Thanks to Niccolò Francesco Coscarelli for collaborating on this article.
Legislative Decree of December 31, 2025, No. 209, (the “Decree”), published in the Official Gazette on January 8, 2026, transposes Directive (EU) 2023/2673 of November 22, 2023, into Italian law. Among its principal innovations, the Decree inserts Article 54-bis into the Italian Consumer Code (Legislative Decree No. 206 of 2005) (the ‘Consumer Code’), thereby implementing Article 11a of Directive 2011/83/EU as introduced by Article 1(3) of Directive 2023/2673. Article 54-bis establishes a mandatory online withdrawal mechanism for distance contracts concluded via an online interface, imposing on traders a legal obligation to make such a mechanism available to consumers.
Under Article 54-bis, professionals who conclude distance contracts via an online interface are required to make available to consumers an online withdrawal function (funzione di recesso). That function must allow the consumer to submit an online withdrawal declaration (dichiarazione di recesso online) informing the professional about their willingness to withdraw from the contract. The declaration must contain the consumer’s name, the information identifying the relevant contract, and the electronic means through which the acknowledgment of receipt on a durable medium will be sent. For these purposes, ‘durable medium’ means any medium enabling the consumer to store information addressed to them personally in a way that is accessible for future reference and allows unchanged reproduction. The function must also be labelled in clearly legible terms with the words “recedere dal contratto qui” (“withdraw from the contract here”) or an equivalent, unambiguous formulation. The online withdrawal function must remain continuously available and prominently accessible throughout the entire withdrawal period.
Once the consumer has completed the online withdrawal declaration, the professional must allow its submission via a confirmation function (funzione di conferma) labelled “conferma recesso” (“confirm withdrawal”) or an equivalent formulation. Upon activation of the confirmation function, the professional must send the consumer, without undue delay, an acknowledgment of receipt on a durable medium, including the content of the declaration and the date and time of its transmission. The right of withdrawal is deemed exercised within the applicable period if the online withdrawal declaration is transmitted before the expiry of that period.
The policy rationale underpinning Article 54-bis is explained in Recital 37 of Directive 2023/2673, which proceeds from a principle of procedural symmetry: if a professional chooses to conclude contracts online, the consumer must be able to exit them by the same means. This logic deliberately extends beyond the financial services sector, whose regulation is the core of the Directive. Recital 37 expressly states that the obligation to provide an online withdrawal function applies to all distance contracts subject to the right of withdrawal under Directive 2011/83/EU since the absence of face-to-face interaction is equally relevant regardless of the subject matter of the contract. Article 54-bis therefore operates as a general, sector-neutral provision applicable across all categories of distance contracts concluded via an online interface.
From a pre-contractual standpoint, Article 54-bis is complemented by a corresponding amendment to Article 49(1)(h) of the Consumer Code, which sets out the pre-contractual information obligations applicable to distance contracts and contracts negotiated away from business premises. As amended, Article 49(1)(h) requires traders to inform consumers, prior to being bound by a contract, of the existence and location of the online withdrawal function on the online interface.
In addition to the foregoing horizontal provisions, the same legislative package inserts Chapter IIIa into Directive 2011/83/EU — transposed into the Consumer Code as Section IIbis of Chapter I of Title III of Part III — introducing a dedicated set of rules on pre-contractual information, withdrawal rights, adequate explanations, and online interface fairness applicable exclusively to distance contracts for financial services to consumers. Unlike Article 54-bis, which applies horizontally to all distance contracts concluded via an online interface irrespective of subject matter, Chapter IIIa is sectorially limited to financial services. The two sets of provisions therefore operate in parallel: Article 54-bis governs the mechanics of the online withdrawal function for all qualifying distance contracts, whilst the financial services-specific rules address the broader regulatory framework applicable to that sector.
Pursuant to Article 4(1) of the Decree, the new provisions — including Article 54-bis and the amended Article 49(1)(h) — will apply from 19 June 2026 to contracts concluded after that date. From an operational standpoint, traders concluding distance contracts via an online interface will accordingly be required to: (i) deploy the online withdrawal function described above; (ii) issue an acknowledgment of receipt on a durable medium upon each exercise of the right of withdrawal; and (iii) disclose the existence and location of the online withdrawal function as part of their pre-contractual information obligations.
