# D.Lgs. 179/2026: What Changes for SMEs and Professional Firms > I read D.Lgs. 179/2026 for SMEs and professional firms: what the text says, what is only my reading, and why the client AI disclosure duty is not new. Published: 2026-10-24 Canonical: https://gianlucamazza.it/en/blog/dlgs-179-2026 Tags: AI Act, Regulation, SMEs ## Why this matters One question keeps coming up in Italy right now: “From October 23, do I have to tell my clients which AI tools I use?” The short answer: not because of the decree. [Decreto legislativo (D.Lgs.) 179/2026](https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2026/10/08/26G00200/sg) takes effect on October 23, 2026, but the duty to inform clients about AI does not start there. For professionals it has applied since October 10, 2025, under [art. 13(2) of Legge (L.) 132/2025](https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:legge:2025-09-23;132~art13). I keep two things apart here. The facts, each with a link to the Gazzetta Ufficiale (Italy’s official journal), Normattiva (the official database of Italian law) or EUR-Lex. And my reading, which I mark as such. I am Gianluca Mazza, an independent AI consultant. I am not a lawyer and I do not give legal advice. This article is not legal advice; for specific cases, talk to a lawyer (in Italy, an avvocato). ## What D.Lgs. 179/2026 is [D.Lgs. 7 ottobre 2026, n. 179](https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2026/10/08/26G00200/sg) is published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale, Serie Generale no. 234 of October 8, 2026, and takes effect on October 23, 2026. A decreto legislativo is a decree the Italian government adopts under powers that a law delegates to it. This one uses the delegation in [art. 24 of L. 132/2025](https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:legge:2025-09-23;132~art24), and it aligns Italian law with [Regulation (EU) 2024/1689](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/oj), the EU AI Act ([preamble and art. 2 of the decree](https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:decreto.legislativo:2026-10-07;179~art2)). Italy’s national AI authorities are AgID, the agency for digital Italy, and ACN, the national cybersecurity agency ([art. 1(2)](https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:decreto.legislativo:2026-10-07;179~art1) and [art. 5](https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:decreto.legislativo:2026-10-07;179~art5)). One date not to mix up. October 23 is the date of the Italian decree, not of the AI Act. The EU regulation applies directly and has its own application dates ([Regulation (EU) 2024/1689](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/oj)). ## The client disclosure duty dates from 2025 The duty for a professional to tell the client which AI systems they use is in [art. 13(2) of L. 132/2025](https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:legge:2025-09-23;132~art13), in force since October 10, 2025. The text asks that the client receive this information in clear, simple, and complete language. D.Lgs. 179/2026 does not create this duty. It lists it among the training topics for the professional orders, as “information duties toward the client” ([art. 47(2)(c)](https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:decreto.legislativo:2026-10-07;179~art47)). What about consultants who do not belong to an order? My reading is that art. 13 probably covers them too. That is a reading, not a certainty: for a specific case you need a lawyer. ## Training is on the professional orders In Italy, many regulated professions are organized in ordini professionali, official professional orders (some have collegi instead). The decree requires the orders to add AI to continuing education and gives them six months to update their rules ([art. 47(1) and (5)](https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:decreto.legislativo:2026-10-07;179~art47)). The decree is addressed to the orders: individual members will get the new courses through their order’s continuing-education rules, once those are updated. ## If you have employees Two articles are about employers. - An employer that uses AI must leave the final decisions on the employment relationship to a person (the rule does not apply to candidate screening). If it does not, those decisions are void ([art. 41(1) and (4)](https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:decreto.legislativo:2026-10-07;179~art41)). - Employers must inform and train workers on the risks of AI ([art. 42(3)](https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:decreto.legislativo:2026-10-07;179~art42)). ## The fines The decree sets the maximum fines ([art. 23](https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:decreto.legislativo:2026-10-07;179~art23)): - up to €35 million or 7% of worldwide annual turnover for practices the AI Act prohibits (para. 1); - up to €15 million or 3% for, among other things, the transparency duties in art. 50 of the AI Act (para. 2); - for SMEs, the cap is the lower of the two amounts (para. 7). These are caps: in general, each band’s cap is the higher of the fixed amount and the percentage; for SMEs, including micro-enterprises and innovative start-ups, it is the lower one. ## My reading for a small business This part is my reading, not a certainty. For a small business with no employees that uses AI as a tool, the decree changes little right away. Two articles of the AI Act matter more: art. 4, on AI literacy, and art. 50, on transparency, which covers chatbots and AI-generated content among other things. For anyone in an intellectual profession, art. 13 of L. 132/2025 matters too. Keeping a list of the AI tools in use and a record of the training done is good practice. It is not a duty under the decree. ## If you want help on the technical side I am Gianluca Mazza, an independent AI consultant. If you want clarity on the technical side (which AI tools you use, what for and how to keep track of them), or you are weighing a quote for an AI system and want a [written second opinion](/en/services/second-opinion) before you sign, write to me at [info@gianlucamazza.it](mailto:info@gianlucamazza.it): I will answer on the technical side. The second opinion is a technical check, not a legal one. Please do not send confidential documents or third-party data. For what the law requires in your case, you need a lawyer. This article is not legal advice; for specific cases, talk to a lawyer. ## FAQ ### Does D.Lgs. 179/2026 create the duty to tell clients which AI systems are used? No. For professionals, the duty is in [art. 13(2) of L. 132/2025](https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:legge:2025-09-23;132~art13), in force since October 10, 2025. The decree lists it among the training topics for the professional orders ([art. 47(2)(c)](https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:decreto.legislativo:2026-10-07;179~art47)). ### Does the AI Act apply from October 23, 2026? No. October 23, 2026 is when [D.Lgs. 179/2026](https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2026/10/08/26G00200/sg) takes effect. The AI Act is an EU regulation that applies directly, on its own dates ([Regulation (EU) 2024/1689](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/oj)). ### Is AI training an immediate duty of the individual professional? The decree requires the professional orders to add AI to continuing education and gives them six months to update their rules ([art. 47(1) and (5)](https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:decreto.legislativo:2026-10-07;179~art47)). The decree is addressed to the orders: individual members will get the new courses through their order’s continuing-education rules, once those are updated. ### Are the fines lower for SMEs? For SMEs, the cap in each band is the lower of the fixed amount and the turnover percentage ([art. 23(7)](https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:decreto.legislativo:2026-10-07;179~art23)).