Circular economy

Right to repair of household appliances: transposition started

Bill passed for national standard to come into force in 2026. The industry calls for incentives, concessions and ad hoc training

by Alexis Paparo

14 August 2025

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Key points

Retail sector
The repair market

3' min read

Making it easier torepair a range of products - including household appliances and smartphones -, obliging manufacturers to offer quick and reasonably priced repairs, promoting incentives, extending the warranty by one year after repair, and prohibiting technical or legal obstacles to repairs and the use ofindependent spare parts. These are some of the main points of the EU directive 2024/1799 promoting the right to repair of consumer goods, the transposition of which was included in the European delegation bill passed in the Council of Ministers on 22 July. The path to full operativeness is only at the beginning: the bill will have to pass through Parliament and, even after its approval, the actual entry into force in Italy of the principles laid down in the directive will take place after 31 July 2026..

The Italian rules could, for example, provide for specific remedies to protect consumers in the event that the repairer does not carry out the repair after the customer has accepted the repair form, as required by the directive. And, at the same time, an effective system of sanctions could be defined and a supervisory and control system set up to ensure the correct application of the new rules, integrating them with the legislation already in force.

From the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy (Mimit) they point out that work on transposition is ongoing. As far as implementing measures are concerned, it is expected that our country will join theEuropean online platform for repair (it will not create a national one), populating the relevant national section.

In addition, the directive indicates that Member States shall provide at least one measure to promote repair, but at the moment there are no incentives for the Italian industry in this regard, although Member States will have to notify the European Commission of the measures taken by 31 July 2029.

The retail sector

According to Davide Rossi, Director General of Aires (Italian Association of Specialised Household Appliances Retailers) and EuCer Council, the Association of Consumer Electronics Retailers in Europe, "Right to Repair should be read as both the consumer's right to repair and the right of independent operators to offer repairs. We hope for a clear decree that will touch on repair prices and incentives. Today,' explains Rossi, 'the price of spare parts is decided by suppliers: if changing an original screen costs 80% of the new product, no one will do it. The prices of spare parts have to be set at a reasonable margin. In addition, we need full availability of technical manuals and the possibility to produce some non-patented components with 3D printers.

The issue of training and incentives is also crucial: 'We hope for a VAT exemption at least on the cost of repair work, it would be a concrete help for operators and for the relaunch of the sector.

The aim, for Rossi, is twofold: to promote the sector and to create jobs. "The repair and second-hand market can create stable jobs, also in depressed and rural areas," he points out, noting that in Vienna there is already a state incentive of up to EUR 200 for the repair of electronic items.

"We are in contact with both MIMIT and a number of MEPs, because we would like the Parliament to take a fresh look at the directive with a resolution that is clearer - for example on the definition of 'reasonable' for thecost of repairs and labour - , effective and really useful for launching the sector.

The repair market

According to data from Confartigianato, the repair sector counts 316 thousand enterprises, of which 237,500 are craftsmen. It employs 904 thousand people and Italy is the European country with the highest percentage of the repair sector's weight on the economy. The sector is worth 113 billion euro in turnover.

"The numbers could grow if repairs become a fair market where the principles of durability, quality, sustainability coexist with the right to repair and the rights of repair companies," explains Marco Granelli, president of Confartigianato. "Every year, 35 milliontonnes of products that are still usable end their life becoming waste and the choice to replace rather than repair costs European consumers almost EUR 12 billion a year". To support and stimulate the sector, according to Granelli, the parliamentary discussion process leading to the approval of the Italian law should clarify some key points that remain unresolved.

To date, 'there is no clear obligation for manufacturers to make spare parts available to repairers,' explains Granelli, 'and it is also unclear whether the online platform for repair or the European repair module provide for an additional cost for companies. Finally, there are no facilities or fiscal reliefs to make repair more attractive, nor concrete actions to counter the practice of programmed obsolescence of electrical and electronic products'.

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