# Garanzia legale di conformità

Two parallel chapters of the Codice del Consumo, D.Lgs 6 settembre 2005 n. 206. Verified against the consolidated text on normattiva.it, status as at 2026-08-05.

| Subject matter | Articles | Introduced by | In force |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goods, including goods with digital elements | **128 to 135-septies** | D.Lgs 4 novembre 2021 n. 170 (dir. (UE) 2019/771) | 1 January 2022, for contracts concluded after that date |
| Digital content and digital services | **135-octies to 135-vicies ter** | D.Lgs 4 novembre 2021 n. 173 (dir. (UE) 2019/770) | 1 January 2022 |

The two chapters do not overlap. Art. 128 comma 3 excludes pure digital content and services from the goods chapter and routes them to Capo I-bis. A smartwatch is a good with digital elements; a streaming subscription is a digital service.

## Duration and the deadlines that get confused

- **Art. 133 comma 1** — the seller is liable for any lack of conformity existing at delivery and **manifesting within two years**
- **Art. 133 comma 2** — goods with digital elements under continuous supply: two years, or the whole contractual supply period if that is longer
- **Art. 133 comma 3** — *L'azione … si prescrive, in ogni caso, nel termine di ventisei mesi dalla consegna del bene.* Twenty-six months, and the consumer can always raise the art. 135-bis rights by way of defence
- **Art. 133 comma 4** — used goods: the parties may shorten commi 1 to 3 to **not less than one year**, by express agreement

**The two-month *denuncia* is gone.** The old obligation to notify the defect within two months was abolished by D.Lgs 170/2021. Any Italian template still containing *denuncia entro due mesi* was written before 2022 and is wrong.

For digital content and services, **art. 135-quaterdecies**: two years from supply for single or serial supplies (comma 3), prescription at twenty-six months from supply (comma 4); for continuous supply, liability for defects manifesting during the contractual supply period (comma 5), prescription twenty-six months from the last act of supply (comma 6).

## Burden of proof — the Italian deviation

**Art. 135 comma 1, verbatim:**

> Salvo prova contraria, si presume che qualsiasi difetto di conformità che si manifesta entro un anno dal momento in cui il bene è stato consegnato esistesse già a tale data, a meno che tale ipotesi sia incompatibile con la natura del bene o con la natura del difetto di conformità. Il presente comma si applica anche ai beni con elementi digitali.

**One year, not six months.** Six months was the pre-2022 rule under the old art. 132 and is obsolete. A template stating six months is applying repealed law against the consumer.

Comma 2: for continuously supplied digital elements, the seller carries the burden for the whole art. 133 comma 2 period.

The mirror provision for digital content and services is **art. 135-sexdecies**: comma 1 puts the burden of proving supply on the trader; comma 2 gives the same **one-year** reversal.

## Conformity

**Art. 129** distinguishes **subjective** requirements (comma 2 lett. a to d, including *essere fornito con gli aggiornamenti come previsto dal contratto*) from **objective** requirements (comma 3 lett. a to d, including durability). Both must be met. A good that matches the contract description but fails the objective standard is still non-conforming.

**Art. 131** — incorrect installation counts as a lack of conformity. **Art. 132** — third-party rights and IP restrictions trigger the art. 135-bis remedies.

## Update duty

**Art. 130 comma 2** — for goods with digital elements the seller must keep the consumer informed of, and supply, available updates including **security updates**, for:

- a) the period the consumer may reasonably expect, where the digital element is supplied in a single act
- b) the period in art. 133 comma 2 or 3, where supply is continuous

Comma 3: the seller is not liable where the consumer fails to install within a reasonable time, subject to two conditions. Comma 4: any deviation from the objective conformity requirements needs the consumer's **express and separate** acceptance — not a clause buried in the terms.

The parallel duty for digital content and services is **art. 135-undecies**, with the same structure, plus comma 3 requiring conformity throughout the whole continuous-supply period and comma 5 requiring the most recent version at conclusion unless otherwise agreed.

