The GSE (Energy Services Manager) will coordinate the preventive and final checks necessary for determining the 5.0 tax credit in collaboration with the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy (Mimit) and the Revenue Agency.
On a strictly technical level, Legislative Decree 19/2024 provides that a independent evaluator (whose requirements will be defined by a specific implementing decree) will have to issue a preventive certification (ex ante) which with regard to theeligibility of the project of investment and others completion of investments you certify the reduction in energy consumption, achievable through eligible investments, necessary to obtain recognition of the 5.0 bonus.
Furthermore, the actual sustaining of the eligible expenses and their correspondence with the accounting documentation prepared by the company must be demonstrated by a specific certification issued by the person in charge of the legal audit of accounts.
We are now awaiting the issuance of the implementing decrees that will start the full operation of the measure (which in the initial forecasts were to be promulgated by 1 April 2024).
The role of the GSE
So long as Access to the 5.0 tax credit is not automaticas envisaged by Plan 4.0, for the purposes of the company’s use of the credit, the process for recognizing the 5.0 tax credit involves three steps:
in the first phase the company will have to send the description of the investment project and the related cost to the GSE (Energy Services Manager) which will then send the list of eligible companies to Mimit (also taking into consideration the available resources); in the second phase the beneficiary company will have to periodically communicate to the GSE the progress of the investment admitted to the subsidy and on the basis of this information the amount of the tax credit that can be used will be determined up to the maximum limit of that booked until 31 December 2025 ; the GSE in turn verifies the completeness of the documentation and transmits on a daily basis to Mimit the list of companies that have validly requested to benefit from the benefit and the amount of credit booked (ensuring that the total amount of the projects admitted to booking does not exceed the spending limit envisaged at national level); finally, the company will have to communicate, accompanied by certification, the completion of the investment to the GSE, which will send the Revenue Agency the list of beneficiary companies with the amount of the related tax credit that can be used in compensation.
Independent evaluators and certifications
Decree 19/2024 subordinates the recognition of the contribution to the presentation of specific certifications issued by an independent evaluator, according to criteria and methods identified with the Mimit decree which, with respect to the admissibility and completion of the investments, certifies:
ex ante, the reduction in energy consumption achievable through investments in subsidized goods; ex post, the actual realization of the investments in accordance with the provisions of the ex ante certification. In particular, the implementing decree must identify the requirements, also in terms of independence, impartiality, integrity and professionalism, of the subjects authorized to issue the certifications.
In any case, the subjects authorized to issue certifications include:
i) Energy Management Experts (Ege) certified by an accredited body according to the Uni Cei 11339 standard; ii) Energy service companies (ESCOs) certified by an accredited body according to the Uni Cei 11352 standard.
For SMEs, the certification costs incurred may be recognized as an increase in the tax credit of up to 10,000 euros.
Auditors in the field
The actual incurrence of eligible expenses and their correspondence to the accounting documentation prepared by the company must be demonstrated by a specific certification issued by the person in charge of the statutory audit of the accounts.
For companies not legally obliged to audit, the certification will be issued by a statutory auditor or by a statutory auditing company, registered in section A of the register of auditors. In assuming this role, the statutory auditor or the statutory auditing company must observe i principles of independence.
Waiting for the implementing decrees
The implementation methods of the provisions concerning the recognition and use of the 5.0 tax credit are delegated to the implementing decrees to be issued by Mimit, with particular attention to:
a) the content as well as the methods and terms of transmission of communications, certifications and any further documentation capable of demonstrating entitlement to the benefit, including the interconnection of the goods to the company production management system or to the network supply; b) the criteria for determining the energy savings achieved, also in relation to the counterfactual scenario; and the existence of further technical requirements related to investments; b-bis) the maximum allowable cost, in terms of euro/kw, of energy production systems from renewable sources and, in terms of euro/kwh, of storage systems; c) the procedures for granting the contribution and using the tax credit, as well as for the control, exclusion and recovery of the benefit aimed at guaranteeing compliance with national and European legislation; d) the methods aimed at ensuring compliance with the spending limit; e) the identification of the requirements, also in terms of independence, impartiality, integrity and professionalism, of the subjects authorized to issue the ex ante and ex post certifications, as well as the insurance coverage that they must have in order to keep the companies harmless in the event of incorrect technical assessments; f) the identification of exceptions and specifications related to non-subsidisable investments; g) the methods with which monitoring is carried out regarding the measure’s contribution to the achievement of climate change objectives.
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