TD17, TD18 or TD19: which code to use for a foreign supplier's invoice
Services from a foreign supplier: TD17. Goods shipped to Italy from another EU country: TD18; goods already in Italy: TD19. Answer a few questions to get the code, the VAT nature code when needed, the amount in euro at the ECB rate and the date by which to send it to SdI.
Your answers and the amount stay in your browser. Only currency and date reach our server, to ask the ECB for the rate.
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How the code is chosen
The questions follow the Italian Revenue Agency guide to e-invoicing and the esterometro (version 1.10 of 1 April 2025) and the technical specifications in force (version 1.9.1). Each answer rules out some cases, until one is left.
- TD17: services bought from a foreign supplier and taxable in Italy, such as consulting, software and advertising. You integrate the invoice if the supplier is in the EU, you issue a self-invoice if it is outside the EU.
- TD18: goods bought from an EU supplier and shipped to Italy from another EU country (intra-EU acquisition).
- TD19: goods already in Italy, or installed or assembled here by the foreign supplier.
- No TD: non-EU goods cleared with a customs import declaration, general services or goods already in Italy bought from a supplier invoicing from its permanent establishment in Italy, purchases outside the scope of Italian VAT up to 5,000 euro.
The amount in euro at the ECB rate
The law asks for the rate of the day the transaction took place, or of the invoice date if the transaction date isn't shown. If there is no quotation that day, the closest previous day applies, and for all the year's transactions you can use the European Central Bank rate (art. 13(4) DPR 633/72). For intra-EU acquisitions, art. 43 Decree-Law 331/93 refers to the same rule.
The tool asks the ECB for the reference rate of that day. On weekends and on TARGET closing days (1 January, Good Friday, Easter Monday, 1 May, 25 and 26 December) the ECB publishes no rates, and the last one published before is used. The conversion is our own calculation: amount in the currency divided by the rate, rounded to the cent.
The ECB publishes reference rates for 29 currencies. For other currencies the tool says so and doesn't convert.
The deadline
The document must reach SdI by the 15th of the month after the month you received the invoice, for EU suppliers, or the month the transaction took place, for non-EU suppliers (art. 1(3-bis) Legislative Decree 127/2015 and technical specifications 1.9.1). If the 15th is a Saturday or a public holiday, the deadline moves to the next working day (art. 7(1)(h) Decree-Law 70/2011).
In the document's Date field enter the date you received the EU invoice, or any day in the same month, or the date the non-EU transaction took place.
If the invoice doesn't arrive, or arrives late, circular 26/E/2022 (answer 2.2) counts the deadline from the month the transaction counts as carried out.
Credit notes
For a credit note from a foreign supplier you use the same code as the integration (TD17, TD18 or TD19) with negative amounts, never TD04. Field 2.1.6 DatiFattureCollegate holds the details of the credit note you received (Agency guide, p. 8).
The guide's example: TD18 for 200 euro with 44 euro VAT on a French supplier's invoice, then a 20 euro credit note, corrected with a TD18 for -20 euro and -4.40 euro VAT.
What the tool doesn't cover
On these cases the tool doesn't answer, or says so in the result:
- San Marino and Vatican City, which have their own rules.
- Services with special place-of-taxation rules (art. 7-quater and following DPR 633/72), beyond those listed in the questions.
- Zero-rated purchases under a VAT ceiling, exempt purchases or goods in a VAT warehouse, where the nature code changes (N3.5, N4, N3.6).
- Amount and deadline of credit notes.
- Italian VAT charged by mistake by the foreign supplier: what matters is whether the supplier actually paid it in Italy.
- A supplier with a permanent establishment in Italy, for goods arriving from another EU country or purchases outside the scope of Italian VAT.
- From 1 January 2027 the VAT Consolidated Act (Legislative Decree 10/2026) renumbers the articles cited: art. 7-ter DPR 633/72 becomes art. 17, art. 13 becomes art. 27, art. 17 becomes art. 64; arts. 38 and 46 Decree-Law 331/93 become arts. 8 and 97.
Official sources
- Italian Revenue Agency, guide to e-invoices and the esterometro, v1.10 (1 April 2025, in Italian)
- Italian Revenue Agency, e-invoice technical specifications, version 1.9.1
- Italian Revenue Agency, circular 26/E of 13 July 2022 (esterometro)
- Legislative Decree 127/2015, art. 1 (Normattiva)
- DPR 633/72, art. 7-ter (Normattiva)
- DPR 633/72, art. 13 (Normattiva)
- DPR 633/72, art. 17 (Normattiva)
- Decree-Law 331/93, art. 38 (Normattiva)
- Decree-Law 331/93, art. 46 (Normattiva)
- Legislative Decree 471/97, art. 6 (Normattiva)
- Italian Revenue Agency, circular 16/E of 2017 (reverse charge penalties)
- Decree-Law 70/2011, art. 7 (Normattiva)
- Legislative Decree 10/2026, VAT Consolidated Act, applying from 1 January 2027 (Normattiva)
- European Central Bank, euro foreign exchange reference rates
- European Central Bank, statistical data API (EXR dataset)
- European Central Bank, terms of use: free use with the source acknowledged
Tool built and maintained by LiftyUP using the official sources cited on this page. Rules and sources checked on 18 October 2026.
The tool helps you find your way and doesn't replace a professional's assessment of the actual case. Reference rates: source European Central Bank; the amount conversion is our own calculation.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between TD17, TD18 and TD19?
TD17 is for services bought from a foreign supplier, TD18 for goods arriving in Italy from another EU country, TD19 for goods already in Italy when you buy them from a foreign supplier. With all three you integrate the supplier's invoice, or issue the self-invoice, and report the data to SdI.
When must TD17 be sent?
By the 15th of the month after the month you received the invoice, if the supplier is in the EU, or the month the transaction took place, if it is outside the EU. If the 15th is a Saturday or a public holiday, it moves to the next working day. The same applies to TD18 and TD19.
Do I use TD04 for a credit note from a foreign supplier?
No. You use the same TD as the integration (TD17, TD18 or TD19) with negative amounts and enter the details of the credit note in the DatiFattureCollegate field (Agency guide, p. 8).
Goods bought in China or the United States: do I need TD19?
If the goods enter Italy with a customs import declaration, no: VAT is paid at customs and the declaration removes the reporting obligation (circular 26/E/2022). TD19 is for goods that were already in Italy when you bought them.
Hotel or restaurant abroad: must it be reported?
These purchases are outside the scope of Italian VAT. You report them with TD17 and nature N2.2 only above 5,000 euro per transaction, foreign VAT included (art. 1(3-bis) Legislative Decree 127/2015 and circular 26/E/2022).
Which exchange rate do I use for an invoice in dollars?
The rate of the day the transaction took place, or of the invoice date if the transaction date isn't shown. You can use the ECB reference rate; if none was published that day, the last one before applies (art. 13(4) DPR 633/72).