Aid for consultancy services – Provincial Law 6/2023

This incentive scheme supports consultancy services procured from external providers and commenced after the date on which the application was submitted.
   

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 enterprises’ 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 undertake initiatives representing a break with 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 routine 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.

Investment initiatives must be launched after the date on which the application is submitted.

Applications are assessed through an evaluation procedure.

Please note!

• In the same application, funding may be requested for more than one consultancy service.
• Specific eligibility criteria apply to each type of consultancy service. Please refer to point 10 of the guidelines.
• Initiatives of a limited value, relating to certain consultancy services formarket research, marketing plans and e-commerce, and certain consultancy services forthe internationalisation of businesses, may be eligible forfunding under the Trentino Annual Growth Grant – Provincial Law 6/2023, provided they fall within the permitted limits and conditions.

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

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

Expenditure limits

The expenditure limits that must be complied with when the incentive is granted are as follows:

• minimum eligible expenditure: more than 25,000 euros;
• maximum eligible expenditure:100,000 euros.

Eligible expenditure is assessed by the evaluating body using specific reasonableness criteria, such as the company’s turnover, the number of full-time equivalent staff (FTE) 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.
   

Specific obligations are set out in the general provisions applicable to all schemes and in the specific provisions for individual schemes relating to the ‘Aid for consultancy services’ scheme.

These include the following obligations:

• to complete the initiative by 31 December of the third year following the year in which the incentive was granted;
• the operational unit must remain within the province.
     

Reporting

A report on the expenses incurred for which the grant was requested must be submitted within one year of the completion date of the initiative specified in the grant decision.

Extensions to the deadlines for completion of the initiative and/or reporting of expenditure are permitted, subject to the submission of a reasoned application to the assessing body.

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 and conditions set out in the specific provisions for each individual scheme relating to the ‘Aid for consultancy services’ support measure, or in the general provisions common to all schemes.

The eligibility requirements and conditions also include:

• being up to date with social security and welfare contributions, as evidenced by a valid DURC on the relevant authorities’ portal;
• adopting, for their employees, one of the contractsidentified by the Provincial Executive in Resolution No. 1758 of 31 October 2024, as amended and supplemented;
• the taking out of insurance policies to cover damage as provided for in Article 1, paragraph 101, of Law No. 213 of 30 December 2023.

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.

The application must be submitted – by the owner/legal representative or their authorised representative – to the assessing body – the Provincial Agency for the Promotion of Economic Activities (APIAE) – via the S.I. Pat Platform using the ‘Aid for consultancy services’ service – Provincial Law 6/2023’.

Please note!

In the event of technical faults with theS.I. Patplatform thatprevent the application from being submitted correctly, these must be reported promptly to the support service by calling the freephone number: 800 196 977, Monday to Friday, 8.00 am to 5.00 pm.

If the issues are not resolved, they must be reported to the processing authority – 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).

The following specific documents must be attached to the incentive application:

• cost estimates from suppliers;
• CVs of the consultants providing the service and/or company profiles of the consultants.

The following specific documents must be attached tothe expenditurereport:

• a summary list of eligible expenses incurred;
• a detailed report for each type of consultancy service, signed by the beneficiary and the consultancy service provider;
•  the consultancy contract entered into with each consultant;
• a verification certificate from the professional.

Please check the documentation in the ‘Forms’ section below.

• Preliminary investigation: the preliminary investigation begins on the day following the date on which the application is submitted.
  The decision to grant the incentive is taken within 60 days of the date of receipt of the binding opinion from the Business Incentives Committee.
     
• Payment: the incentive is paid within 30 days from the date on which the investigating body receives the binding opinion from the Committee for Business Incentives, subject to receipt of a declaration certifying compliance with all obligations and conditions that have lapsed.