AGCM Fines Italy: Green Claims Rules from 2026

New penalty rules, wider prohibited-claims lists and a ticking compliance deadline — what foreign businesses operating in Italy must do now

#159 · LANG: English (en) · AREA: Product Compliance, Liability & Consumer Law · TYPE: Legal update / what changed · MODEL: Sonnet 5 · SEO 84/100 · Flesch Reading Ease 34 · fonte: 01_ENG_PT_batch_articles_16items_2026-08-14_h10-02_vulm.doc

URL: https://panatolawfirm.com/en/agcm-fines-italy-green-claims-2026

ABSTRACT: Italy's competition authority, the AGCM, gained sharper enforcement teeth on 24 March 2026 when Legislative Decree No. 30/2026 entered into force. The decree doubles the previous penalty ceiling for unfair commercial practices to €10 million per infringement and, for cross-border cases, can reach 4% of annual turnover. Foreign businesses selling into Italy have until 27 September 2026 to bring their product communications into compliance — after that date, the new prohibitions apply in full.

The fine that landed without warning

Imagine your brand sells premium outdoor kit or sustainable fashion in Italy. Your website says your products are "eco-friendly", "carbon-neutral" or "green". You have said this for years. Nobody complained. Then, one morning, a notice arrives via certified email (PEC) — the Italian equivalent of legal process by email — from the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM), Italy's competition and consumer-protection authority. An investigation has been opened. The exposure is up to €10 million.

This is not a hypothetical. The AGCM imposed a €7 million fine on Philip Morris and a €2 million fine on Deghi S.p.A. for engaging in unfair commercial practices. What changed in early 2026 is that the legal framework underpinning those fines was comprehensively overhauled.

What changed, and from when

Legislative Decree No. 30 of 20 February 2026 (the "Empowering Decree") entered into force on 24 March 2026, transposing EU Directive 2024/825 into Italian law. The Decree introduces substantial amendments to the Italian Consumer Code (Legislative Decree No. 206/2005) aimed at combating greenwashing and social washing. The new provisions become applicable on 27 September 2026, giving businesses a six-month transition period to comply.

The decree was published in Italy's Official Journal No. 56 on 9 March 2026, is in force from 24 March 2026, and its substantive obligations apply from 27 September 2026. It amends Articles 18, 21, 22, 23, 48 and 49 of the Italian Consumer Code (Legislative Decree 206/2005) by introducing new definitions of environmental claim, new per se prohibited practices, and a requirement to substantiate claims in the same medium.

Split into two sentences or recast without the colon-and-ordinal structure

On penalties: AGCM administrative fines under Article 27 of the Italian Consumer Code range from a minimum of €5,000 to a maximum of €10,000,000 per infringement. For coordinated cross-border breaches under EU Regulation 2017/2394, fines can reach 4% of annual turnover in the member state concerned. AGCM may also order the cessation of the practice and the publication of the decision. These are administrative — not criminal — sanctions.

On the blacklist: the most significant change concerns the expansion of Article 23 of the Italian Consumer Code, which lists commercial practices considered misleading in all cases. These include, among other things, the use of sustainability labels not based on recognised certifications and generic environmental claims that cannot be substantiated. Words such as "eco", "green", "carbon neutral" or "net zero" are now on that always-prohibited list unless anchored to a recognised certification scheme.

In the last three years, the Italian legislature has significantly amended Italian competition rules, providing the AGCM with new powers and tools for the protection of competition and consumers. In particular, the AGCM's investigative and enforcement powers have been upgraded to bring them more in line with the rules applicable at the European Union (EU) level. The 2026 decree is the sharpest iteration of that trend yet.

Unlike what you might expect from your own legal system

Unlike in most common-law countries — including the UK, Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia — Italian consumer protection law does not require a regulator to prove that a specific consumer was actually misled. The AGCM can open an investigation, impose a fine, and order publication of its decision entirely on the basis that a commercial practice was capable of misleading a notional average consumer. There is no individual complainant to identify, no damage to quantify. The mere use of a vague sustainability claim — "our products respect the planet" — can trigger formal proceedings without a single customer having complained.

This diverges sharply from, say, the UK's approach under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, where enforcement by the Competition and Markets Authority has traditionally required evidence of a real, widespread consumer impact and has proceeded more cautiously before imposing penalties. The Italian model is administrative and rapid: enforcement is vested in / falls to the AGCM, which has been granted specific sanctioning powers and has always been particularly active in combating so-called greenwashing. The authority also has the power to order immediate suspension of an ongoing practice before any final decision is reached.

