After years of delays, the Italian public administration pays companies on average in less than 30 days, faster than private companies. From the results of the Pnrr to the closure of the European infringement procedure, here is how the relationship between the State and suppliers has changed and which critical issues still remain to be resolved.
For years it has been one of the most glaring contradictions of the Italian economy. The State asked companies to pay taxes, contributions, suppliers and employees with Swiss precision, while often paying their invoices months late. A system that forced small companies above all to act as banks for the public administration: works carried out, services provided, supplies delivered, but collections postponed indefinitely.
Now, surprisingly, that photograph seems to have been overturned. Italian public administrations pay commercial invoices on average in less than 30 days, respecting the ordinary limit set by the European directive against late payments. And they are outpacing private companies. Giorgia Meloni also remembered this in recent days, in an interview with Milano Finanza. Among the results claimed by the Prime Minister is that of a public sector that “usually pays companies within 30 days”, freeing up liquidity and giving companies a more predictable horizon. In fact, the average payment time for state agencies went from 43.4 days for the amounts issued in 2019 to 27.2 days for those in 2025. A reduction of more than 16 days in six years. The share of accounts paid on time is also improving, rising from 79.6% of the amount of receipts issued in 2023, to 84.9% of those relating to 2025. Good news that went almost unnoticed.
It should be remembered that, according to European rules, state joints must pay within 30 days of receiving the invoice. The term can reach 60 days for the National Health Service and in particular cases related to the nature of the contract, but cannot exceed that threshold. The objective of the European directive was not only to regulate the behavior of the state machine: it was to prevent commercial credit from becoming a hidden form of financing of public administrations to the detriment of businesses.
The improvement in the performance of ministries and the like takes on an even more interesting meaning when compared with the behavior of the private sector. Our local companies, despite having reduced the average times compared to the most difficult years, often continue to pay much longer. According to Cerved data, in 2025 large Italian businesses paid on average around 73 days, medium businesses in around 63 days, small businesses in 57 and micro businesses just over 50. In fact, in many segments of the Italian economy, the thirty-day balance still remains a mirage.
The data on PA disbursement times is provided by the General State Accounting Department of the Ministry of Economy. The monitoring covers over 21 thousand administrations: ministries, regions, municipalities, health companies, schools, public bodies, companies and bodies linked to the public sector. In the most recent data, relating to the first months of 2026, the Presidency of the Council is among the fastest administrations, with just over seven days on average. Giancarlo Giorgetti’s Ministry of Economy and Adolfo Urso’s Ministry of Business and Made in Italy travel around 11 days. Roma Capitale led by Roberto Gualtieri pays in around 23 days, Giuseppe Sala’s Milan in 21 and Naples just over 10. Lombardy is around 14 days, Campania at 11, while Sicily is just under 30. Healthcare remains more complex. The ASL Roma 1 pays in approximately 36 days, the ASL Romagna in almost 47. These are longer times than the ordinary threshold, but they remain within the maximum limit of 60 days provided for the National Health Service. Overall, healthcare also shows a weighted average time lower than the European threshold.
The turning point did not come by chance. The Pnrr has transformed the problem of delays into a measurable and verifiable objective by the European Commission. Italy has undertaken to maintain a weighted average payment time within 30 days – 60 in healthcare – and not to accumulate average delays beyond the deadline. Strong institutional pressure, accompanied by the obligation to properly feed the platform and the growing attention of the General Accounting Office. The result was so significant that it led to the closure, in April 2026, of the European infringement procedure opened against Italy in 2014 for failure to comply with the late payment directive. After 12 years, Brussels has recognized that the country has at least largely addressed one of its most notorious administrative inefficiencies.
Trade associations, however, urge caution. Ance (the association of building constructors), Confartigianato and Confcommercio recognize the improvement in the data, but recall that the average does not always reflect the concrete experience of the suppliers. In public works, in the supply chains linked to the Pnrr, in healthcare companies and in some local authorities, cases of slow liquidations, interminable checks and postponed payments continue to emerge. Then there is a technical limit to keep in mind. The average time is weighted by amount: a very large invoice paid quickly weighs much more than dozens of small amounts paid late. An administration can therefore show a good average indicator while leaving a group of small suppliers in difficulty. And there is no shortage of possible shortcuts: postponing the invoice deadline, classifying a document as suspended or disputed for a long time, concentrating the most relevant transfers at the end of the quarter, using deadlines of sixty days even when they would be questionable.
It doesn’t mean the improvement is fictitious. Rather, it means that it must be checked with more detailed data: how many invoices are actually paid within 30 days? How many remain open beyond 60, 90 or 120? How many suppliers are involved? However, it remains a difficult fact to reduce. In a country where the State moves a gigantic volume of contracts, purchases, supplies, works and services every year, paying on time is no minor obligation. It is an element of reliability of the entire economic system. And if Italy has managed to transform one of its weak points into a factor of stability for businesses, thanks to EU pressure, then it is a result that deserves more attention than it has received so far.
