Prepared by Vitalba Passarelli, Giovanni Marra e Maria Lisa Centini
Following the health emergency from COVID-19 and in order to support the safely continuity of the production processes of enterprises operating throughout the national territory, Invitalia – National Agency for the Attraction of Investments and Business Development, in implementation of art. 43, paragraph 1, of Legislative Decree 18/2020 c.d. “Cura Italia decree”, has issued the Impresa SIcura call, aimed at companies wishing to request refund for expenses incurred for the purchase of Personal Protective Equipment (so-called “PPE”).
More in detail, the available resources made available by Inail through Invitalia amount to 50 million-euro, budget that could subsequently be subject to further financing.
All enterprises, regardless of the legal form, the economic sector in which they operate, and the accounting system adopted, can benefit from the refund provided for in the call. It is also envisaged that only enterprises regularly established and registered as “active” in the Register of companies, with main or secondary offices on the national territory and in the full and free exercise of their rights, can access to the refund, excluding those in voluntary liquidation or subject to bankruptcy procedures.
Expenses documented by invoices in the period between 17 March and the date of filing of the refund request, incurred for the purchase of PPE whose technical characteristics meet all the safety requirements of the current legislation, are eligible for refund. For this purpose, the following types of equipment are admissible:
- filtering, surgical masks, FFP1, FFP2 and FFP3;
- latex, vinyl and nitrile gloves;
- eye protection devices;
- protective clothing, such as overalls and / or gowns;
- shoes and / or overshoes;
- headphones and / or headgear;
- devices for detecting body temperature;
- detergents and disinfectant / antiseptic solutions.
It is also required that the invoices be paid, within the date of the refund request, through bank accounts held by the enterprises, allowing the full traceability of the payment and the matching with the relevant invoice.
It is also worth pointing out that the expenses for which refund is requested, cannot be subject to further forms of claim or remuneration paid in any form and for any reason. Therefore, it shall be deduced that they cannot be used to access the tax credit for the sanitation of the premises and tools, provided for art. 64 of Legislative Decree 18/2020, for which, at the date of publication of this article, the relative implementing decree has not yet been issued.
The refund measure is equal to 100% of the eligible expenses, up to a maximum amount of € 500 for each employee for whom the PPE is intended, and up to a maximum amount per enterprise of € 150,000. The number of employees must, among other things, be subject to certification by the enterprise by itself.
Call procedure is divided into three phases as follows:
- Phase 1 – Refund reservation: enterprises are required to submit the reservation to be admitted to the refund procedure from 11 to 18 May, from Monday to Friday, from 9.00 to 18.00, through a dedicated telematic portal, accessible on the Invitalia website.
- Phase 2 – Publication of the list of enterprises admitted to the refund request: the list is published on Invitalia website, based on the chronological order of arrival of the reservations.
- Phase 3 – Compilation of the refund requests and investigation: enterprises admitted to phase 2 will be able to complete the refund request from 10.00 on 26 May and by 17.00 on 11 June, through the IT procedure that will be activated on Invitalia website.
Within 10 days from the deadline for the submission of refund request, Invitalia will publish the provision for admission to refund, reporting all obligations in the hands of the admitted enterprises, that shall permit the Agency to finalize its controls and verifications, as well as the review of the causes entailing the withdrawal of benefits. The publication of the provision on the Agency website will constitute, to all intents and purposes, a formal communication to the enterprises of the outcome of the refund requests procedure.
Following the publication of the provision, Invitalia will proceed with the payment of the refund on the bank account indicated by the enterprises into the refund applications.
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For a deeper discussion, please contact:
PwC TLS Avvocati e Commercialisti
Director
PwC TLS Avvocati e Commercialisti
Senior Manager