## Remedies and their hierarchy — art. 135-bis

- comma 1: repair, replacement, proportional price reduction, or termination
- comma 2: the **consumer** chooses between repair and replacement, unless the chosen remedy is impossible or disproportionate against three listed criteria
- comma 3: the seller may refuse if both are impossible or disproportionate
- comma 4: price reduction or termination only where a) the seller did not carry out or refused repair or replacement, b) a defect reappears despite the attempt, c) the defect is serious enough to justify immediate reduction or termination, or d) the seller declared, or it is clear, that conformity will not be restored within a reasonable time or without significant inconvenience
- comma 5: **no termination for a minor defect**, and **the burden of proving that the defect is minor lies on the seller**
- comma 6: the consumer may withhold payment

**Art. 135-ter** — repair or replacement must be free of charge, within a reasonable period, without significant inconvenience; the seller takes back the replaced goods at its own expense; removal and reinstallation are covered; no payment for normal use of the replaced good.

**Art. 135-quater** — price reduction proportional to the loss of value; termination by declaration to the seller; partial termination possible; on termination the consumer returns the goods at the seller's expense and the seller refunds on receipt of the goods or proof of return or dispatch.

## Mandatory nature — art. 135-sexies

Any agreement made **before notifying the seller of the lack of conformity** that excludes or limits the consumer's rights is **null**. The nullity can be invoked only by the consumer and is raisable by the court of its own motion. More favourable terms are allowed. A choice-of-law clause depriving the consumer of the protection is null.

So: no "garanzia 12 mesi" for new goods sold to consumers, no exclusion for sale items, no requirement to keep the original packaging as a condition of the guarantee.

## Digital content and services paid with personal data

**Art. 135-octies comma 4**, verbatim core:

> Le disposizioni del presente capo si applicano altresì nel caso in cui il professionista fornisce o si obbliga a fornire un contenuto digitale o un servizio digitale al consumatore e il consumatore fornisce o si obbliga a fornire dati personali al professionista, fatto salvo il caso in cui i dati personali forniti dal consumatore siano trattati esclusivamente dal professionista ai fini della fornitura del contenuto digitale o del servizio digitale … e quest'ultimo non tratti tali dati per scopi diversi da quelli previsti.

Comma 2 lett. g) defines *prezzo* as money **or a digital representation of value**.

A free app monetised through advertising or profiling is therefore inside the regime and owes conformity and updates. "It's free, so there's no warranty" is wrong.

**Art. 135-novies** lists the exclusions: goods with digital elements (they go to Capo I), other services, electronic communications save number-independent interpersonal services, healthcare, gambling, financial services, free and open-source software under conditions, public cinema-style display, and public-sector content. Comma 6: in case of conflict, the GDPR and D.Lgs 196/2003 prevail.

**Art. 135-vicies semel** permits the trader to modify the digital content or service beyond what conformity requires only where the contract allows it and gives a valid reason, among other conditions.

## Commercial guarantee — art. 135-quinquies

Comma 1: the guarantor is bound by the guarantee statement **and by the associated advertising available at or before conclusion**. Where a producer offers a **durability** guarantee, the producer is directly liable to the consumer for the whole guarantee period, for repair or replacement under art. 135-ter. If the statement is less favourable than the advertising, the advertising prevails, unless corrected before conclusion in the same or a similar way.

Comma 2 — mandatory content, on a durable medium at the latest at delivery, in plain and intelligible language:

- a) a clear statement that the consumer has **free legal remedies against the seller** for lack of conformity, and that the commercial guarantee does not affect them
- b) name and address of the guarantor
- c) the procedure to be followed to enforce the guarantee
- d) designation of the goods covered
- e) the terms of the guarantee

Comma 3: **drafted in Italian**, in characters no less prominent than any other language. Comma 4: breach of comma 2 does not release the guarantor.

## The canonical Italian enforcement precedent

**AGCM, PS7256, provvedimento of 21 December 2011, Apple — EUR 900,000.** AGCM found *informazioni insufficienti e confusorie ai consumatori sulla garanzia biennale di conformità da parte del venditore*: the two-year legal guarantee was obscured, only the one-year producer guarantee was recognised, and consumers were steered into a paid add-on partly overlapping the free legal guarantee. A non-compliance proceeding closed on 21 December 2012 added a further **EUR 200,000**.

