Consequences for Swiss structures with Italian owners

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For a Lugano practitioner the Italian register matters in three situations. The first is the Italian company or trust with a Swiss beneficial owner, such as a Ticino resident who owns an Italian società a responsabilità limitata. That company must report him to the Italian register once it is operational. The second is the Italian fiduciary company that holds, under a mandato fiduciario, the shares of a Ticino SA or the account of an Italian client at a Lugano bank. After the judgment of 2026 the fiduciary mandate will in principle be reportable as an arrangement similar to a trust. The principal will then appear in the Italian register as well as, for the Ticino SA, in the Swiss register. The third is the trust with an Italian trustee or Italian-resident beneficiaries. Such a trust falls within the Italian register under Art. 21 para. 3 of Legislative Decree No. 231/2007.

Common misconception. After the judgment of the Court of Justice in WM and Sovim in 2022 it was widely believed that beneficial ownership registers in Europe had been struck down. The Court invalidated only general public access. The registers themselves, and access by authorities, obliged entities and persons with a legitimate interest, remain required by EU law. The Court confirmed this in its judgment on the Italian register of 21 May 2026, which also held that Italian fiduciary mandates can be arrangements similar to trusts.

Date Event in the Italian beneficial owner register 25 May 2017 Legislative Decree No. 90 recasts Art. 21 11 March 2022 Ministerial Decree No. 55 7 December 2023 TAR Lazio suspends the decree 11 December 2023 Original deadline for first communications April 2024 TAR Lazio dismisses six appeals 17 May 2024 Council of State suspends the judgments 15 October 2024 Reference to the Court of Justice 21 May 2026 Judgment C-684/24 and C-685/24 8 July 2026 Legislative Decree No. 122/2026 published 21 September 2026 Sixty-day period expires

Sources: as cited in the notes to this section.¹

Notes

Ginex (above); dirittobancario.it, 16 October 2024 (above); Crowe Bompani (above); ItaliaOggi, 23 September 2026 (above). For 2022 see Ginex (above). ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of August 2025.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law

I am a Swiss attorney-at-law and also admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England & Wales, with almost 25 years of experience.

Together with my multilingual team, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Ukrainian and French native speakers, I advise companies and their owners from around the world on the full range of banking, corporate, commercial and tax law matters in Switzerland, including international tax planning, fiduciary services, and legal family office services including immigration & relocation or real estate investments. My practice has a particular focus on clients from growth and frontier markets in Greater China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and I equally advise clients from Europe and North America. Through an affiliated Swiss trust company, we also take care of the incorporation and ongoing administration of their companies and other structures, including accounting, tax returns and corporate secretarial services, and I serve as a professional director where required. With the support of a network of first-class cooperation partners, I also implement solutions worldwide.

My approach is to act as a trusted advisor who works directly with decision-makers, on an equal footing: I start from what you want to achieve and shape every structure, contract and tax decision around your commercial goals and how it improves your after-tax return. As “lawyers who make it happen”, my team and I stay involved until your company is set up, your structure is in place and your transaction has closed, and we remain available for any follow-on work that may be required. You benefit from bespoke solutions and personal attention, and sound, friendly and practical advice. We are not the lowest-cost provider in the market, nor do we intend to be; our aim is to deliver well-founded, proper solutions and excellent value for money.

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Consequences for Swiss structures with Italian owners

Notes

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