Dolos tecti ambagesque (non) resoluit… How Judgment No. 43 of 2025 of the Italian Constitutional Court Got Lost in the Labyrinth of the Direct Effects of Incorrectly Transposed Tax Directives
…Come la sentenza n. 43 del 2025 della Corte costituzionale si è persa nel labirinto degli effetti diretti delle direttive non correttamente recepite in materia tributaria
…Comment l’arrêt n° 43 de 2025 de la Cour constitutionnelle italienne s’est perdu dans le labyrinthe des effets directs des directives mal transposées en matière fiscale
…Comment l’arrêt n° 43 de 2025 de la Cour constitutionnelle italienne s’est perdu dans le labyrinthe des effets directs des directives mal transposées en matière fiscale
…How Judgment No. 43 of 2025 of the Italian Constitutional Court Got Lost in the Labyrinth of the Direct Effects of Incorrectly Transposed Tax Directives
The article examines Italian Constitutional Court judgment no. 43 of 2025 concerning the provincial surcharge on the excise duty on electricity, reconstructing the jurisprudential evolution that preceded the Court’s intervention and the ensuing systemic implications. After analyzing the conflict between domestic law and Directive 2008/118/EC, the case law on standing in actions for reimbursement of the surcharge, and the unresolved issue of the absence of horizontal effect of directives, the article highlights how the Constitutional Court, while acknowledging the impossibility for ordinary judges to disapply national law in horizontal relation-ships, opted for a declaration of unconstitutionality with ex tunc effects. This choice, while neutralizing the prohibition of horizontal effect, simultaneously produces significant consequences for the relationships between consumers, suppliers and the State, by duplicating litigation and aggravating the position of suppliers, without delivering any genuine benefit to consumers. From a critical-reconstructive perspective, the article questions the soundness of the judgment under both Italian constitutional and EU law, asking whether the Court’s approach risks creating tension with Article 288 TFEU and with the principle of legitimate expectations. In conclusion, the paper advances an alternative interpretative solution, grounded in a conforming reading of Article 29 of Law no. 428/1990, which would enable consumers to bring claims directly against the State, thereby avoiding both the risk of implicit horizontal effects and the duplication of proceedings.
