The Transfer of Going Concern in Italy: Who Pays the Trade Debts?

Abstract

Article  2560,  paragraph  2,  of  the  Italian  Civil  Code  sets  forth  a  specific regulation  of  the  trade  debts  in  the  context  of  the  transfer  of  a  going  concern.  Such provision of law seems apparently clear. However, case law and the scholars show that its  actual  applicability  has  raised  several  issues  over  the  years.  This  paper  examines some of these issues, especially focusing on the interpretation followed by the majority of  case  law,  with  the  specific  aim  to  give,  once  for  all,  some  guidelines  to  the practitioners.