“Financial police” Bellagio

Yes, I have heard that this happens and why you should always hang on to your receipt for a certain distance from any place where you just purchased something. Proves the merchant is paying taxes and not doing cash transactions "off the register". They are the Guardia di Finanza.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardia_di_Finanza#:~:text=Guardia%20di%20Finanza%20is%20essentially,of%20patrolling%20Italy's%20territorial%20waters.

You are first person I have heard of this happening to. So what happened? Did your husban have to go with them for questioning?

I see the Guardia di Finanza cars quite often in Italy. While I've never been approached personally, I have seen them in "action", though not recently and never aggressively - sorry to hear you got worked over.

This certainly is a reminder to me to take the receipt from the restaurant - something I've waived off with the advent of Apple Pay.

Dario thank you for your reply.

First, I just said my daughter hadn’t heard of it before - not saying that she said it was right or wrong. Just that in her time she hadn’t experienced this before.

Second, we did cooperate by showing him the receipts, but he still wanted to take us somewhere. He didn’t say where and he was on foot. He was aggressive from the very beginning. He appeared out of nowhere and demanded to see the receipts which I explained that my husband was inside paying. The woman at the restaurant seemed very annoyed by him and the waiter seemed to have no idea who they were or what they were doing which is why my husband went back inside to ask. We aren’t looking for scams, but I know they can exist everywhere and we just wanted to be cautious. We always try to be respectful when we are in another country. I apologize if this comes off in anyway other than we just wanted to understand what was happening - especially since these men were not in uniforms.

My husband did say the person in the restaurant asked if he wanted the receipt which he luckily did take. We will definitely be sure to take and keep any receipts when we make our purchase (which have mostly been with Apple Pay).

I see the Guardia di Finanza cars quite often in Italy.

Bellagio is a tourist hotspot close to the border. After all, guarding the borders and making the custom checks is their original mission.

I have never seen them checking receipts out of shops, it never happened to me either, but I know it happened once in the street where I live. Frankly it's widely seen as a waste of time these days, even by the officers who do it.

I have always seen plenty of Guardia di Finanza boats in Venice on my trips there. I've seen travelling around Venice too, but never seen them in action...

It is a normal control activity carried out by the Guardia di Finanza (GdF) the enforcement police of the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finances, basically the equivalent of IRS auditors but carrying a badge and a gun. GdF is both Tax Police the Customs police in Italy, so if your suitcases are searched upon arrival, it will be by the GdF.

Many merchants are into the habit of not issuing receipts from the registers (which are sealed machines) for the purpose of avoiding to pay VAT (Value Added Tax) and Income tax.

Since 2003 a customer caught without a receipt does not have to pay any fine, but the target of the police is actually the merchant, so all you need to do is cooperate. Unfortunately many Americans assume that anything happening in Italy is a scam, whether it’s a situation like yours, or a fine for speeding with a rental car.

Since 2017 the GdF targets customers who are either elderly or especially foreign tourists. Those are the favorite customers that merchants try to get away from issuing a receipt. This week alone, while I am in Rome and Tuscany, I was asked if I needed a receipt every single time I paid cash (as if it were something optional they would need to do only if the customer asked for it). My wife and I look like the typical American couple (I’m a big guy, my wife is dark skinned, I’m usually dressed worse than the tackiest American wearing clothes that I usually wear at the gym) so I’m the perfect target, of course when I start to talk they ask me where I learned Italian so well.

So, if you are in Italy, don’t be surprised to incur into similar episodes. The authorities know that merchants don’t always issue receipts to foreign tourists.

I have spent 2 months overall in Italy and never heard of this. Guys in plainclothes and flashing a badge? I would have been suspicious and certainly wouldn’t have gone one foot away from the restaurant with them. We always got receipts in Italy, however. Thanks for the heads up on this as I am sure many experienced travelers in Italy have never heard of this either.

Catherine, huge thanks for making this post. It has been a learning (or reminder) moment for a lot of us.

As I read some of the replies to my husband, he was surprised.

It did dawn on me (only because reading your posted prompted my brain) that I recall hearing/reading about this before our last trip to Italy, which, of course, was several years ago, but I might not have remembered otherwise.

For those on the forum who travel to many countries throughout the world (as we used to), there is only so much storage space in the brain to remember every detail from every country.

But, yes, I would have a been rather freaked out if something similar had happened to us. So very good this is posted and hopefully read by those planning trips to Italy (that way they can be calm "in the moment.")

Catherine, it will make a good story to share, even in years to come, as one of the "memorable moments" of travel :)

Too bad you did not get a "selfie" with the two dudes and you two......just for the family photos :) I AM KIDDING!

