Aid for projects awarded the Mark of Excellence - L.p. 6/2023

The facilitation measure supports research and development projects of enterprises, to be carried out in the territory of the Province of Trento, which have obtained the mark of excellence attesting their quality no more than 6 months prior to the date of application.

The facilitation measure, which is implemented under Provincial Law no. 6/2023 "Interventions in support of the Trentino economic system", is governed by the specific provisions of the individual interventions relating to the facilitation measure "Aid for projects awarded the Mark of Excellence" and by the general provisions common to all interventions.

What it finances

Aid is granted to research and development projects, also carried out jointly with other entities, awarded the mark of excellence attesting their quality within the framework of the Horizon 2020 programme or the Horizon Europe programme and belonging to the priority areas/strategic projects defined by the Multiannual Research Programme (P.P.R.) referred to in Article 18 of Provincial Law no. 14/2005.

Research and development projects must be related to the following activities

• industrial research
• experimental development;
• feasibility studies.

Applications are examined by means of an assessment procedure.

Incentive

The incentive measure is equal to the incentive measure recognised by the European Commission for the initiative under the Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe programme rules. However, the incentive may not exceed EUR 2.5 million per individual project and subject.

The incentive is granted under an exemption pursuant to Commission Regulation (EU) 651/2014 of 17 June 2014.

Minimum and maximum expenditure limit

There are no minimum and maximum expenditure limits.

Eligible projects must

• be carried out within an operating unit located in the territory of the Province of Trento, in possession of specific requirements (check point 3, paragraph 8, of the general provisions common to all interventions)
• be started after the date of submission of the application to the European Commission and within 3 months from the date the incentive is granted;
• be completed within 3 years from the date of granting of the incentive or from the start date if later than the date of granting.

Further obligations are set out in the general provisions common to all the measures and in the specific provisions of the individual measures relating to the aid measure 'Aid for projects awarded the Mark of Excellence'. These include the obligations to maintain the operating unit in the provincial territory, the employment and economic-capital obligations, and the obligations to use the results of the project for productive purposes in the provincial territory.

Projects with eligible expenditure exceeding 1 million euro are also subject, for the purposes of granting the incentive, to the signing of a Pact between the Province and the company requesting the incentive. In the Pact, objectives and obligations for the development of the territory are shared.

Small and medium-sized enterprises that meet the requirements set out in the specific provisions of the individual measures relating to the aid measure 'Aid for projects awarded the Mark of Excellence' or in the general provisions common to all the measures.

The application may be submitted by

• Owner, legal representative of the enterprise
• Delegate

Applications may be submitted from 1 January to 31 December each year.

The application must be submitted to the examining body - Provincial Agency for the Encouragement of Economic Activities (APIAE) - by certified electronic mail (PEC) to the address: apiae.incentivi@pec.provincia.tn.it.

• Insurance contract covering damages, directly caused by natural disasters and catastrophic events occurring on the national territory, to the assets indicated in paragraph 1 of Article 2424 of the Italian Civil Code, (section Assets, 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).

  The insurance contract is required as an access requirement for applications submitted from:

  • 30 June 2025, for large enterprises;
  • 2 October 2025, for medium-sized enterprises;
  • 1 January 2026, for small enterprises.

  Compliance with the obligation to take out the insurance contract is also required for incentive applications submitted before the aforementioned deadlines and granted after the same.
  

• Affixing of theunique project code - CUP on invoices issued from 1 June 2023 and relating to incentive applications submitted from 22 April 2023, according to the operative indications provided for by the Resolution of the Provincial Council no. 728 of 23 May 2024.
  

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