Things
Smart&Start Italia is a facilitative instrument established by decree of the Minister of Economic Development of 24 September 2014 and subsequent amendments and additions, aimed at promoting, throughout the national territory, the conditions for the diffusion of new entrepreneurship and supporting technological transfer and economic valorisation of the results of the public and private research system. By decree of the Minister of Economic Development of 30 August 2019, adopted in implementation of the provisions of article 29, paragraph 3, of the legislative decree of 30 April 2019, n. 34, amendments were made to the aforementioned decree of 24 September 2014, aimed at a review of the implementation regulations of the intervention aimed, among other things, at the simplification and acceleration of the procedures for accessing, granting and providing benefits, also through the updating of the methods of evaluating the initiatives and reporting the expenses incurred by the beneficiaries. With circular from the General Directorate for business incentives no. 439196 of 16 December 2019, the criteria and methods for accessing, granting and providing benefits have been defined.
Who is it aimed at?
The facilitative measure is reserved for innovative startups, located throughout the national territory, registered in the specific special section of the business register and in possession of the requirements set out in Article 25 of Legislative Decree no. 179/2012. Startups must have been established for no more than 60 months on the date of submission of the application and must be classifiable as small in size. Natural persons who intend to set up an innovative startup can also apply for relief. In this case, the incorporation of the company must take place within 30 days of the communication of admission to the benefits. Foreign companies that undertake to establish at least one operational headquarters on Italian territory can also obtain Smart&Start Italia benefits.
What does it predict
Smart&Start Italia finances business plans, for amounts between 100 thousand euros and 1.5 million euros, including the following categories of expenses: – tangible fixed assets such as technological, or technical-scientific, new plant, machinery and equipment, provided that they are coherent and functional to the business activity, – intangible assets necessary for the activity covered by the subsidized initiative, such as patents, trademarks and licenses, certifications, know-how and technical knowledge, including non-patented, related to production and management needs of the company, – services functional to the implementation of the business plan, directly related to the production needs of the company (design, development, customization and testing of IT architectural solutions and technological production systems, technological specialist consultancy, services provided by incubators and business accelerators and those relating to marketing and web-marketing, costs connected to collaborations established with research organizations for the purpose of implementing the business plan), – employees and collaborators in any capacity having the requirements indicated in the article 25, paragraph 2, letter h), number 2), of legislative decree no. 179/2012, to the extent that they are functionally used in the implementation of the business plan. Within the limits of 20% of the aforementioned expenses, an amount to cover the working capital needs connected to the support of expenses for raw materials, services necessary for carrying out the company's activities (including hosting and housing) is also eligible for contribution. and enjoyment of third party assets. The business plans must be started after the submission of the application and must be concluded within 24 months from the date of signature of the financing contract. With circular from the Director General for business incentives 4 July 2022, n. 253833 were added to circular no. 439196 of 16 December 2019 the necessary changes and additions to adapt its content to the new provisions dictated by the decree of 24 February 2022. The circular provides for the possibility of presenting, according to the methods and templates made available by the managing body in the specific section of the dedicated website to the Smart&Start Italia measure, requests for conversion of a portion of the subsidized loan into a non-repayable contribution starting from 14 July 2022. As a first application, requests can also be submitted by companies which, on the same date, have been already eligible for the benefits provided for the implementation of business plans and who have not completed these plans for over 24 months.
