100% refunds for purchase of P.P.E.
Companies, regardless of their legal form, the sector in which they operate and the accounting regime adopted, can request reimbursement of 100% of the expenses incurred for the purchase of personal protective equipment (so-called P.P.E.). In fact, Invitalia in compliance with the Legislative Decree no.18/2020, better known as the CuraItalia Decree, has activated a call called “Impresa Sicura” which allows companies to obtain reimbursement of expenses incurred for the purchase of devices and other personal protection equipments, listed below:
- 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.
As mentioned above, this call is addressed to all companies, provided that i) they are “active” in the Company Register, ii) they have their main office in Italy and iii) they are not in voluntary liquidation or are subject to bankruptcy procedures for liquidation purposes.
For the purposes of the refund, the expenses incurred between 17 March 2020 and the date of submission of the application, must:
1) be connected to invoices already paid on the date of the application through the company’s bank accounts and in ways that allow immediate traceability of the payment;
2) be not lower than 500 euros – the reimbursement in fact provides for a minimum ceiling of 500 euros and a maximum of 150,000 euros;
3) not be subject to further forms of reimbursement or remuneration paid in any form and for any reason.
With reference to point 1) it is specified that if an invoice related to the purchase of P.P.E. has not yet been fully paid, but only an advance payment has been done, this invoice may in any case be included among those submitted for participation in the call, provided that the invoice containing the balance amount is attached.
On the other hand, the amounts of the invoices related to taxes and duties are not eligible, therefore the amount of VAT indicated on the invoice will not be refunded.
The refund can cover up to 100% of the expenses incurred in the maximum limit of 500 euros for each employee to whom the P.P.E. is assigned and, in any case, up to a maximum amount per company of 150,000 euros. In fact, the company should declare in the refund request the number of employees to whom the purchase of P.P.E. refers.
The refund procedure is split into 3 phases:
1) reservation of the refund starting from May 11th through a dedicated web portal accessible via the Invitalia website. At the end of the booking, the company will receive the details containing the booking date and time (in fact, the companies will be admitted in chronological order) and an identification code;
2) Invitalia will publish the list of all companies that have submitted the booking. The companies admitted to submit a refund request will be communicated in the list;
3) filling in the refund request: starting from May 26th the subjects included in the list of admitted candidates can proceed with the request, always through the web portal of the Invitalia website.
The refund of eligible expenses, at the end of the procedure, will be credited directly to the company’s bank account, which in fact must be indicated in the request.
After the refund has been paid, Invitalia carries out the checks provided for by the national provisions in order to verify, on a sample of companies, the veracity of the substitute declarations issued by them at the time of the request for reimbursement, the compliance of the invoices and the regular payment of the them, as well as compliance with the specific obligations related to the admission.