An article by Fabio Ferraro is available on the Review of European Litigation , offering an in-depth analysis of the recent ruling No. 43 of April 15, 2025, by the Italian Constitutional Court, which addresses the issue of the horizontal direct effect of the directive on excise duties.
The Court’s intervention is described as a true “squaring the circle”: on the one hand, it declares the provincial surcharge on electricity excise duties unconstitutional, as it fails to meet the specific purpose requirement laid out in Directive 2008/118/EC; on the other hand, it provides important clarification on the remedies available to individuals in disputes between private parties, thereby strengthening the protection of individual rights even in the absence of horizontal direct effect.