Legal term for payments in Italy

Yes.

Italian legislation on late payment in commercial transactions is derived from Directive 2011/7/EU that was implemented by Legislative Decree no. 192/2012, which amended the Legislative Decree no. 231/2002 implementing Directive 2000/35/CE.

Yes.

The standard payment term is 30 days:

1. Starting from the date of receipt by the debtor of the invoice or an equivalent request for payment;
2. Starting from the date of receipt of the goods or services, where the date of the receipt of the invoice or the equivalent request for payment is uncertain or the debtor receives the invoice or the equivalent request for payment earlier than the goods or services;   
3. Starting from the date on which the acceptance or the conformity verification of the goods or services takes place, where a procedure of acceptance or verification by which the conformity of the goods or services with the contract is to be ascertained; the payment term is provided by the law or by the contract and the debtor receives the invoice or the equivalent request for payment before this date.  

In respect of  public enterprises that are required to comply with the transparency requirements set out in the Legislative Decree no. 333/2003 and for public authorities providing healthcare duly recognised for that purpose, the standard payment term is 60 days.

As a general rule, contracting parties that are private entities are free to stipulate the extension of the standard term without any specific limitations except for terms grossly unfair to the creditor.

In this regard, it is considered grossly unfair if the payment term exceeds 60 days and the creditor is a SME as defined by a decree by the Ministry of Productive Activities on 18 April 2005, and not in the event that both parties are SMEs.  

The parties must expressly agree upon a payment term exceeding 60 days and such a deal must be concluded in writing. 

If the debtor is a public authority, parties may stipulate a longer term than the standard 30 days, provided the extension is objectively justified in the light of the particular nature or features of the contract. The payment term cannot exceed 60 days.

Yes.

Obviously, the seller or creditor must accept the PO, otherwise this obligation cannot be regarded as agreed upon by the parties.

Contractual clauses regarding term of payment, rate of interest for late payment or the reimbursement for recovery costs, which are grossly unfair to the creditor, are null and automatically replaced by the statutory provisions.

In determining whether a clause is grossly unfair to the creditor, the judge considers all circumstances of the case, among them, the gross deviation from good commercial practice, contrary to good faith and fair dealing, the nature of the product or the service and the existence of objective reasons to deviate from the statutory rate of interest for late payment, from the payment term or from the fixed sum due for credit recovery expenses.

A clause, which excludes interest for late payment, is considered grossly unfair and contrary evidence is not admissible.

Not yet. 

Under Italian law, provisions on late payments in a commercial transaction do not apply to debts that are subject to insolvency proceedings.