DDT: what it is, when it is used and what information it contains

In brief

The Documento di Trasporto (DDT) is a document provided for by Italian tax law that can document, among other things, the delivery or shipment of goods and can support deferred invoicing where the relevant conditions are met. It should not be confused with the former bolla di accompagnamento (delivery note), whose general requirement ended in 1996 except under particular regimes.

For a small transport company, the key points are who issues the DDT, what information it must contain and why it is not correct to regard it as the universal document for every goods transport. In many services the carrier receives a DDT prepared by the seller; in other cases different or additional documents may be relevant.

From delivery note to DDT

Presidential Decree no. 472 of 14 August 1996 ended, from its entry into force, the effect of provisions that generally required the document accompanying goods in transit under Presidential Decree 627/1978. It retained exceptions for certain categories and specific regimes, including products subject to excise duty or tax supervision in the cases provided for.

This change matters because people still commonly refer to a “bolla”. The document normally used for transfers of goods for the purposes described by Presidential Decree 472/1996 is instead the DDT, or another suitable document with the required characteristics.

What Presidential Decree 472/1996 requires

Article 1(3) of Presidential Decree 472/1996 states that the document required by VAT rules contains:

• the date;
• the details of the seller;
• the details of the buyer;
• the details of any person entrusted with transport;
• a description of the nature, quality and quantity of the goods transferred.

In practice, DDTs often include other useful information: a sequential number, addresses, the reason for transport, order references, number of packages, weight, carrier, notes and signatures. It is important, however, to distinguish information that is operationally useful from that required by the specific tax rule.

Goods or transactions subject to special rules may require different documents or additional data. A standard DDT template is therefore not a universal compliance checklist for every kind of goods.

DDT and deferred invoicing

The best-known link is with deferred invoicing. Article 21 of Presidential Decree 633/1972 allows, for transfers of goods whose delivery or dispatch results from a DDT or another suitable document that identifies the parties and meets the required conditions, an invoice to be issued within the time limits laid down by the rule, referring to the documents that prove deliveries or shipments.

For a carrier, knowing this mechanism is useful because the DDT can be one of the documents handed over at collection and returned or filed after delivery. Tax responsibility for issuing the document and invoicing, however, belongs to the parties involved in the transaction and must be managed with their own adviser.

Must the DDT always travel with the goods?

No: a general rule such as “every truck must always carry a DDT on board” should not be stated. Presidential Decree 472/1996 specifically removed the general obligation of the former delivery note, without prejudice to exceptions and special rules.

The DDT may be issued before transport or delivery begins and, under the applicable rules and practice, may accompany the goods or be sent by suitable means. The central point is to document the transaction correctly under the applicable rules, not simply to have a sheet called “DDT” in the vehicle.

For international transport, dangerous goods, waste, excise goods, customs operations or other particular categories, the specific documentation must be checked.

DDT, transport order and CMR are not the same thing

DDT: primarily arises in the tax context of transferring and moving goods.

Transport order: describes the operational assignment and, depending on the case, relates to the transport contract.

CMR consignment note: documents the international road transport contract where the CMR Convention applies and contains the particulars required by the Convention.

Several documents can therefore coexist in one transport, because they serve different functions.

Practical example

A furniture producer sells 20 packages to a retailer and instructs a carrier to deliver them. The seller prepares the DDT with the parties and description of the goods. The carrier instead uses its own operational order to plan the vehicle, driver and timings. If the transport were international and fell under the CMR Convention, a CMR consignment note could also be added.

Three documents, three functions: they are not automatically needless duplicates.

Checklist for checking a received DDT

• Is the date legible?
• Can the seller and buyer be identified?
• Is any person entrusted with transport indicated where relevant?
• Are the nature, quality and quantity of the goods described?
• Does the reference match the operational order?
• Are there instructions or anomalies to report before departure?
• Do the goods fall under a regime that requires additional documents?

Frequent mistakes

Calling every sheet that accompanies goods a DDT. Its legal and tax function depends on its content and context.

Saying that the DDT is compulsory for every transport. That is not a universal rule.

Confusing it with the CMR. The Italian DDT and the CMR consignment note are governed by different rules.

Using a generic template for special goods. ADR, waste, excise goods or customs may require specific documentation.