Rai television licence

07/23/2009 - 14:02

I know this subject has been discussed before but I am unable to post replies to the older messages, so I would like to re-open it as none of the previous replies seem to exactly answer my question, which is:-If we do not have Italian TV receiving capabilities (we have only english sky) do we still have to pay for an Italian TV licence?

Topic

Technology

Comment

I'd like to know the answer to that as well.

of course you do... its the same as england... you might well be able to receive only the tv channels you want but having the means to receive tv signals...your satelite dish would mean that you are capable of retrieving italian tv... thats how they think ... in any case you cannot legally receive sky uk here ... simple... if you cared to write to sky uk and explain your sitation they would cancel your subscription...so basically i would say pay up ... and just keep quite about your illegal side of viewing in case questions get asked...

There is no wriggling out of it in Italy, the RAI website explains:

Quote from RAI website:Royal Legal Decree 246 of February 21 1938 requires anyone owning one or more television sets to pay a television subscription fee, which is an ownership impost due regardless of actual set use or selected television stations.

See webpage: http://www.abbonamenti.rai.it/ which is in several languages. In the UK however, the law is slightly different, you have to have a licence if you receive live broadcasts, not if you use a computer or TV to watch pre-recorded or programmes streamed after they are broadcast:

Quote from TV licencing website:You will need a TV Licence if you watch or record TV programmes as they are being shown on TV. It doesn't matter what channel you are watching, what device you are using (for example TV, computer or laptop, mobile phone or any other device) or how you are receiving them (for example via terrestrial, satellite, cable, the Internet or any other method).If you only use a digital box with a hi-fi system or another device which can only produce sound and can't display TV programmes, you do not need a TV Licence.

If you're watching TV programmes over the Internet, and are still unsure if you need a TV Licence click here for more information.

See website:http://tvlicensing.metafaq.com/templates/tvlicensing/main/answerPage?_mftvst:answerRef=%24http%3a%2f%2fapi.transversal.com%2fmfapi%2fobjectref%2fEntryStore%2fEntry%2fhttp%3a%2f%2fwww.metafaq.com%2fmfapi%2fMetafaq%2fClients%2ftvlicensing%2fModules%2flicensingInfo%2fTopics%2fgeneral%3a134839%3a14&_mftvst:moduleID=%24licensingInfo&_mftvst:topicID=%24&id=UN0O5LHFAQN21FP003PT57CKKSfor more info.

Of course you're quite right arty. Royal legal decree 246. That's impressive.But most laws in Italy (it seems to me) are 'advisory' at best. When didn't you see someone on the autostada going a tad over 130kph? When did anyone actually stop when you were on a pedestrian crossing? When did you last offer to pay in cash and they said 'No, no. I must pay the IVA'?Unless the chap who fixed my friend's satellite dish tells them (unlikely, as he was paid in cash) I think the chance of anyone knowing/noticing is very small indeed.

It's been my experience that once you register your residency anywhere then after a while that information filters down to the TV Abbonomenti people. You will then get a form to fill in to purchase your OWN license or provide proof that where you are living has a TV license.Once you purchase your own license the Libretto is issued by the Agenzia Entrate in Torino. But beware - if you don't reply to the first form - then they will send you a bolletino to pay a fine AND to buy your license.... Problems often occur (they did with me) when you change residency, as they seem incapable of checking whether you have a license or not, and it can take a month of Sundays (well this is Italy.....) before they will finally accept that the photocopy you sent them, together with the receipt, means you really DON'T need another TV License!

i believe this now also triggers a verification on your ownership of a licence... they link it to your CF

We don't even have a TV but just had letter asking us to cough up for a licence - maybe because like in UK they can't believe you can exist without TV. Do you think we can safely ignore it or will we end up trying to prove we shouldn't be fined?