The rule that follows: **presenting a paid extended warranty without stating the free two-year legal guarantee with at least equal prominence is an unfair commercial practice.** This is the single most enforced consumer-law point on Italian e-commerce. Art. 21 comma 1 lett. g) also makes misleading information on consumer rights, including replacement and refund, a misleading action.

## Template — garanzia section

```html
<!-- BOZZA – non approvata legalmente -->
<h1>Garanzia legale di conformità</h1>

<p>
  Su tutti i beni venduti a consumatori si applica la garanzia legale di
  conformità prevista dagli articoli 128 e seguenti del Codice del Consumo.
  La garanzia è gratuita ed è dovuta dal venditore.
</p>

<h2>Durata</h2>
<p>
  Il venditore risponde dei difetti di conformità esistenti al momento della
  consegna che si manifestano entro <strong>due anni</strong> dalla consegna
  del bene. L'azione si prescrive in ventisei mesi dalla consegna.
  [[Per i beni usati, se pattuito espressamente: termine ridotto a [[periodo]],
  comunque non inferiore a un anno.]]
</p>

<h2>Onere della prova</h2>
<p>
  Salvo prova contraria, si presume che i difetti di conformità che si
  manifestano entro <strong>un anno</strong> dalla consegna esistessero già a
  tale data.
</p>

<h2>Rimedi</h2>
<p>
  Il consumatore ha diritto al ripristino della conformità mediante riparazione
  o sostituzione, a sua scelta, senza spese e senza notevoli inconvenienti.
  In presenza delle condizioni previste dall'articolo 135-bis, comma 4, ha
  diritto alla riduzione proporzionale del prezzo o alla risoluzione del
  contratto. La risoluzione è esclusa se il difetto è di lieve entità.
</p>

<h2>Come far valere la garanzia</h2>
<p>
  Scrivere a <a href="mailto:[[indirizzo]]">[[indirizzo]]</a> indicando
  [[dati necessari]]. Non è richiesta alcuna denuncia entro termini prestabiliti.
</p>

<h2>Aggiornamenti</h2>
<p>
  [[Per beni con elementi digitali: indicare il periodo per il quale saranno
  forniti gli aggiornamenti, compresi quelli di sicurezza.]]
</p>

<!-- Solo se offerta una garanzia convenzionale -->
<h2>Garanzia convenzionale</h2>
<p>
  <strong>La presente garanzia convenzionale non pregiudica in alcun modo la
  garanzia legale di conformità, gratuita e dovuta dal venditore ai sensi degli
  articoli 128 e seguenti del Codice del Consumo.</strong><br>
  Garante: [[nome e indirizzo]]<br>
  Beni coperti: [[designazione]]<br>
  Condizioni e durata: [[termini]]<br>
  Procedura per farla valere: [[procedura]]
</p>
```

## Checkpoints

- [ ] Two years stated for new goods sold to consumers, not one
- [ ] Burden-of-proof reversal stated as **one year**, not six months
- [ ] No *denuncia entro due mesi* anywhere in the text
- [ ] Twenty-six month prescription period stated correctly and distinguished from the two-year liability period
- [ ] Used goods: any shortened period is expressly agreed and not below one year
- [ ] Remedy hierarchy correct; consumer chooses between repair and replacement
- [ ] No termination excluded generally — only for minor defects, with the seller bearing the proof
- [ ] No clause excluding or limiting the guarantee before notification — such clauses are null
- [ ] Goods with digital elements: update period stated
- [ ] Digital content or service supplied against personal data: treated as inside the regime
- [ ] Commercial guarantee, if offered, carries all five items of art. 135-quinquies comma 2
- [ ] Commercial guarantee drafted in Italian, characters no less prominent than any other language
- [ ] Any paid extended warranty offer states the free legal guarantee with at least equal prominence
- [ ] *Garanzia legale* and *garanzia convenzionale* kept linguistically separate throughout
- [ ] All `[[…]]` placeholders resolved or reported as open