How do Italian statistics move to ATECO 2025?

Italian statistics move to ATECO 2025 domain by domain, under the European timetable, rather than all at once. Istat states that publication of statistical outputs will take place in the coming years according to a timetable defined at EU level. The European timetable runs from 1 January 2025 to 1 January 2031 (FIXED range), depending on the statistical domain, under Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/137 and its later amendments. The Italian dates, entry into force on 1 January 2025 (FIXED) and operational implementation from 1 April 2025 (FIXED), govern the classification and the registers.

They do not govern every statistical output. A reader of an Italian statistic should therefore check the version note in the publication, not the calendar date alone. A statistic published after April 2025 (FIXED) can still use the old classification for a domain whose European timetable runs later.

How does the domain timetable work?

The domain timetable sets a different application date for each statistical domain, because data from different domains build on each other, and because each domain needs time to adapt its collection, processing and publication systems. Eurostat states that NACE Rev. 2.1 will be used in European statistics as per the roll out schedule in the regulation, and that updated data transmission requirements have been developed from the correspondence table for the domains concerned. For certain domains, backcasting and double reporting apply, so that statistics can be presented under both versions for a period. The domain timetable therefore determines when a published Italian statistic moves. It does not determine when a register entry changes. That is governed by the Italian operational implementation, from 1 April 2025 (FIXED), as implemented by each body that holds a register.

Element	Governs	Timetable
Entry into force	Classification in force	1 January 2025 (FIXED)
Operational implementation	Registers applying the classification	From 1 April 2025 (FIXED)
Statistical outputs	Publications, by domain	Coming years, EU timetable, to 1 January 2031 (FIXED range)

The table above separates the three timetables. The statistical outputs row states no single date, because Istat states only that outputs will follow the EU timetable in the coming years, and no domain by domain timetable for Italy was verified on the Istat page fetched for this work.

How are breaks handled in Italian publications?

Breaks are handled through the correspondence table, through backcasting, and through double reporting where it applies. The correspondence table shows how headings relate. Historical series are re-presented under the new version through backcasting. Double reporting sends statistics under both versions in parallel for a period. A reader who uses an Italian statistic that crosses the change should look for the version stated in the publication, for any break note, and for any backcast series that accompanies it. Without a version note, a series cannot be compared across the change with confidence. A comparison that joins figures by title, without the table and without a break note, looks precise and is unreliable. The table shows the link. The comparable series shows the numbers. The break note states the limit.

What should a reader of Italian datasets check?

A reader of Italian datasets should check the version, the reference period, and the source of the code separately. The version states whether the figures use ATECO 2022 or ATECO 2025. The time the figures describe is stated by the reference period. The source states whether the code was copied from a register, assigned by the dataset publisher, or supplied by the unit itself. A dataset can describe a period before 1 January 2025 (FIXED) using ATECO 2025, through backcasting, and a dataset can describe a period after that date using the old classification, where a domain timetable runs later. Reading is governed by the version, not by the calendar date alone. This guide does not assert a domain by domain timetable for Italy, because none was verified on the Istat page fetched for this work. The European timetable, as summarised by Eurostat, is the published source for domain dates.

What do Italian statistics not decide?

Italian statistics do not decide the code for any specific business, and they do not decide tax, licensing, funding or collective agreement questions. Grouped by the classification, they describe the economy in aggregate. The entry for a specific unit is in the register that holds it, and Istat or the business register confirms it. The same classification serves two different uses, aggregate and entry, and neither should be treated as evidence about the other: an aggregate figure says nothing about a single unit, and a single entry says nothing about an aggregate. The classification serves both uses. It decides neither use on its own.

Italian outputs move domain by domain under the European timetable to 1 January 2031 (FIXED), the version note in each publication shows which version its figures use, and the register dates govern entries separately. ”