The Italian Supreme Court (Corte di Cassazione) issued Order No. 22838/2025 regarding the procedure for serving documents on Italian citizens residing abroad and registered with AIRE.
The case concerned a tax assessment notice sent by registered mail to the recipient living abroad and enrolled in AIRE. The letter, addressed to the residence declared by the taxpayer upon registration with AIRE, was never collected.
The Italian Revenue Agency considered the notification procedure validly completed through “compiuta giacenza” (constructive delivery), a situation in which the recipient is absent at the time of delivery and fails to collect the item within the statutory period. In such cases, the act is deemed effective as if it had actually been received.
The taxpayer challenged the assessment before the First Instance Tax Court, claiming that he had become aware of the notice long after the (alleged) date of service.
The appeal was dismissed at first instance and again on appeal. The taxpayer then filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, advancing four grounds of appeals:
- Irregularity of the first notification, since service by registered mail with return receipt is permitted only if carried out by an authorized officer (such as the municipal process server or special server under Article 60(1)(a) of Presidential Decree 600/73);
- Nullity of service due to lack of proof of sending the registered letter containing the notice of deposit;
- Violation of Article 60(1)(e) of Presidential Decree 600/73 (failure of the municipal server to conduct searches), wrongly deemed unnecessary in light of the alleged valid initial notification;
- Wrongful denial of restoration of time limits, despite exceptional circumstances not attributable to the taxpayer, which prevented him from collecting the deposited letter at the municipal office.
The Supreme Court declared the grounds manifestly unfounded, basing its decision on the clear wording of the law and reaffirming its established case law (see Cass. 16696/2013, Cass. 13753/2023, C.T.R. 1242/2025).
Specifically, the Court noted that, following the introduction of paragraphs 4 and 5 of Article 60 by Law Decree 40/2010, the rules governing notification of acts to Italian citizens residing abroad have changed.
Thus, notification by registered letter with return receipt sent to the foreign residence declared in AIRE is fully valid. Conversely, notification by an authorized server is limited to cases of absolute unavailability, i.e., when notification at the addresses declared by the taxpayer proves unsuccessful.
In this case, therefore, the Court did not accept the taxpayer’s claim regarding the irregularity of the first notification. The registered letter had been duly sent to the address declared by the taxpayer in AIRE, and despite the notice of attempted delivery, the taxpayer failed to collect the letter.
Moreover, the Supreme Court’s reasoning rests not only on legal grounds but also firmly rooted on logical arguments:
- Good faith: if the taxpayer communicates an address to the Italian State upon AIRE registration, the tax administration may legitimately rely on the accuracy of that declaration;
- Reasonableness: the solution adopted by the Court aligns with principles of reasonableness.
To require the Italian Public Administration to notify abroad through an authorized officer would be unreasonably burdensome.
Therefore, notification to the address declared in AIRE, as provided by Article 60(4) of Legislative Decree 600/1973, is consistent with principles of efficiency, logic, and sound administration, including the proper exercise of tax jurisdiction.
