New regulations for the pallet exchange system provided for by Law No. 182/2025, in application of the guidelines.

Following the publication in the Official Gazette of Law No. 182/2025, which introduced certain amendments to Law No. 51 of 20 May 2022 concerning the pallet exchange system, and the provision contained in the new wording of Article 17-ter, the "pallet exchange" trade associations, in agreement with the pallet systems, have drawn up guidelines to provide detailed procedural and operational instructions and clarifications on the changes introduced. The operational guidelines have been published by the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy. Article 17-ter refers to the provisions of Article 11-bis of Legislative Decree No. 286/2005, under which the general rule continues to apply whereby the carrier is exempt from any obligation to manage and return pallets where the goods to be transported are packed or stowed on designated handling units.
The guidelines applicable to the "pallet exchange" system are set out below:

• the types of pallets covered by the exchange system, the requirements for pallet systems and the scope of application within the national territory;
• the identification of the parties involved in the pallet exchange system (Owner/Client, Recipient, Other authorised party) and their respective obligations;
• the obligation to return pallets, including details of possible exemptions;
• the definition of "reasonable distance" for the return of pallets;
• the timeframe for returning pallets;
• the requirement that the details contained in the transport document regarding the pallets received must not be altered;
• the cases of simultaneous and deferred pallet exchange, with particular focus also on the handling of disputes regarding the type, quantity and quality of the pallets;
• the VAT treatment applied by the recipient to the pallet voucher in the event that the pallets are not returned.