Two-year limitation defence on an electricity, gas or water bill (Italy)
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This document is in Italian
The PDF you download is in Italian — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
For a household, micro-business or professional customer in Italy who receives an electricity, gas or water bill for consumption more than two years old, often a balancing bill. Many suppliers have a free form for raising limitation; this letter, in Italian under Italian law, does the same in writing: it identifies the bill and the amount, raises the two-year limitation (law no. 205/2017), asks for a corrected bill and announces payment of the part not time-barred. Send it by registered post or by PEC.
- Made for use in Italy
- Last updated October 14, 2026
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When to use this document
- You received an electricity bill in Italy with a balancing charge for consumption from years ago.
- The water company is asking for money for old meter readings that were never billed before.
- After switching supplier you got a huge gas bill for past consumption.
- You want to dispute a time-barred bill in writing and pay only the recent part.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Sender
- Sender's address
- Sender's codice fiscale (Italian tax code)
- How the letter is sent (printed above the recipient)
- Electricity, gas or water supplier
- Supplier's postal address (street and number, postcode and town)
- City
- Date
- Invoice number
- Client number
- Supply (electricity, gas or water)
- Supply number
- Date of the invoice
- Amount contested
- Invoice period
Common questions
- When is an electricity, gas or water bill time-barred after two years in Italy?
- When it charges for consumption more than two years old, often through a late balancing bill. The two-year limitation of law no. 205/2017 applies to household customers, micro-businesses and professionals, for bills due after 1 March 2018 (electricity), 1 January 2019 (gas) and 1 January 2020 (water). Other customers keep the ordinary limitation. This letter does not cover telephone bills.
- Does the limitation on an Italian utility bill apply by itself or must it be raised?
- The customer must raise it: limitation not pleaded cannot be raised by the court of its own motion (article 2938 of the Italian Civil Code), so whoever pays without raising it pays the time-barred part too. Many suppliers offer a free form, on their website or in the customer area, for raising limitation: it counts as much as this letter. The letter helps when there is no form or when you want proof of sending and of the date.
- What if an Italian electricity or gas supplier rejects the limitation defence?
- For electricity and gas, after the written complaint to the supplier, you can use ARERA's Servizio Conciliazione, free and online, which is a condition for going to court afterwards. For water, after the complaint, the same Servizio Conciliazione can be used, though it is not compulsory before going to court. Meanwhile, pay the part of the bill that does not concern time-barred consumption, keeping proof of payment and of the letter.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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