Contribution towards product quality certification costs - MQTrentino

Article 48(1) and (3) of Provincial Law 4/2003 is intended to encourage companies to join quality schemes for agricultural and food products, as well as to continue their participation in such schemes, by granting subsidies to partially cover the costs of certification recognised at provincial level.

The grant cannot be paid in advance but is paid exclusively as a final settlement.

For the purposes of payment, the following documentation must be submitted together with the application for payment of the grant:

- a detailed report on the audit carried out, including a breakdown of the costs incurred and signed by the appointed or authorised certification body; the audits referred to in the report must be shown to have been certified after the date of submission of the grant application;

- a copy of the paid invoices issued, after the date of submission of the grant application, by the appointed or authorised certification body for the audits carried out following the submission of the aforementioned grant applications: the paid invoices must bear the unique project code (CUP) assigned;

- a declaration in lieu of an affidavit by the legal representative stating that the VAT on certification costs constitutes an actual expense for the company;

- a declaration in lieu of an affidavit by the legal representative regarding the applicability of the withholding tax referred to in Article 28(2) of Presidential Decree 600/1973.

Provincial Law No. 4 of 28 March 2003, in Article 48(1) and (3), sets out the “Incentives for product quality”, stipulating that “The Province may grant aid to the entities referred to in Article 2, paragraph 1, letters a), b), c), d) and e), as well as to consortia for the protection of PDO, PGI, IGT, DOC and DOCG, to encourage control programmes in the production process to safeguard designations of origin and certificates of specific character, with a maximum contribution over six years of up to 100 per cent of the cost of the controls carried out in the first year, reduced by fifteen percentage points for each subsequent year, so that by the sixth year the maximum funding amounts to 25 per cent. This aid may also be granted to protection consortia.” This aid may also be granted to quality products recognised and certified at provincial level.

The beneficiaries of grants to promote control programmes in the production process to guarantee quality products recognised and certified at provincial level are:

1) the entities referred to in Article 2(1)(a), (b) and (c) of Provincial Law 4/2003 (individual agricultural enterprises, companies established to operate agricultural enterprises, public and private bodies, and direct operators of agricultural holdings);

2) the entities referred to in Article 2(1)(d) of Provincial Law 4/2003 (agricultural cooperatives and cooperatives for the collection, processing and marketing of agricultural products, as well as their consortia and agricultural associations);

3) the entities referred to in Article 2(1)(e) of Provincial Law 4/2003(agricultural producers’ associations recognised under the relevant legislation in force);

4) consortia for the protection of PDO, PGI, IGT, DOC and DOCG designations;

5) small and medium-sized enterprises in the agri-food sector, whether operating individually or as part of an association.

Applications for funding, drawn up in accordance with the forms provided by the Rural Development Policy Service and available on the Province’s official website, must be submitted between 1 January and 30 June of the year in which the checks are carried out during the production process to guarantee the quality of produce recognised and certified at provincial level.

Applications submitted after the deadline will be excluded from the support provided.

Applications for funding may be submitted for a maximum period of six years from the first year of submission.

The deadline for submitting the report may be extended, at the beneficiary’s request and for reasons not directly attributable to the beneficiary, on one occasion only, subject to a reasoned request to be submitted before the deadline expires. Failure to meet the reporting deadline, even if extended, will result in the forfeiture of the grant awarded.

Applications for grants must be drawn up in accordance with the template approved by decision of the Head of the Rural Development Policy Service, and must include:

a) the subject of the application;

b) the applicant’s identification details;

c) the amount of expenditure requested for each set of eligibility criteria;

d) an indication of whether VAT on certification costs constitutes an actual cost for the business;

e) the IBAN of the designated bank account;

f) an indication of the first year for which the grant is being applied for.

The following documentation must be attached to the application: 

• the programme of control activities to be carried out by the body authorised by the Autonomous Province of Trento, including a detailed breakdown of the costs to be incurred for product certification, signed by both parties to confirm acceptance;

• a copy, where applicable, of the minutes of the decision by the competent body approving the programme of control activities;

• a statutory declaration by the legal representative stating that the company has not received any other State aid in relation to the eligible costs;

• a copy of the licence agreement for the use of the Trentino Quality Mark.

For the year 2026 only, the deadline for submitting grant applications has been extended to30 September 2026.