Prepare a reply to an Italian postal customs request: confirm the right operator, recipient section, purchase evidence and submission instructions.
If your China parcel is waiting for customs information in Italy, answer the specific request attached to that shipment. It may require a signed Poste Italiane form, purchase evidence or a product document. Paying a charge, emailing screenshots and completing a declaration are different actions; doing one does not automatically complete the others.
This guide helps private recipients of ordinary retail goods prepare a reply to Poste Italiane. If a commercial courier or another representative handles clearance, use that operator's process. A Poste delivery number does not by itself prove that Poste cleared the import.
Official information checked: 8 November 2026. Use the latest notice and instructions for your parcel, even when an older form linked below looks familiar.
Which instruction needs your answer?
Open the shipment through Poste's official website or app, rather than relying only on a message link. Keep the postal reference, notice date, handling centre and stated deadline together.
Then separate these situations:
- Documents or a signed declaration requested: obtain the complete notice and every page of its form. Prepare the missing information before replying.
- Import charges requested, with no missing-document instruction: check the amount and payment method in the official shipment service. Do not assume an unsolicited payment message is genuine.
- A permit, health clearance or product-control issue: ask which procedure and evidence are required. An invoice cannot replace a missing authorization.
Poste explains that it performs clearance directly only for the relevant international postal flows under UPU arrangements. For postal parcels it handles, Italy's Customs and Monopolies Agency, ADM, directs shipment-status and clearance enquiries to Poste. ADM's ordinary offices are not a parcel-collection counter. First establish who holds your case; sending the same file to several offices is unlikely to answer that question.
If you have no notice, ask the responsible operator: “Has a document request been issued for this postal reference? Which form, attachments, reply channel and deadline apply?” Do not choose a form simply because a search result mentions Milano or customs.
Check the recipient section before signing
Poste's published C/E customs form separates a business section, Parte A, from a private-recipient section, Parte B. The latter asks for the recipient's name and tax identification, including Codice Fiscale and/or Partita IVA as applicable. Use the form and section confirmed for your shipment. The linked document carries an October 2019 edition date; do not copy its old contact or processing-time statements into a current case.
For a personal order, compare the recipient named on the notice with the person receiving the goods in Italy. A China warehouse customer number is not an Italian tax identifier. If the names differ, or you do not have the requested identifier, ask Poste how to correct or complete the case. Do not borrow another person's number or change the original purchase evidence to make it match.
If the goods are company stock, disclose that purpose. Do not select a private-use section merely because the platform account was personal. Ask which importer details and business procedure Poste needs before signing a statement about use or ownership.
Fill the goods and value fields from the actual purchase
Read the description field as a request to explain what is in the parcel. Give the real product, material or function, selected model and quantity where relevant. “Gift,” “accessories” or an unexplained seller code does not identify a paid purchase.
The published L/R Roserio form also asks for a value for used goods or personal effects; zero is not an acceptable shortcut. The correct form still comes from your handling centre. Retain the seller's original amount and currency, and explain refunds or discounts with records instead of editing a screenshot.
Use the records that fit how the purchase was made:
- You ordered on Taobao: save the paid order, selected variant and payment record. If the order was delivered to a China warehouse, explain why its domestic delivery address differs from your Italian address. The parcel record should show which goods were actually forwarded.
- An agent bought on Pinduoduo: ask for the available underlying seller order and the charge breakdown for your purchase. An account top-up alone does not show what this parcel contains. Keep cancelled items and completed refunds visible in the explanation.
- A 1688 supplier dispatched the goods: ask for the invoice and packing information for the actual dispatched quantity, and show deposits and balance payments where relevant. A quotation or a deposit alone may not explain the transaction. State honestly if the goods are for a business.
These are practical ways to explain your records, not a promise that every screenshot will be accepted instead of a required invoice. If the notice asks for an invoice and you cannot obtain it, tell the handling centre what is missing and ask which genuine alternatives it can consider. For missing China-side records, the Taobao order-problem guide helps identify whether to contact the seller, purchaser or warehouse.
Return one complete reply, with the missing point named
Before sending, check the requested signature, date, recipient section, product description, amount, currency and attachments. Read any declaration or authorization before signing it. Use only the channel confirmed by the actual notice or Poste's official assistance.
Keep the form separate from supporting files, with names that make their purpose clear. If your payment covers goods outside this parcel, explain that difference briefly; do not hide it by cropping away relevant information. Send identity or financial records only when required through the verified channel, retaining the originals yourself.
A short cover message can say:
I am replying to the document request for this postal reference. The signed form and the requested purchase/payment evidence are attached. The point requiring explanation is [actual difference]. Please confirm whether the file is complete or identify the particular field or attachment still missing.
This is optional wording, not an official form. Remove any statement that is not true and confirm the accepted language. If a record is still unavailable, say so and ask how to proceed before the deadline. Do not claim that an attachment is enclosed when it is not.
The Roserio form warns that repeated submissions can delay administration. Keep the version sent and its receipt; follow up with that reference rather than repeatedly opening unrelated messages or sending the same bundle to every centre.
A waiting period is not your reply deadline
Poste's customs FAQ describes a maximum of 90 days in temporary custody. That is not permission to wait 90 days before answering a notice, and it is not a guaranteed clearance time. Ask which deadline applies to the request and what happens if a document is not available. A request for more time does not mean an extension has been granted.
Missing information can also change the postal service charge. Poste's current receiving-from-abroad tariff lists the full €21 Diritti Postali in specified cases where insufficient or nonconforming information requires temporary custody. This is not a universal fee on every delayed parcel. Ask which service and condition generated your charge.
Keep service charges separate from taxes. Italy generally applies 22% VAT, with product exceptions; the import base can include freight, duty and relevant additions, not just the shop price. The EU's current small-parcel measures include a temporary €3 duty by goods category for eligible consignments up to €150 from July 2026 and a separate €2 Union handling fee from November. They are not a universal “€5 per box.” Ask the declarant which rules and classification apply to your shipment. Low value does not remove the declaration or product checks, and a paid online order is not a private gift.
When the form cannot solve the hold
If the request concerns medicine, food, cosmetics, plants, animal material, weapons or another controlled product, stop treating it as a value question. Ask the named authority or representative for the applicable permission or control process. Electrical products, wireless equipment and batteries also need their own product and transport checks; carrier acceptance is different from lawful import or permission to sell.
Do not conceal a battery, invent a certificate or rename a branded product. The Italy counterfeit-risk article covers the earlier buying decision; a photograph or invoice now does not prove authenticity or guarantee release.
For an existing YDA shipment, provide the order reference, international parcel reference and the exact missing-record request. YDA can check the purchase, receipt, packing or existing photo records it holds and help explain the China-side transaction. We cannot sign the recipient's statement for them, issue an official invoice on a seller's behalf, decide final classification, grant a permit or guarantee release or timing.
Before closing the file, keep the notice, the completed reply, submission evidence and the next instruction together. If a return or abandonment is being considered, request its procedure and costs in writing; ignoring a notice does not create an approved return or a platform refund.
For a future order, preserve purchase evidence before paying, compare the actual goods on warehouse arrival and recheck Italian rules and the available route before dispatch. Today's policy check does not guarantee that the same procedure, fee or acceptance will apply later.
Images are AI-generated illustrations of document preparation, not real notices, customs decisions or customer records.
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