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Christmas is by far the busiest time of year for postal companies, whose workload peaks in the four weeks leading up to the holiday.
If you live in Italy and are looking to send a package to family or friends living abroad for Natale, you’ll want to make sure you allow plenty of time for it to get there.
Poste Italiane
Italian postal service provider Poste Italiane hasn’t yet published a list of send-by dates for Christmas packages.
However, items sent through Poste Italiane’s Postapriority Internazionale service generally take three working days (starting the day after the item was posted) to arrive in the rest of Europe and four to five working days to reach countries in the ‘Mediterranean Basin’.
It takes five to six working days for post to get to North America; seven to eight working days to reach Central and South America, Oceania and Asia; and eight to nine days to reach African countries.
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Items sent via the standard Postamail Internazionale service will take significantly longer: eight working days to reach countries in Europe; 12 in the Mediterranean Basin; 16 in North America and Oceania; and 22 in the rest of the world.
While Poste Italiane hasn’t yet released deadlines for international Christmas post, it has put out a handy calendar outlining when services will (and won’t) take place over the second half of December.
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Poste Italiane won’t carry out collections nor deliveries during the first two weekends of December (December 14th-15th and December 21st-22nd).
Collection and delivery services will also be paused from Tuesday, December 24th, to Thursday, December 26th.
This means that packages posted on Monday, December 23rd, won’t be picked up for delivery until Friday, December 27th.
All in all, for a package to stand the best chance of arriving in time for Christmas, you’ll want to count back your days from Friday, December 20th – and then add on a few more to be on the safe side of things.
Collection and delivery services will also be paused on December 31st, January 1st and January 6th (Epiphany).
Private couriers
Private couriers tend to publish their own deadlines regarding Christmas deliveries in the weeks leading up to the holiday.
FedEx Italia hasn’t yet announced its send-in dates for this year, but says shipping services will be paused on December 25th, 26th, 28th and 29th, as well as a few other dates in January.
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DHL advises customers using their ‘express service’ (servizio espresso) to post packages destined for other European countries by December 20th, and packages headed for the US or Canada by December 19th.
UPS says December 20th will be the last day to ship UPS 2nd Day Air packages to the US for delivery by Christmas Eve.
For UPS Next Day Air packages headed for the US, the deadline is December 23rd.
Customs and VAT
If you are sending items to a country outside the EU, you will need to fill out a customs declaration form (Dichiarazione Doganale CN23) explaining what is in your parcel and whether it is a gift or not.
In addition to standard postal charges, you may also need to pay customs duties depending on the value of your parcel.
In general terms, no VAT should be due on packages worth less than €45 as long as they are clearly marked as gifts. Customs duties are due on orders worth more than €150.
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Within the EU, you can send packages under 30 kilograms by simply filling out a lettera di vettura (waybill) with the basic mailing information. You’ll find this at your local post office.
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Banned items
Certain items may be banned from shipping due to courier-specific regulations or laws enforced by either Italy or the intended destination country.
Other items (for instance, certain types of perishable food, plants and alcohol) could be subject to restrictions, meaning they may need special permits or licences to be shipped.
Poste Italiane bans the following categories of items:
- Items prohibited by law or considered dangerous under national or international regulations.
- Items that, by their nature or packaging, may pose a hazard to people or the environment, or cause damage to other shipments.
- Articles subject to IATA restrictions (see a full list in Italian).
- Goods whose transport is prohibited by any law, regulation or statute issued by any country from, to or through which the shipment may be conducted.
Shipping bans vary from country to country, so it’s strongly advisable to look for and carefully check the relevant national regulations before sending any type of package.
If in doubt about a certain item, you can contact your local Poste Italian office or private provider of choice.