All those experienced travelers who never heard of this must not have been traveling very long, or at least weren’t reading travel forums. When we went to Italy in 2010 I saw warnings all over the travel forums like this one and Fodors about keeping receipts from restaurants so you could show them to the finance police if asked. I am pretty sure it was in Ricks Italy book too. I think there was a fine if you were caught without a receipt back then but apparently no more.

I have been to Italy a few times, and have often seen the blue and white cars with Guardia di finanzia on the side. I also knew that one of their roles was to check that VAT had been paid, and for that reason they could ask customers if they had been given receipts. I don't know why this is more of a problem in Italy than elsewhere, but I am always suspicious when I read that businesses give a discount for cash.

Thank you very much for posting your experience. I have never experienced this, but glad you alerted us that it does happen. You did the right thing by not going anywhere with them. Sounds like an archaic tax checking system and a waste of resources.

A question for those who live or have lived in Italy:
I got thinking about Catherine's post, and she mentioned the guys were IN PLAIN CLOTHES, NOT UNIFORMS.

Is this normal? Would the guys/gals not be in uniforms? If so, perhaps that is why the restaurant owner invited them back in for coffee.....maybe they were imposters and that is why the waiter did not know who they were....maybe (maybe not)......therefore asking about if they would normally be in uniforms.

There are people who impersonate police here in Nashville....and it could happen anywhere.....a story was just on the news about a lady being pulled over by flashing lights, then got the license plate #, instantly reported it and he was arrested. I could imagine the extra fear, confusion had that lady been visiting from Italy or any other country. Stuff does happen! It is not always legit.

Catherine and her husband, I think, were wise to not just go wherever someone without a uniform may have tried to take them. Could always call whatever the local police number is on your cell phone during the interface (just to check). Before travel, we do always make a note of those emergency numbers and program them in (or have them handy in our money belts) for countries we visit.

Although it was about 14 years ago at a restaurant in Italy the waiter presented us with a handwritten bill which only had the total - no restaurant information, no food, no drinks, no date. It was came from a typical receipt style pad usually used for writing down an order. We insisted on an itemized bill so that we could pool our cash to pay together. He wouldn’t budge. So we requested a menu so that we could figure it out. Turns out that bill was about 20€ more than the actual 40€ it should have been. We only paid for the items we ordered plus tip. We declined to pay that inflated bill. He neither disagreed, nor apologized, or made any fuss.

I don’t know what the angle was but accounting was not the strong suite.

Dario, in fairness, most people don’t know about these checks as is clear from the posts. I’m sure you don’t mean to, but the tone of your responses does come off as a bit harsh.

I didn’t know anything about this and would have assumed this was a scam.

As other says, this kind of controls are not very common, but sometimes could happen. Honestly to me the last one has been like 30 years ago...
Usually the "Guardia di Finanza" do this controls not in uniform. There are a lot of controls that police can do not in uniform, but is the same even in any other country. Is very difficult do a surprise inspection if you are waiting in uniform!
What is strange in your control is that they want to lead you somewhere. In my opinion they ask you to go to their car only for a formal statement that the control has been done and that everything was fine. In this case they write down your ID details, what has been done and in 5 minutes everything is over.
Usually police in Italy is not aggressive or rude without a reason. Of course has to act with temper and if there are language mismatch could appear as "rude".

Some days ago I have warned some tourists with me at a restaurant: they left the bill over the table and I tolde them "never forget it until you aren't out of the restaurant!". They didn't believe me of that kind of controls!

I know that these controls are very infrequent, but never happen to you the waiter in a restaurant call you back telling "Madame (or mister)! The bill!". Or have you ever listen that? is due to the controls.

I guess you never know where you’ll pick up travel information. I’ve read Donna Leon’s novels for years in which the Guardia di Finanzia figures prominently. On our trip this year I saw them more than in previous visits to Italy. As a matter of fact, they (in plain clothes) appeared just as we left a gelato shop in Ortygia. We had been given a receipt, so there was that reassurance,, but they went over receipts quite thoroughly with the store owner. The young cashier didn’t seem to know who or what they were but the manager did. They are more on the inspector level rather than our law enforcement level which is why they are not uniformed.

Thank you all the folks in Italy for the additional clarification. Dario, even your input is welcome, despite the tone...but tone is often hard to convey in postings, I realize. And, if you think "I just fell off the turnip truck" as is a saying in our country, it is okay if you feel that way (giggle)...maybe merited :) :)
I hope we in American can help those of you in other countries with any clarification/questions re: processes/procedures in our country. Granted this is a Forum mostly for Europe, but also includes questions for outside Europe, too.
"Ya'll" have safe travels, and come see us (as we say in the South).

Interesting post.

I've traveled to Italy a few times, and have been around online forums and travel discussions for decades. SOME of this sounds reasonable and slightly familiar, and some of it sounds like cops just behaving like jerks.

