Guardia di Finanza

The origins of the Guardia di Finanza date back to October 1st, 1772, when the "Light Troops Legion" was established under Victor Amedeus III, King of Sardinia.

This was the first example in Italy of a special Corps specifically established and organised for financial surveillance duties along the borders, as well as for the military defence of the frontiers. (The Origins)

Once the unification of Italy was completed in 1862, the "Customs Guards Corps" was established (The Unification). Its main task was customs surveillance and co-participation in the Country's defence in wartime. (The Customs Guard in 1862).

By Law no. 149 of April 8th, 1881, the Customs Guards Corps assumed the official name of "Royal Guardia di Finanza Corps", whose task was to "impede, suppress and report smuggling activities and any other violation or breach of financial laws and regulations", to safeguard the executive offices of the Tax Administration, as well as to co-participate in enforcing law and order and public security.

The Corps is included amongst the "wartime military forces of the Country" and forms companies and battalions to take part in war operations in the case of mobilisation.

By Royal Decree dated July 14th 1907, the use of 5-point star uniforms was extended to the Corps; the star distinguishes all armed Corps that employ their own mobilised units to defend the Country in time of war.

In peacetime the Corps continued to be a civil force even though it was subjected to military jurisdiction and to a disciplinary regime mainly derived from the Army, whose military discipline regulation was also extended to the Guardia di Finanza by law dated July 12th 1908.

The integration into the State's Armed Forces was completed with the awarding of the War Flag by Royal decree of 2 June 1911 and Law dated December 24, 1914. In this capacity, considerable was the participation of the Corps in the war operations of the two World Wars and the Italian Resistance.

The re-organisation of the Police Forces in 1919 also involved the Royal Guardia di Finanza Corps. The responsibilities were divided between the Inspector General, who was an Army Officer with the rank of Lieutenant General, responsible for military preparation, and the Commanding General, who was a Guardia di Finanza Officer subordinate to the Inspector General, who was allowed to maintain direct relations with the Minister for ordinary institutional duties and for personnel management.

In 1923, the "Investigative Tax Police" was set up as a specialised branch of the Royal Guardia di Finanza. At the same time the diarchy created in 1919 was ended with the Corps being placed under the command of a Lieutenant General of the Army. With a view to creating a technical advisory body for operational activities designed to liaise with the other sectors of the Tax Administration, a "Central Technical Office for the Investigative Tax Police", headed by a Guardia di Finanza General, was formed within the Ministry of Finance.

The juridical notion of "tax police" is laid down by Law no. 4 of January 7 1929, which organically reordered the legal field of financial law enforcement.

Post-war reconstruction, economic development, liberalization of international trade and the first stages of a European integration process, are all factors that led the Italian tax system into a new set-up. The direct taxation reform introduced by Minister Vanoni, and the instrumental role played by the General Revenue Tax (IGE), called for a general reform of the tax evasion repression system.

On May 2, 1949, in the presence of Ministers Vanoni, Pella and La Malfa, the Commanding General inaugurated the first fiscal auditors course held at the Corps' Academy, directed by Prof. Cosciani and attended by Officers of the Corps and Tax Administration Officials. From that moment on, tax police training became the central theme for the formation and specialization of Officers and NCOs.

An intense modernization period ensued. Within a few years, a radical transformation was accomplished of the craft, motor vehicles and telecommunications of the Corps; a statistical service was introduced, equipped with a data-processing center, along with a canine breeding and training service for anti-smuggling dogs.

In the same years the general framework of the Corps was established, based on Law no. 189 of April 23, 1959, which sets its institutional tasks. These tasks were later updated by measures that introduced new and specific responsibilities.

The organizational structure has recently been revised by Presidential Decree no. 34 of January 29, 1999, in the framework of a reorganization process of the Civil Service, with a view to achieving an ever more efficient and cost-effective administrative action.