The Campania Region's coffers have collected a treasure trove of over €3 million thanks to a complex accounting investigation that revealed systematic tax evasion at the region's main ports.
The operation, coordinated by Deputy Prosecutors General Gianluca Braghó and Davide Vitale of the Regional Prosecutor's Office of the Court of Auditors and conducted by the Economic and Financial Police Unit and the Naval Air Unit of the Naples Guardia di Finanza, revealed that all economic operators operating in the ports of Naples, Salerno, and Castellammare di Stabia were not paying the regional surcharge on state property fees.
At the heart of the case was a decades-long misinterpretation of the law. Based on a premise later refuted by the Constitutional Court, it was held that the regional tax (between 10% and 25% of the fee) should not apply to concessions issued by the Central Tyrrhenian Sea Port System Authority.
This de facto exemption, which unfairly differentiated these concessions from municipal ones, has been definitively overcome thanks to a new regional law approved in July 2025.
The investigative push forced the Port System Authority to take action, sending 422 default notices to defaulting concessionaires to recover the amounts unpaid over the last five years.
The legal action has had an immediate "conforming effect": the companies involved have begun regularizing their positions, allowing the Campania Region to recover €3.132.507 so far. The Guardia di Finanza will continue monitoring to ensure the payment flow becomes structural, closing a loophole that has deprived the community of vital resources for years.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (1)
It's interesting to see how the operation uncovered such a large-scale tax evasion at ports, but I wonder if the measures adopted will be enough to prevent it from happening again in the future. More control is needed.