Free Wallbox? No charging station bonuses

Bonus for charging stations, others excluded. After drivers who were disqualified because they installed their charging station before June 26 and those who chose a model not listed by GSE, new cases of exclusion have emerged. There are also cases of good-faith errors, although the law does not permit ignorance as an excuse. The latest category involves those who requested a refund only for the installation work without including the charging device. According to regulations, this makes the application incomplete and therefore inadmissible. Vaielettrico Risponde continues to collect reports and provide clarifications to readers. Do you have doubts or unclear points about the charging station bonus? Write to us at info@vaielettrico.it.

Massimo and the free wallbox, Giovanni’s disappointment

Massimo is one of our readers who watched our video guide on charging station bonuses. Here’s what he wrote: “A somewhat specific question. I bought a Toyota, and the promotion includes a wallbox as a gift. However, I have to cover the cost of running a cable from the meter to the box. The expense isn’t trivial, and I also have costs associated with the application process. Can I request a refund? The charging station is new, but since I’m not paying for it, does that make a difference?”

We still receive messages from “disappointed citizens.” “Hello, I’m Giovanni, a citizen who believed in the law being equal for everyone! But it’s not!! I’m one of many people angry with the minister, because they keep changing the rules at the last minute. Why were we excluded from the home charging station bonus, even though we covered the costs in 2025 and half of 2026? Do we not have a valid reason? What a disappointment… I’m waiting for updates.”

Mameli is also disappointed

I read your article about those excluded from the charging station subsidy. I’m one of them, having bought an electric car in August 2025 and installing a charging station the following month. An ABB charging station. Like others, I believe I researched before purchasing and learned about the possibility of this subsidy. So I checked how it worked and found that the application window was always in the year following the purchase. Therefore, I relied on the assumption that this would also apply this year for expenses incurred in 2025. The news at the beginning of the year—I can’t remember exactly when—it mentioned refinancing some incentives for electric mobility reassured me that I could submit the application in a few months. And it was obviously a huge disappointment when

Reading about the exclusion of everyone who purchased the charging column from 1/1/25 to 6/25/26. I believe this regulatory gap is absolutely unacceptable and discriminatory, especially since this isn’t the first year such an initiative has been introduced. Mameli Biasin, Altavilla Vicentina.

Roberto’s philological research on previous bonuses

It’s Roberto’s turn. “I installed my wallbox last May (the installer’s invoice was issued on 5/5/26): I was aware of the 2026 bonus and its start date in 2025, as widely announced by government sources. When the application period opened, I found out I wouldn’t qualify for the subsidy because it only covers installations after June 26 of last year, the date the DPCM was published—registered, if I’m not mistaken, on June 10 at the Court of Auditors.”

Roberto challenges the response provided by the Ministry to us at Vaielettrico, arguing that the interpretation regarding when the contributions take effect is incorrect. “As far as I know, the Ministry of Business has already replied that it applied the rule stating that contributions cannot start before the decree itself is published. This is clearly an unfounded claim: the funds have been allocated for a long time, and what was recorded in June at the Court of Auditors is merely the implementing decree. I found news indicating that the state budget allocation specifically for the 2026 charging station bonus dates back to the DPRE (Decree of the President of the Council of Ministers) issued on August 4, 2022. Moreover, it’s obvious that previous bonuses covered earlier periods as well, and these are the details I’ve found (which need to be verified).”

According to Roberto: “So, the tool to apply ‘retroactivity’ exists, as do the grounds for pursuing legal action to invalidate the currently established start date and MIMIT’s response. This represents a clear disparity in treatment compared to the past, violating the principle of legitimate expectation since honest citizens have been deprived of something that was promised to them.”

The free wallbox denies the incentive for setup and installation.

Gian Basilio Nieddu’s response: The first reply is for Massimo. We checked with Invitalia, and they confirmed that the bonus covers the device along with setup and installation. The package must be complete; otherwise, the application is not acceptable.

To us, this seems like an unnecessary bureaucratic requirement, especially in a case like this where the origin of the charging station is perfectly traceable. Such strictness ultimately goes against the purpose of the incentive, which is meant to facilitate the transition. As heard in our video interviews, running cables for dozens of meters means incurring significant expenses.

A collective response for those who were excluded due to the time frame. Just because the funds exist does not mean the bonus can be applied retroactively. Retroactivity is not automatic; it must be explicitly provided for in the implementing decree. If it is not specified, it cannot be applied, even if the resources were already available, as in the case of the Automotive Fund. It is legitimate to protest, as the associations have done, by demanding multi-year planning rather than sudden decrees.

How much savings on electricity (and how much I used to spend)

But this is the current regulatory framework. Finally—and this is a crucial point to avoid misinterpretations—we address Roberto: the 2022 bonus was not retroactive. As stated in the decree that reopened the eligibility period, but which was based on an existing regulation, not all charging stations purchased in 2022 were funded, only those purchased and installed after October 4. Here is the text: “The purchase of the charging infrastructure and its proper installation must be carried out in accordance with regulations, starting from October 4, 2022, for the 2022 fiscal year…” Here is the link.

READ ALSO: There’s still hope for charging station bonuses. Watch the video – Guide to incentives

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