Beyond public enforcement, the reform increases exposure to civil litigation on multiple fronts. Companies may face claims brought by consumers, including actions grounded in misleading commercial practices and, potentially, collective proceedings or class actions. Italy has recently reformed class actions, with Legislative Decree 28/2023, significantly broadening the scope of class action proceedings, now covering collective damage stemming from defective products, unfair contractual terms, data breaches, environmental issues and climate change.

The CJEU ruling that tightened the procedural screws further

Foreign companies tempted to challenge an AGCM investigation on procedural grounds received an important warning from Luxembourg in early 2026. In a preliminary ruling delivered on 15 January 2026 in Imballaggi Piemontesi Srl v. Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (C-588/24), the Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed that national competition authorities may extend investigative deadlines where the scope of an inquiry widens or its complexity deepens. Such extensions must be reasoned, communicated in time, and remain open to judicial scrutiny, but procedural flexibility, the CJEU made clear, is not an aberration. In plain language: a company cannot escape a final decision simply because the AGCM widened its investigation. The authority's procedural latitude is now explicitly blessed at EU level.

The lesson from Council of State (Consiglio di Stato) practice is equally sobering. On 24 June 2025, the AGCM further reduced the fines imposed on the Pro-Gest group for its participation in cartels in the corrugated cardboard sector, in order to comply with Council of State Judgment No. 4677/2025. The court found that AGCM's previous recalculation of the sanctions had failed to grant Pro-Gest an adequate discount for having implemented an antitrust compliance programme. The lesson is not merely technical: a properly implemented compliance programme — documented, verifiable, communicated to the authority — can make a material difference to the final fine even after a finding of liability.

How to respond: five steps in the right order

If you receive a notice from the AGCM, time is the first resource you spend. The authority typically sets short response windows, and missing them reduces your leverage at every subsequent stage.

Step one — Acknowledge receipt immediately. If the communication arrived via certified email (PEC), confirm receipt in writing that same day. Silence is not neutrality; it can be read as disengagement and will not suspend any deadline.

Step two — Secure all internal documentation before anything is deleted or amended. Preserve every version of the claim under investigation: website screenshots, packaging artwork, internal marketing briefs, scientific data relied upon, certifications. The AGCM will later compare what was said publicly with what your internal files show was known. Decisions make clear that the risk does not depend solely on the use of prohibited symbols or words, but on the overall associative effect produced by the campaign and, in some cases, on the company's internal documentation.

Step three — Quantify your cooperation capital. Shein cooperated with the AGCM, updated its website, and tightened its review process. That cooperation brought the fine to €1 million instead of the €10 million ceiling. Cooperation has monetary value. Rapid voluntary cessation of the practice, submission of corrective measures, and a written action plan submitted to the authority before it requests them can all translate into a reduced penalty.

Step four — Consider a settlement. A settlement procedure is now available to the AGCM and the parties to an investigation. Settlement does not mean admission in the criminal sense, but it allows a negotiated outcome and avoids the cost and reputational exposure of contested proceedings. It is worth evaluating early, not as a last resort.

Step five — Appeal to the Administrative Court (TAR Lazio) if the decision is unfavourable. The appeal must typically be filed within 60 days of notification of the decision. The Lazio Regional Administrative Court (Tribunale Amministrativo Regionale del Lazio) has jurisdiction over AGCM decisions. Further appeal lies to the Council of State (Consiglio di Stato). Both courts apply a form of substantive review: they will examine whether the AGCM's assessment of facts and proportionality of the fine is well-founded, not simply whether procedure was followed.

The compliance window that remains open until September

The likely practical effect of the new rules will be a dedicated increase in AGCM investigations targeting environmental marketing, particularly in sectors with high consumer visibility such as fashion, food and beverage, energy, automotive and cosmetics.

The transitional window until 27 September 2026 is not a grace period in the sense of immunity: the AGCM can and does investigate conduct under pre-existing rules during the transition. What the window offers is structured time to audit your Italian-facing communications — website, packaging, point-of-sale, influencer briefs — against the new prohibited-claims list and the certification requirements. Businesses that complete that audit, update their materials, and document both steps will be in a far stronger position if an investigation begins after September.

AGCM decisions are published online and routinely reported by national media. A finding of greenwashing can inflict lasting damage on brand equity, damage that far exceeds the monetary fine.

Leges posteriores priores contrarias abrogant — later laws repeal earlier, conflicting ones. The practical implication is that businesses relying on legal opinions or compliance frameworks prepared before March 2026 should treat them as superseded. The Italian Consumer Code has been meaningfully rewritten.