I've heard about the importance of printed paper receipts in Italy, especially in restaurants and small shops, as a measure to ensure that businesses are not dodging their tax obligations (for the record: I think that's great, businesses need to pay their damn taxes or the country stops functioning, illegally dodging taxes is greedy, selfish, and needs to be punished, so "book 'em Danno" or Dario...). The most salient point I recall about this is (I believe) Rick Steves mentioning that tourists may notice a lot of discarded paper (litter) on the streets, a few steps away from small restaurants, because of the requirement to give every customer a printed receipt (the tax accountability measure for the business). Unfortunately, many Italian consumers regard the receipts as a nuisance, and they simply take the receipt, walk a few steps, then just drop it on the ground (this was Rick explaining why the streets of Italian cities sometimes appeared to have a surprising amount of garbage -- a lot of it is these receipts). I have witnessed this (a surprising amount of what initially just looked like trash littering streets, a closer glance showed it was all or mostly small paper receipts). OK, it makes sense (though it would make MORE sense for there to be more/more visible public recycling bins for paper on the streets....if the government is going to try and solve one problem -- tax cheats -- by generating a lot of paper, which then becomes trash dropped on the sidewalks -- then don't create a second problem of litter, use some of that tax revenue to install and maintain a lot more paper recycling bins!).

Where I have an issue is the nature of the encounter from the tax police as described in the OP by CatherineK. I always do my best to treat any law enforcement personnel with respect and deference. But I expect them to return that and behave professionally towards me (at least if I'm behaving like a rational person, not having just committed some obvious crime in front of them). It doesn't sound like the tax cops behaved appropriately in this case.

If I was at a restaurant and two guys (not in uniform) confronted me aggressively, flashed badges, and told me to come with them, I'd probably just laugh at them. If they aggressively insisted and escalated the situation, I'd be inclined to tell them I didn't care if they said they were the Fashion Police (I'd probably be guilty as sin), no way I was going anywhere with them and they could go to hell. I'd probably start showing off some of my Italian Hand Gestures that I've practiced so carefully for the trip but never had a chance to use...

Undercover cops are a real thing, no surprise there. But any plainclothes tax law enforcement official, operating in a location popular with international tourists, approaching customers in a restaurant, ought to know that foreigners may not be completely familiar with their operations. So if they confront some random foreign tourist at a cafe and demand they come away with them, they should expect at least some confusion and maybe (if they're acting like a-holes) some pushback. It sounds to me like these tax cops escalated the situation needlessly, and if they had handled things differently (like, calmly explaining what they wanted, where they wanted to take them, and why) it all would have passed quickly with no drama.

FWIW, I've had a few encounters with Italian cops; all of them have been great. I probably would have reacted the same way as the OP (until they arrested me...hey, I've always wondered if the food in Italian jails was any good...maybe someday, I'll find out).

Dario, just a question.

After the OP’s husband showed the receipt, why did they want him to go somewhere? What normally happens after the receipt is shown?

I knew that you were supposed to keep your receipts from restaurants and shops in Italy, but I just assumed that if you showed the receipt there would be nothing else to do. It sounds as though this isn’t the case.

Reading through this, all I can think of is the restaurant we ate at in Palermo. Local place, small but great menu, waiter came up ordered an antipasti, wine, bread, water, a couple entrees, she scribbled a couple squiggles on a slip, later on, we added another bottle of wine and dessert (place was packed, so things were slow) no additional squiggles to the slip. When we were ready to go we tracked her down, she gave us the slip...seriously just some squiggles...and told us to go to the counter. The owner was there, he takes the slip looks at the ceiling, then crumbles up the slip and tosses it on the floor...45 euro. I may have paid cash that night, walked off a bit amazed, but the price was fair, and adding up what we had, whether it made the pad or not, it was pretty accurate.

Enjoyed the place so much we went back, but had a view of the counter, the looks on peoples faces when he would crumble the paper and toss it, then proclaim a price, was great entertainment. That night, we were less the second bottle and dessert, and it was maybe proclaimed to be 32 euro, used a credit card that time (at least one of the nights), a slip printed out after I punched in my PIN, but not sure if I got a copy.

So yeah, the finance police must not be that common that everyone would have had an encounter (never have in probably 10 weeks of travel there over the years) and apparently the restaurants are not overly concerned about it, probably also varies by region as well.

