un titolo di accesso nominativo emesso attraverso lo stesso sistema» ("the possibility of changing the name on a personalised ticket issued through that same system"), through voidance with a reason code and simultaneous issue of a new ticket. Point 6.4 adds the option of putting the ticket back on sale, with the system acting as intermediary.
That route comes with its own transparency obligation. Point 5.6 requires «una chiara ed esaustiva informativa su modalità, tempi e costi relativi alle operazioni di cambio nominativo e di rimessa in vendita» ("clear and comprehensive information on the method, timing and costs of name-change and resale operations"). If you charge for a name change, the amount must be published before purchase, just like the price. The requirements for the issuing system, the carta di attivazione and the sigillo fiscale are covered in the guide on selling tickets in Italy with SIAE and the biglietteria, and the permit for the show itself in the guide on event permits in Italy.
For the organiser, a well-run official resale turns a refund into a transfer: the seat gets filled, the new buyer is added to the single list, and the money never leaves the transaction. It's the same logic behind a waiting list with official resale for sold-out events, applied to a framework where the change of holder is already regulated point by point.
And what part of this does Futura Tickets cover?
Best to say it plainly: issuing tickets in Italy requires a system with a provvedimento di idoneità from the Agenzia delle Entrate, a carta di attivazione managed by SIAE, and a sigillo fiscale on every ticket. That's a requirement of the issuing system, not a vendor preference, and no platform can replace it with a marketing claim. What you can reasonably demand of any platform is what this guide calls for: voidance with a reason code and timestamp, refunds to the original payment method, traceability of every voided ticket, and an export of the list that reconciles with the riepiloghi. Futura Tickets is a Spanish SaaS ticketing platform for professional organisers: no monthly fee, €0 a month, and it hands the organiser 100% of the attendee database — full emails and phone numbers — in compliance with GDPR. If you're comparing options, the ticketing software available is a good starting point.
Checklist before opening sales in Italy
Six checks, all to complete before the first ticket is sold.
State clearly that there's no right of withdrawal, and where buyers can read it. Article 49, paragraph 1, letter m), of the Codice del Consumo requires this to be disclosed before purchase. If it only appears in the terms and conditions linked in the footer, check that buyers are actually directed there.
Strike out any "no right to a refund" wording from your terms. Clauses denying refunds for changes of date, time or venue were declared unfair by the AGCM on 20 October 2020. Replace them with a refund window with a clear deadline.
Don't make the refund conditional on fault. The duty to refund under Articles 1463 and 1464 of the Civil Code doesn't depend on wilful misconduct or gross negligence, according to the AGCM itself.
Keep the ticket price and the booking fee separate from the moment of issue. The DM of 13 July 2000 already requires them to be printed separately. Your refund policy must state, before purchase, what gets refunded from each.
Run two clocks in your refund process. One for the money, one for voiding the ticket: start of the event for digital tickets, the fifth working day for paper ones, and the tax-payment deadline if the event doesn't take place at all.
Keep the voided ticket in full. It's a tax document that can also be stored electronically, and the event's single ticket list must still include it.
Conclusion
Italy keeps three clocks separate that, in Spain, tend to get blurred together: the consumer clock, which has no right of withdrawal but does guarantee restitution; the regulator clock, which has already said which clauses it won't accept when a date changes; and the tax clock, which closes the window to void a digital ticket the moment the event starts. A promoter who only watches the first one ends up with the money refunded and the ticket still unvoided, or the other way round. All three can be planned before sales open, in the same way capacity or the line-up are planned, and all three rest on public texts that anyone can read on Normattiva, at the Agenzia delle Entrate and at the AGCM.
Sources
- Codice del Consumo, D.Lgs. 206/2005, art. 59 (Eccezioni al diritto di recesso) — Normattiva
- Codice del Consumo, art. 52 (Diritto di recesso) — Normattiva
- Codice del Consumo, art. 56 (Obblighi del professionista nel caso di recesso) — Normattiva
- Codice del Consumo, art. 49 (Obblighi di informazione nei contratti a distanza) — Normattiva
- DPR 633/1972, art. 74-quater (Disposizioni per le attività spettacolistiche) — Normattiva
- DPR 633/1972, art. 26 (Variazioni dell'imponibile o dell'imposta) — Normattiva
- DPR 100/1998, art. 1 (Liquidazioni e versamenti mensili) — Normattiva
- Decreto-legge 17 marzo 2020, n. 18, art. 88 (Rimborso di titoli di acquisto di biglietti per spettacoli) — Normattiva
- Decreto del Ministero delle Finanze of 13 July 2000, tickets and voidance (Agenzia delle Entrate, PDF)
- Provvedimento del Direttore dell'Agenzia delle Entrate no. 223774 of 27 June 2019 (PDF)
- Biglietterie automatizzate: che cos'è (Agenzia delle Entrate)
- AGCM, provvedimento no. 28416, CV208 — A.S. Roma, clausole rimborso biglietti, 20 October 2020 (PDF)
- AGCM, provvedimento no. 28414, CV204 — F.C. Internazionale Milano, clausole rimborso biglietti, 20 October 2020 (PDF)
- Biglietterie automatizzate e controllo accessi (SIAE)