All owners of television equipment or any other equipment able or adaptable so to receive television are required by Italian law to have a television licence. The licence, colloquially known as canone Rai, is used to part-fund the Italian public service broadcaster Rai. The licence fee was introduced for owners of radio sets in 1923, and is currently governed by a law which dates back to 1938. The annual cost of the licence fee is around €100 once VAT (IVA) is accounted for.
Unlike television licensing in the United Kingdom, there is no exception for those who only use a TV to receive non-broadcast signals such as playing DVDs or watching online videos.
However, if the TV is physically unable to receive any broadcast signals (usually through removing the tuner or having the antenna input sealed through an operation called Sigillatura), no set-top boxes are used to receive broadcasts and only using home media or IPTV, an exemption form may be filed every year to gain a one-year exemption from the tax.
From January 2016 all Italian electricity bills will carry a monthly surcharge which will be the equivalent of one tenth of the annual TV licence fee.
Cost of the licence fee over time
The following table shows the cost of the licence fee excluding the base rate and valued-added tax.
Year Black & White TV Color TV 1981 L. 36,320 L. 66,930Decreto Ministeriale 12/08/1980 n. 528600 1988 L. 88,740 L. 108,770DM 04/07/1987 n. 478600 1990 L. 113,700 L. 114,680DM 27/12/1989 n. 938500 1991 L. 131,140DM 20/12/1990 n. 869200 1992 L. 137,730DM 20/12/1991 n. 959100 1998 L. 156,150DM 29/11/1996 n. 10172400 1999 L. 160,530DM 16/12/1998, n. 1373700 2000 L. 164,860DM 13/12/1999, n. 1354200 2001 L. 167,360DM 13/12/2000, n. 1383200 2002 € 87.76DM 30/11/2001, n. 18919 2003 € 91DM 20/12/2002, n. 10281 2004 € 93.46DM 22/12/2003, n. 13061 2007 € 97.76DM 15/12/2006, n. 24789 2008 € 98.72DM 18/12/2007, n. 29373 2024 € 70.00https://www.enel.it/en/supporto/faq/canone-rai
Abrogation Proposal On 5 January 2018, Italian former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi proposed to abolish the Rai licensing fee.
Notes