What is SDI (Sistema di Interscambio)?
The Sistema di Interscambio (SDI) is the Agenzia delle Entrate platform through which every Italian e-invoice travels. E-invoicing through SDI is mandatory for every partita IVA holder, including forfettari. An invoice legally exists only once it has been transmitted to SDI.
Finn does your books in Italy
AccountsOS runs full accounting for Italy businesses, tax, deadlines and invoicing, in plain English. Ask Finn about yours, no signup needed.
Example
A consultant in Italy issues an invoice. It counts as an Italian invoice only when it has been sent through SDI, using the Fatture e Corrispettivi portal or their own SDI provider. A PDF emailed from AccountsOS does not count.
How SDI (Sistema di Interscambio) works in Italy
The recipient is addressed by a 7-character codice destinatario or by PEC. SDI rejects an invoice whose buyer partita IVA or codice fiscale is not in the Anagrafe Tributaria. Received e-invoices arrive as FatturaPA XML.
AccountsOS does not transmit to SDI. A PDF invoice issued from AccountsOS is not a legal Italian invoice. The user issues the legal invoice through the Fatture e Corrispettivi portal of the Agenzia delle Entrate or through their own SDI provider. AccountsOS keeps the books: it records the invoice, tracks it, and reconciles the payment when it arrives in the bank feed.
For received invoices, forward the PDF copy to Finn, which posts it as a bill. Finn does not yet read FatturaPA XML files, so an XML-only attachment is not ingested.
Related terms
IVA (Imposta sul Valore Aggiunto) is Italian VAT. The ordinary rate is 22%, with reduced rates of 10%, 5% and 4%. It is paid through the modello F24.
The regime forfetario is a flat-rate regime for Italian sole traders and professionals. It taxes a fixed share of revenue at a 15% substitute tax, or 5% for the first five years of a new activity, with no IVA charged and no IRAP.
The partita IVA is the 11-digit Italian VAT number. The codice fiscale has 11 digits for companies and 16 alphanumeric characters for people. The codice destinatario used for e-invoicing has 7 characters.
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