By Rafe Calder
The phrase is not Italian. It is English, and it sits on a great many labels. This piece reads what the official texts say it requires. It is not legal advice.
The customs test
Article 60 of the Union Customs Code, Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, sets the rule for non-preferential origin, and EUR-Lex publishes the text. Goods wholly obtained in one country have the origin of that country. Where more than one country is involved, the goods originate in the country where they last underwent substantial, economically justified processing or working, in an undertaking equipped for that purpose, resulting in a new product or an important stage of manufacture.
So by this test, a product with imported materials can still be “Made in Italy” if the decisive processing happened there.
The stricter label
“100% Made in Italy”, “100% Italia” and “tutto italiano” are a different thing. Article 16 of Decree-Law 135/2009, converted by Law 166/2009, added paragraph 49-bis to Article 4 of Law 350/2003. The Ministry of Economic Development’s circular of 9 November 2009 explains it: a product counts as made entirely in Italy only when its design, planning, processing and packaging all took place on Italian territory.
The laws behind it
Law 350/2003, Article 4, deals with origin indications on goods. The Ministry circular of 9 November 2009 explains that Article 16 of the 2009 decree sits alongside it: the plain label follows the customs test, and the “entirely Italian” wording follows the stricter definition in paragraph 49-bis. Law 27 December 2023, no. 206, is Italy’s more recent law on promoting and protecting Made in Italy. This piece does not summarise it. Only a lawyer should say which rule governs a specific product.
A rule that was put on hold
Law 55/2010, known as the Reguzzoni law, concerns the marketing of textile, leather and footwear products and the labelling of their production stages. A summary of the customs agency’s circular of 22 September 2010 (no. 119919) says it could not be applied until implementing decrees were issued. That was the position in 2010. We have not checked later changes, so treat this as history and not as today’s rule.
Reading a label
Under Article 60, origin follows where the goods were wholly obtained or last substantially processed, so design in Italy alone does not give Italian origin when the decisive work happens elsewhere. A plain “Made in Italy” points to the customs test, “100% Made in Italy” to the stricter definition, and a brand name that merely sounds Italian to neither. The last point is our reading, not a source’s.
Dates in order
- 2003: Law 350/2003.
- 2009: Decree-Law 135/2009, Article 16, converted by Law 166/2009.
- 2010: Law 55/2010, the Reguzzoni law.
- 2013: Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, the Union Customs Code.
- 2023: Law 206/2023.
What kind of sources these are
EUR-Lex for the Union Customs Code; the Ministry of Economic Development’s circular of 9 November 2009; the text of Law 55/2010 on Normattiva; and a summary of the customs agency’s 2010 circular. We read Law 206/2023 only in part and did not read the customs agency’s circulars themselves.
What we left out
We left out penalties, certification schemes and promotion days. We give no advice on any individual product.
Quick answers
What does “Made in Italy” mean? Under Article 60 of the Union Customs Code, a product’s origin is the country where it was wholly obtained or where it last underwent substantial, economically justified processing.
What is “100% Made in Italy”? Under Article 16 of Decree-Law 135/2009, as explained in the Ministry’s 2009 circular, design, planning, processing and packaging must all take place in Italy.
Is Italian design enough to use the label? No. Under Article 60, origin follows where the goods were wholly obtained or last substantially processed.
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