Thank you for sharing your experience. Sorry about the aggressive manner that you incurred. Invaluable info for travelers. After traveling through Italy multiple times we never encountered this situation. After reading your experience and the responses I looked up previous posts on this subject that went back to
1992. The article that I copied was from 2012. One comment that caught my eye was “Without issuing that receipt (in Italian) it’s like the interaction never happened and therefore it never was taxed.” This statement reminded me of my years teaching medical documentation. If an encounter was never documented then “it didn’t happen.” Hence, in medicine it’s subject to possible malpractice.
https://revealedrome.com/2012/02/tax-evasion-italy-what-travelers-can-do/

A few years ago I had purchased from a street vendor a couple of those selfie sticks. It happened on via Calzaiuoli in Florence, the busiest pedestrian thoroughfare in Florence. I went back to him minutes later to return the sticks because one didn’t work. As soon as I started to approach him, the street vendor (not an Italian man) ran away full speed. And I was surrounded by several agents in plain clothes who flashed their badge to me and told me that purchasing these fake items from one of these unlicensed street vendor is a violation of the law and I had to pay a fine of €1,000. I said I knew nothing about the law because I didn’t live in Italy. They asked me if I had given the vendor any money and I said no (I lied) because he ran away while he was showing them to me. They let me go after seizing the two selfie sticks and the agents reiterated that purchasing those fake items is a violation of the law. Since I know how to recognize an Italian law enforcement badge, I can be reasonably certain that was not a scam. I want everybody to know that in main tourist locations there are more law enforcement agents than you can even imagine. That includes the main train stations.

The exact thing happened to us in Perugia in 2006.
Two men in plain clothes came out of nowhere in the dark, as we left a restaurant and asked for the receipt.
We had not been given one, let alone held on to one.
They made us go back to the close by restaurant and talked to the owner.
Then they wanted to see our passports, and wrote our pp numbers on a ripped up piece of newspaper from the restaurant.
My husband was completely freaking out, but we looked it up back at the hotel, and realized they were probably the Guardia di Finanza.
Since then, on each subsequent trip, I have kept every receipt in Italy even ones for a E2 gelato.

Catherine, my thanks for posting. I'm returning to Italy in September for the 1st time since 2014 so am not sharp on things. I've done a LOT of travel to France and other areas in the meantime but had completely forgotten about this. I would plan to use applepay as well so will remember to ask for a receipt.

It has been really interesting to learn about other peoples experiences as well as from people living in Italy. I appreciate the feedback and the education. This will definitely go into our memorable events category when talking about trips. I’m glad it is also helpful to the people who are going to be going to Italy. Grazie!!

Catherine, thanks for bringing up this topic. It'll be helpful when/if this ever happens to know what it is and to not panic.

I use Apple Pay for virtually everything, so I wonder if showing the wallet to the officers would show them that the restaurant was doing things the right way.... I'll remember to take the paper receipt which I don't usually do because once the transaction shows in Wallet I don't need a paper receipt for consumables.

I can't remember the last time I took a receipt in a shop or restaurant in NZ or overseas. Its just rubbish in my pocket. I have a record of the transaction on my card which is visible on my app - what else would I need or want.

Although the actual police may exist this sounds like a scam - I would never accompany a non-uniformed person anywhere unless Id been shown detailed ID with his photo on it and given a chance to google translate it. This IS a well know scam and I met tourists in Peru who had just that happen to - genuine cops trying to plant drugs on them and then ask for a cash "fine" - they just stood their ground and kept on insisting on being taken to the station- the cops got bored and let them out after a while- but you really don't want to be getting into the car int he first place.

I think the rule in Italy used to be that the supplier had to issue a receipt, and that the client had to retain the receipt for 50? metres after leaving the premises.

Turns out that bill was about 20€ more than the actual 40€ it should
have been. We only paid for the items we ordered plus tip.

You left a tip for a waiter who tried to rip you off??

Nigel - I wouldn’t have wanted to have handed over my phone to these men, they did not seem like they wanted anything other than a specific paper receipt.

One thing to remember: even if you are legitimately fined in Italy, you mustn't pay cash at the moment. The policeman give you the paper copy of the fine and you have some days to pay it. If they are pushing for a cash payment at the moment that is a strange behavior and could be a scam. You can pay in the police office, in a post office, on-line in the official website written on the fine and even in several ATMs.
If a policemen not in uniform is asking you cash money you can legitimate call the emergency service 112 and ask for a uniform real policeman to control what is happening.

@Laura

After the OP’s husband showed the receipt, why did they want him to go somewhere? What normally happens after the receipt is shown?

That thing is strange but could be even a misunderstanding. If everything is OK after the control usually you have nothing more to do. Often the policeman register the control, so ask you an ID to write down the official report.
In any case remember that you are authorized to call the emergency service to have the support of an agent in uniform called at the moment if you believe that is happening something wrong.

Oh my. I'm so disillusioned. I don't know what to do. Not only did Roberto buy selfie sticks, he LIED to the Police. I'm not sure I could ever trust his advice again! 😂