Fiscal decree breaks the stalemate on dealbreakers: applause from UIV, but now the interministerial decree is missing
Under the previous regulatory framework only distilleries already authorised to handle the alcohol produced by the dealcoholisation process would have been allowed to start producing dealcoholised wines
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"Yesterday's approval of the tax decree has broken the deadlock on dealcoholised wines, which risked continuing until 2026. Now the Economy and Agriculture Ministries will be able to work right away on the interministerial decree that will define the conditions and tax authorisations for the production of dealcolates in Italy as well. In appreciating what was established yesterday, UIV hopes for a prompt response from the two ministries in charge in order to implement a decree that the sector has been waiting for for some time'.
This is the comment of the secretary general of the Italian Wine Union (UIV), Paolo Castelletti on yesterday's tax decree scheme that brought forward the deadline by which the Masaf and Mef interministerial decree must be adopted.
The tax decree remains the last knot to be untied to allow - finally - companies to produce dealcoholic wines in Italy.
At the end of last March, Decree-Law No. 43 in fact amended the Consolidated Law on Excise Duty by inserting Article 33-ter to regulate the process of dealcoholisation in the fiscal sphere, postponing to an interministerial decree of the Ministries of the Economy and Agriculture the definition of the conditions relating to the set-up of the fiscal warehouse and the simplified methods of assessment and accounting for excise duty for these products.
However, the late entry into force of the regulation - set for 1 January 2026 - has prompted the UIV in recent weeks to call for a transitional intervention to fill the regulatory gap and not block production for a further six months.
In fact, according to the previous regulatory framework, only distilleries already authorised to handle the alcohol produced by the dealcoholisation process would have been able to start producing dealcoholised wines, while all other companies would have been forced, until 1 January 2025, either to turn to distilleries or to continue to go abroad to make their own no-alcohol or low-alcohol wines. Now, however, once the Mef-Masaf interministerial decree is passed, all doubts will be resolved and production can begin immediately without having to wait another six months.
