Aid for consultancy services – Provincial Law 6/2023

The support scheme covers consultancy services procured from external providers and commenced after the date on which the application was submitted.

The subsidy scheme, implemented under Provincial Law No. 6/2023 ‘Measures to support the Trentino economy’, is governed by the specific provisions of the individual measures relating to the‘Aid for consultancy services’scheme and by the general provisions common to all measures.

What is funded

The following types of consultancy services are eligible for funding:

• consultancy services relating to innovation;
• innovation support services;
• consultancy services relatingto environmental protectionand energy;
• consultancy services for the implementation of initiatives aimed at adopting best practices for waste prevention and reduction and achieving certified operational standards offering greater environmental protection;
• consultancy services to promote the adoption of methodologies and tools necessary to measure and report on companies’ performance in terms of economic, social and environmental sustainability, governance and digital maturity;
• consultancy services for market research, marketing plans and e-commerce, aimed at strengthening market presence;
• consultancy services forthe internationalisation of businesses, aimed at strengthening commercial penetration abroad through the marketing of goods or services;
• consultancy services for the introduction within a company of artificial intelligence tools applied to production processes;
• consultancy services for the development of a cyber security plan;
• consultancy services for workforce development;
• consultancy services forthe launch of businesses set up by new entrepreneurs, aimed at establishing a sustainable business;
• consultancy services for business mergers;
• consultancy services to embark on a path of significant change from the previous situation;
• consultancy services forthe issue of a bond aimed at supporting medium- to long-term development plans or internationalisation programmes

To be eligible for funding, consultancy services must not:

• be ongoing or periodic;
• relate to the enterprise’s ordinary operating costs associated with regular activities such as tax advice, legal advice or advertising;
• fall within the beneficiary’s own area of expertise or among the services it provides itself.

Applications are assessed through an evaluation procedure.

Support may be requested for more than one consultancy service within the same application.

Incentive

The incentive is calculated on the basis of eligible expenditure and is determined according to the size of the enterprise as follows:

• small enterprise: 50% of eligible expenditure;
• medium-sized enterprise: 40% of eligible expenditure;
• large enterprise, for consultancy services relating to environmental protection and energy only : 40% of eligible expenditure.

The incentive is granted under the exemption scheme provided for in Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of 17 June 2014.

Minimum and maximum expenditure limits

The minimum eligible expenditure must exceed 25,000 euros.
The maximum eligible expenditure is 100,000 euros.

Eligible expenditure is assessed by the assessing body using specific reasonableness criteria, such as the company’s turnover, the number of full-time equivalent staff (FTEs) and the hourly cost of consultancy, as set out in Annex 1 of the specific provisions for the individual measures under the ‘Aid for consultancy services’ scheme.

Consultancy services must:

• relate to operational units located within the Province of Trento, which meet specific requirements ( as set out in point 3, paragraph 8, of the general provisions applicable to all projects);
• commence after the date on which the application for the incentive is submitted;
• be completed within 3 years of the date on which the incentive is granted.

Further obligations are set out in the general provisions common to all interventions and in the specific provisions for individual interventions relating to the ‘Aid for consultancy services’ scheme.

Small and medium-sized enterprises, and – in the case of consultancy services relating to environmental protection and energy – large enterprises as well, provided they meet the requirements set out in the specific provisions for each individual scheme under the ‘Aid for consultancy services’ support measure, or in the general provisions common to all schemes.

The requirements include: 

• An insurance policy covering damage directly caused by natural disasters and catastrophic events occurring within the national territory, to the assets specified in paragraph 1 of Article 2424 of the Civil Code (Assets section, item B-II, numbers 1), 2) and 3)), pursuant to Law No. 213/2023 (Article 1, paragraphs 101 et seq., as amended by Article 13 of Decree-Law No. 202/2024 and by Article 1 of Decree-Law No. 39/2025), in accordance with the general provisions common to all measures under Provincial Law No. 6/2023 (point 3, paragraph 5, letter r)).

  An insurance policy is required asa condition of eligibility for applications submitted from:

  • 30 June 2025, forlarge enterprises;
  • 2 October 2025, formedium-sized enterprises;
  • 1 January 2026, forsmall enterprises.

  Compliance with the obligation to take out an insurance policy is also required for incentive applications submittedbefore the aforementioned deadlines but for which approval is granted after those dates.

  Please refer to theFAQsunder‘Further information’.

• A collective agreement covering its employees, with one of the providers identified by Provincial Council Resolution No. 1758 of 31 October 2024

• Up-to-date paymentof contributions to social security and welfare bodies.

The application may be submitted by:

• The owner or legal representative of the company
• An authorised representative

Each business may submit one application per year, from 1 January to 31 December.
In any case, for the same type of consultancy, an application may be submitted once every three years.

If an application has already been submitted under this support scheme, a new application may only be submitted once the expenditure relating to the previous application has been accounted for.

From 31 October 2025, applications must be submitted via theS.I. PatPlatform using the‘Aid for consultancy services – Provincial Law 6/2023’ service.

SUPPORT CONTACTS

In the event of platform malfunctions preventing the application from being submitted correctly, these must be reported promptly to the support service by calling the freephone number 800 196 977 from Monday to Friday, 8.00 am to 5.00 pm.

If the issues remain unresolved, they must be reported to the processing body – APIAE Office for Energy Incentives and Other Subsidies – via certified email (PEC) to the address apiae.incentivi@pec.provincia.tn.it. Once the situation and the timeframe for resolution have been assessed, the case handler may authorise the submission or rectification of the application via certified email (PEC).

Inclusion of the Unique Project Code (CUP) on invoices issued from 1 June 2023 and relating to incentive applications submitted from 22 April 2023. 

Please refer to the operational guidelines set out under the heading‘Provisions regarding the Unique Project Code (CUP)’

Each business may submit one application per year, from 1 January to 31 December.
In any case, for the same type of consultancy, an application may be submitted once every three years.