Tax claims and admission to liabilities with reservation: an analysis of Order no. 29245/2025

The relationship between tax law and insolvency proceedings has always represented a complex area of confrontation, where the State's collection requirements must be balanced with the protection of the par condicio creditorum. A matter of particular significance concerns the management of tax claims contested by a taxpayer who has subsequently entered bankruptcy. In this scenario, Order no. 29245 of 05/11/2025 of the Court of Cassation provides important clarifications regarding the standing and legal interest of the bankruptcy trustee (curatela) in challenging unfavorable tax judgments.

Admission with reservation and the role of the bankruptcy trustee

When a tax claim, based on a payment notice (cartella di pagamento), is filed for admission to the bankruptcy liabilities but is the subject of a tax dispute still pending, the delegated judge usually orders admission with reservation pursuant to Art. 96 of the Bankruptcy Law. This mechanism allows the creditor's position to be frozen pending a final ruling by the tax court on the existence and amount of the debt. However, doubt often arises as to whether the bankruptcy trustee has a real interest in pursuing the tax litigation if an unfavorable judgment is received in the first instance, considering that the tax administration could still attempt to assert the claim through other forms of evidence.

• The nature of tax claims and their proof in bankruptcy: the role of the tax roll (ruolo) and the payment notice.
• The principle of legal interest to act under Art. 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure applied to the bankruptcy trustee.
• The impact of Art. 113-bis of the Bankruptcy Law on the distribution of assets and provisions.
• The protection of competing creditors through judicial control of tax debts.

The interest in challenging a decision according to the Supreme Court

The Court of Cassation, with the order under discussion, rejected the appeal filed by the State Attorney's Office (A.), confirming the position of the second-degree Tax Justice Court of Umbria. The central point of the discussion concerned whether the bankruptcy trustee, represented by F., had an interest in challenging the rejection of a tax dispute in the first instance, even though the claim could theoretically be proven even without the payment notice, i.e., based solely on the existence of the tax obligation. The Court clarified that such interest is concrete and current, as the outcome of the tax litigation directly affects the bankruptcy liabilities.

In the event that admission with reservation to the bankruptcy liabilities has occurred due to the pendency of a tax dispute concerning the challenge of a payment notice related to a tax claim, the bankruptcy trustee has an interest in appealing against the first-instance rejection of the claim, as the acceptance of the appeal would result, by effect of the provisions of Art. 113-bis of the Bankruptcy Law, in the exclusion of said claim from the liabilities, it being irrelevant that the same could be filed regardless of the issuance of the payment notice and, in general, of an enforcement act, based solely on the existence of the obligation (which - unless contested on the merits - can be proven by the exhibition of the tax roll).

The commentary on this ruling highlights how the bankruptcy trustee's right to contest a tax claim is not subordinate to the mere form of the assessment act. Even if the tax administration can prove the claim through the tax roll, the annulment of the payment notice or the assessment on the merits necessarily entails the exclusion of the claim from the bankruptcy liabilities. This ensures that the remaining bankruptcy assets are not unnecessarily set aside or distributed to a creditor whose claim has been declared unfounded on the merits, thus protecting the pool of creditors from undue claims.

Conclusions on the scope of the decision

In conclusion, Order no. 29245/2025 reaffirms a principle of fundamental importance for the management of bankruptcy liabilities. The bankruptcy trustee always has the right and the interest to pursue every level of judgment to ascertain the actual existence of tax debts. This orientation not only protects other competing creditors but also ensures that the bankruptcy distribution takes place on a basis of legal certainty, preventing potentially non-existent claims from burdening insolvency proceedings. The decision is in continuity with the Court's previous orientations (such as judgments no. 37006/2022 and no. 11808/2022), consolidating a regulatory framework that views Art. 113-bis of the Bankruptcy Law as the pivotal instrument for the regulation of claims admitted with reservation and for the correct management of the provisions necessary during the liquidation of assets.