Only my personal point of view - I would write, on the letter from them, that you do not own a television set and that should you buy one in the future then you will purchase a television license. Then photocopy that for your files and send it off to them. You should have a fax number on the demand I think, but if not post it to the address on the letter you received. I say this because for two years running - following purchase of my license - they wrote and threatened me with a fine. In the end I photocopied my latest receipt and my 'Libretto' and said - in so many words - "Go on then, I dare you!" I've heard nothing more. So what I'm basically saying is - DON't ignore them!

Totally agree Carole - we got our residency finally sorted out a few months ago and guess what turned up in our postbox today - our TV licence reminder! Just been to pay it - €66 for 6 months and we don't even have the TV connected in our house, only in the guests apartments! PS If there is anyone who could help me phone SKY to change my contract I would really apperciate it as I have now phoned 22 times and still not managed to get it sorted! Must remember to get more Itailan lessons!

Ref: SKY - I've sent you a PM...

Thanks so much Carole

I remember having a TV licence avoidance man calling on me back in England, many years ago, demanding that I give him immediate access to my house and prove that I don't have a TV. I told him (in words like, but not necessarily accurately repeated here) to go away and look at his records again, as I did have a TV licence already, but that the postcode he had on his "permesso to beat me up" form was not THIS postcode. His foot did try to lodge itself in my door, but the door was far too heavy for his cheap shoes to hold back. His screams were a pleasure to hear and amused the whole village for several months - possibly to this day, in fact. So, to cut a long, boring story short - buy a license and support your "adopted" prime minister.

Good question, we have never even given it a thought We don't have a TV/Radio licence fee scheme in The Nethelands! Another item on my to do list

Have you actually been approached to buy a TV licence in Italy yet?Also, because I'm nosy, what else is on your 'to do' list?

[img]http://www.cheesebuerger.de/images/midi/froehlich/a055.gif[/img] you don't want to see my ''to do'' list!No not yet but rather be safe than sorry is my motto

We just received a demand for license payment which dates from the time we applied for residency, so we assumed the residency application triggered the bill. I seem to recall on the old forum the general feeling was to ignore it if you are non-resident, otherwise cough up.

would advise against ignoring any bill here...well at least comune,tax or in this case TV... in fact anything billed through a government agency... the peril ... not immedaiate is that the unpaid bill will be passed to one of the governments various collection agencies .. well thats a certainty... and it will eventually if remaining unpaid end up in an italian court and will then be assigned to whatever property the code fiscale indiates that person ons in Italy... eventually it will end up in an asta ... auction for the payment of said bill... this happens to Italins quite frequentley...often because the collection agencies seem to ignore settlements of bills... it seems to me and a lot of Italians that paying bills quickly when they arrive is best... the late payment triggers the collectrion agency option and once with thenm resolving things seems to be a nightmare...

My advice and that of my Italian friends is if you have a telly anywhere in the house, pay the licence which incidentally you can do at your local lotto/tobacconists. Fines are said to be high!

Just discovered I can watch RAI from my armchair in Scotland, on it's "iplayer type facility"- looks like I can watch Miss Italy tonight It will help with the language acquisition!! http://www.rai.tv/dl/RaiTV/homeTv.html What a find!

Wikipedia has the following to say - implies you would need a TV license if you had a computer or Mobile phone ???... If the fine is that low then why pay unless you are resident (or live in the south)

In 2008, the licence fee in Italy was €106.00 per household with a TV set or "similar devices" (these include computers, mobiles, video-intercoms, etc).[32][33 ] It is the primary source of income for RAI, which does, however, also broadcast advertising. Italy has problems with collection of the licence, with approximately 40% of viewers (mainly from southern Italy) not paying their licence. One of the reasons is that the maximum fine is only half that of the licence itself (plus the licence on top of that), compared to the UK where the fine is up to £1000 (about €1500.) Viewers in the province of Bolzano-Bozen, Italy, which has a large German-speaking minority, can also receive Austrian and German public TV and radio channels via terrestrial transmissions. However, they do not pay the German or Austrian licence fees.