Opening a VAT number as an artisan in Bologna: register, ComUnica, costs

To open a VAT number as an artisan in Bologna you don't need three separate filings: one is enough. It is called Comunicazione Unica (ComUnica), it is submitted electronically with a digital signature, and in a single move it opens your VAT number with the Italian Revenue Agency, registers the business with the Business Register, applies for entry in the Artisan Enterprises Register (Albo delle imprese artigiane) held by the Bologna Chamber of Commerce, and opens your position with the INPS artisans scheme. It is exactly the register step, handled at provincial level, that almost every national guide forgets.

Who counts as an "artisan enterprise" under the law

Working by hand is not enough to be an artisan enterprise: it is a legal status with precise requirements. The Bologna Chamber of Commerce sums them up like this: the business produces goods or provides services, and the owner personally and professionally carries out the activity, performing the manual work in the production process to a prevailing extent. The legal references are Law 443/1985, the framework law on craft enterprises, together with articles 2083 and 230-bis of the Civil Code and Presidential Decree 288/2001 for artistic and traditional work.

• The owner's work must prevail over the capital invested.
• The owner cannot simultaneously own other artisan enterprises.
• There are limits on the number of employees, set by article 4 of Law 443/1985 and different depending on the type of production.
• Registration is mandatory for sole proprietorships and for partnerships where the majority of partners personally work in production; joint-stock companies and partnerships limited by shares are excluded.

ComUnica: one filing, four recipients

ComUnica is the single filing that the Chamber of Commerce forwards to all the bodies involved: the Revenue Agency for the VAT number, the Business Register, the Artisan Register, INPS (and INAIL if you hire). It is submitted exclusively electronically and requires a digital signature. This is the order that works best.

1. Get a digital signature and a certified email address (PEC): without them you can neither sign the filing nor receive official communications.
2. Choose the ATECO code for your activity and the legal form. Ceramics, wood, textiles, goldsmithing and restoration are not the same thing: this is the point where it pays to talk to an accountant.
3. Prepare the filing with the official filing software. For the artisan part you attach the Modello AA, approved by the Region, in which you self-certify that you meet the requirements.
4. Check whether the activity requires a SCIA notification to the municipal SUAP, for instance for the workshop premises, and attach it to the same filing.
5. Submit and keep the receipt: registration takes effect from that date and you can start working.

Digital signature and PEC: without these two you don't start

These are the two tools that most often stall a start-up. The digital signature is used to sign the filing; the digital domicile, meaning the PEC address, is where the Chamber of Commerce, the Revenue Agency and INPS write to you. You can request a digital signature from the Chamber of Commerce or from another accredited provider. Put them on the calendar before everything else: without them the filing simply does not go through, and whoever notices on submission day loses a week.

What it really costs to open, and keep open, an artisan VAT number

The rule is simple: the one-off items are modest, the recurring ones are heavy. These are the figures published by the official sources for Bologna.

• Stamp duty: for sole proprietorships the Bologna Chamber of Commerce indicates 17.50 euro of virtual stamp duty on filings subject to it.
• Filing fees (diritti di segreteria): the amounts are set by the ministerial decree of 20 April 2023 and vary by type of filing; the filing software calculates them automatically as you prepare the submission.
• Annual Chamber of Commerce fee: for 2026 a sole proprietorship registered in the special section, the one artisans belong to, pays 53.00 euro (business with no local units), against 120.00 euro for the ordinary section. The 2026 deadline is 30 June.
• INPS artisans scheme contributions: this is the heaviest item. For 2026 the minimum assessable income is 18,808 euro and the fixed annual contribution for artisans is 4,521.36 euro, with an IVS rate of 24% (INPS circular no. 14 of 9 February 2026).
• Accountant: fees vary from firm to firm, but this is the cost that saves you from the most expensive mistakes.

The local step national guides skip

This is where a generic guide and the actual procedure part ways. The Artisan Enterprises Register has a provincial section, and in Bologna it is kept by the Chamber of Commerce, which publishes the forms and the contact details of the office in charge. In practice it works like this.

• The application is submitted inside the ComUnica filing, attaching the Modello AA and the self-certifications required by law.
• Registration takes effect from the date the single communication is submitted: the Business Register receipt allows you to operate immediately.
• The Chamber carries out a check afterwards and adopts its decisions within 60 days; a decision can be appealed to the regional commission within 60 days.
• Every change or closure must be reported within 30 days of the event, again through a ComUnica amendment filing.

Before submitting, always check the list of registration categories and sub-categories and the current forms on the Bologna Chamber of Commerce website. Pages change over time, and the contact details of the office are on the same page: one written question beforehand is worth one re-done filing afterwards.

Artistic and traditional craft: the extra regional status

If you work in an artistic or traditional sector, Emilia-Romagna provides an additional status: recognition as an artistic and traditional craft enterprise, governed by regional law 1/2010 and by Presidential Decree 288/2001, which also covers bespoke tailoring. The application is submitted online only, with SPID level 2, CIE or CNS credentials, attaching a detailed description of the activity and up to 10 photographs of the products or of the working stages. Prerequisite: already being registered with the Artisan Register and the Business Register. The details are on the Emilia-Romagna Region business portal. It is not compulsory, but it opens the door to calls and recognitions you would otherwise never see.

The tax regime most people start with: the flat-rate scheme

On the tax side, the most common choice at the start is the regime forfetario, the Italian flat-rate scheme. The Revenue Agency sums it up like this: it applies to those with revenue or fees not exceeding 85,000 euro a year, with a substitute tax of 15%, reduced to 5% for the first five years where certain conditions are met, including not having carried out business or professional activity in the previous three years. If you exceed 100,000 euro the scheme lapses in that same year, with VAT due from the transactions that push you over the threshold.

On contributions, those in the flat-rate scheme can ask INPS for a reduction in contributions: it is not automatic, an application must be filed within the deadlines set by the Institute. The conditions are on the dedicated INPS page. The grounds for exclusion from the flat-rate scheme also need checking case by case: having an employee job does not automatically put you in or out.

First revenue while the paperwork moves

There is always a gap between opening and the first customer, and the fixed costs keep running through it. The fastest way to fill that gap, when you have a craft in your hands, is a paid workshop: you get paid on the day, you don't build up stock to clear, and you build a list of people who have met you in person. If you have never run one, here is an explanation of what a craft workshop is.

Do not copy a price list: start from the materials consumed, your hours including preparation and clean-up, the cost of using the workshop and the wear on your equipment, add the margin you want and check what your local market will bear. The full reasoning is in the guide linked just above.

On Handsome you publish the workshop yourself, with your own page and your own calendar. Commission on workshop revenue is 0%, and the customer's payment is credited straight to the Stripe account linked to your profile. The 0.50 euro booking Guarantee per seat is already included in the round figure the customer sees: the price shown is the price paid, with no costs appearing at the bottom of the checkout. Handsome invoices it to you once a month, only on events that actually took place, and the transfer from your Stripe account to your bank goes out a few days after the event.

• You open your page and calendar the same day: the first date exists before the paperwork is even closed.
• You take money in while the fixed costs keep running: payments are credited straight to your Stripe account.
• You sell the seats before buying the materials for that session: no stock to pay for in the tightest months.
• Your page and calendar are indexed, so people who don't know you can find you before word of mouth kicks in.
• QR ticketing for ticketed events, if your first appointment is a market rather than a session in the workshop.

You can see how other Makers present themselves in the artisan directory and find practical answers in the FAQ.