As the legal philosopher Lon Fuller observed, a law's inner morality requires that it be prospective, clear, and enforceable — qualities the Italian legislature has now, for better or worse, achieved in the greenwashing field. The rules are plain. The fines are large. The authority is active. The question for foreign businesses is not whether the rules apply to them, but whether they are ready.

Image prompt: A glass-and-steel Milan office interior at dusk, warm amber desk lamp illuminating a stack of Italian regulatory correspondence and product packaging with sustainability labels. In the background, the city skyline glows orange. The mood is urgent but controlled — a lawyer reviewing documents. Colour palette: deep charcoal, warm amber, white paper. Photorealistic, no text visible on any surface.

Image file: agcm-fines-italy-green-claims-2026-cover

JSON-LD:

LANGUAGE QA: Unlike what you may expect from your own legal system -> Unlike what you might expect from your own legal system · enforcement of the legislation is entrusted to the AGCM -> enforcement is vested in / falls to the AGCM · The three operative changes that matter most for foreign businesses are: first, a doubled penalty ceiling; second, an expanded blacklist of automatically prohibited practices; and third, new positive evidence obligations that reverse the traditional burden. -> Split into two sentences or recast without the colon-and-ordinal structure · new per-se prohibited commercial practices, and same-medium substantiation duties -> new per se prohibited practices, and a requirement to substantiate claims in the same medium · The Decree introduces substantial amendments to the Italian Consumer Code … aimed at combating greenwashing and social washing. -> …aimed at tackling greenwashing and 'social washing'. · amongst other things -> among other things · granting businesses a six-month transitional period to adapt -> giving businesses a six-month transition period to comply · the legal architecture behind such fines was rebuilt from the ground up -> the legal framework underpinning those fines was comprehensively overhauled

CHECK:
AUTHORITY 1: CJEU, Case C-588/24, Imballaggi Piemontesi Srl v. AGCM, preliminary ruling of 15 January 2026.
EXISTS? Yes — confirmed by Goodwin Law alert (goodwinlaw.com, February 2026) with full case reference.
CONTENT MATCHES? Yes — ruling confirmed that national competition authorities may extend investigative deadlines; article correctly states the holding and date.

AUTHORITY 2: Legislative Decree No. 30 of 20 February 2026 (D.Lgs. 30/2026), in force 24 March 2026.
EXISTS? Yes — confirmed by Normattiva reference (urn:nir:stato:decreto.legislativo:2026;30), Jones Day, McDermott, Advant Nctm, EcoClaim and multiple other sources; published Gazzetta Ufficiale No. 56 of 9 March 2026.
CONTENT MATCHES? Yes — entry-into-force date, application date (27 September 2026), penalty range, Consumer Code articles amended all verified.

AUTHORITY 3: Council of State (Consiglio di Stato) Judgment No. 4677/2025 (Pro-Gest / compliance programme).
EXISTS? Yes — confirmed by Concurrences.com report dated 14 July 2026, citing the judgment by full reference.
CONTENT MATCHES? Yes — judgment required AGCM to grant a 10% compliance-programme discount; article correctly states that the court found AGCM's recalculation was insufficient.

AUTHORITY 4: EU Directive 2024/825 (Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition).
EXISTS? Yes — confirmed by EUR-Lex official title; confirmed as parent instrument of D.Lgs. 30/2026 by all sources consulted.
CONTENT MATCHES? Yes — article correctly identifies the directive and its Italian transposition.

OVERALL: GREEN — all four authorities confirmed at source, content matches what is written in the article.

LOCAL NOTE:
1. Search intent targeted: transactional/commercial — foreign businesses or their legal teams who have received or fear an AGCM notice and are ready to instruct counsel; secondary informational intent for compliance officers auditing product claims before the September 2026 deadline.
2. Local-market framing: the article contrasts Italian administrative enforcement (no individual complainant needed, capability-of-misleading standard, rapid suspension powers) with the more evidence-intensive approach familiar to UK/Irish/US readers; uses the Shein and Philip Morris cases as concrete risk anchors recognisable to international brand managers.
3. Italian terms retained untranslated: <i>Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato</i> (explained in full on first use as Italy's competition and consumer-protection authority); PEC explained as Italy's certified email system equivalent to legal process by email; TAR Lazio and Consiglio di Stato named in Italian with English equivalents given at first use. D.Lgs. 30/2026 kept in its official abbreviated form after first full citation.