ROME (ITALPRESS) – The Council of Ministers has approved, at the proposal of the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, the first draft of the annual SME Law, which introduces strategic measures to strengthen Italy’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises by incentivizing aggregation, innovation in the production system and access to credit. Prominent among the measure’s main interventions are “Mini Development Contracts” for the fashion sector, Consortium Centers to coordinate production chains and new tax incentives for business networks. Generational turnover is promoted with subsidized hiring of young people, the protection of competition with rules against false online reviews, and the reorganization of the discipline of Confidi to simplify access to credit. “A turning point for the industrial policy of our country, which enhances the role of small and medium-sized enterprises, the beating heart of the national economy and the productive identity of Made in Italy, through a regulatory system aimed at innovation, competitiveness and growth,” said Minister Urso. The ddl represents the first implementation of Article 18 of Law 180 of 2011, which had provided for the adoption of an annual law for the protection and development of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, “a commitment disregarded by all the governments that have preceded us and that we intend to respect punctually every year, as we are doing for the annual law on competition, according to a clear strategic vision.”In detail, measures are introduced to incentivize forms of aggregation between companies in the fashion sector, to enable SMEs in the sector to join forces and face the challenges of the global market more effectively, increasing their capacity for investment, innovation and their presence in international markets. To this end, up to 100 million euros are earmarked for the fashion sector’s supply chains for “Mini Development Contracts,” aimed at supporting investment programs worth no less than 3 million euros and no more than 20 million.The bill also introduces “Consortium Centers,” new legal entities that serve as guidance and coordination structures for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises already organized in supply chain consortia. These entities aim to strengthen the competitiveness and innovation of enterprises through efficient and supportive models of cooperation. The Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy exercises exclusive oversight to ensure compliance with the mutualistic purposes. The provision delegates the government to regulate the operation and supervision of the Centrali consortili within 12 months.To facilitate access to credit for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, the bill gives the government a delegation of authority to reorganize the regulation of Confidi, more than 20 years after the relevant law was issued. The objective of the intervention is to simplify and reorganize the rules governing this instrument, through the revision of the requirements for registration in the register provided for in Article 106 of the Consolidated Banking Act (TUB), the expansion of permitted activities, the promotion of aggregation processes through regulatory facilities and the extension of operational possibilities for registered Confidi. Measures are also envisaged to reduce investigation costs in assessing the creditworthiness of companies and interventions aimed at encouraging integration between consortia, allowing them to participate in other entities without changing their corporate purpose.Tax incentives are also introduced for companies that join a “subject network” contract, allowing tax suspension on the share of profits allocated to investments envisaged by the common network program. The incentive, financed up to 45 million euros from 2027 to 2029, covers profits made between 2026 and 2028, which are allocated to the common capital fund or assets dedicated to the deal. In order to increase youth employment, the bill contains a provision on “generational relay” in enterprises, which aims to free up new jobs in advance through a flexible retirement system, which allows the older worker a better work/life balance and, at the same time, implements the transfer of professional skills to young workers hired as his or her partial replacement. Thus, a generational transfer system is introduced for companies with up to 50 employees, with incentivized part-time to accompany retirement and subsidized hiring of young people under 35, thus ensuring the transfer of know-how. The newly hired employee will be able to fully replace the employment position of the older worker once the latter’s employment relationship has ended.To combat the phenomenon of false online reviews in the restaurant and tourism market and to ensure fair and equitable competition, the bill intervenes by providing for the obligation to verify the reliability of the review, ensuring that it is really written by a consumer who has actually used the service or purchased the reviewed product.The provision defines that the consumer may issue a reasoned review within 15 days from the date of use of the service. The company concerned will be able to request its deletion in the event that the review proves to be false or misleading, or if the comment is no longer relevant after two years from its publication or due to the adoption of appropriate measures to overcome the critical issues that had given rise to the opinion expressed.Finally, thirteen years after the first “Startup Act,” the bill delegates to the government the adoption of a legislative decree to draft a single text on startups, incubators and innovative SMEs. The aim is to coordinate existing regulations, making changes to improve their legal, logical and functional consistency, and to expressly repeal provisions that are obsolete or lack regulatory content. The figure of the Guarantor for this business sector is consolidated and its tasks expanded, with the aim of promoting the culture, training and growth of the Italian technological innovation ecosystem to maximize its competitiveness.
– Photo Agency Photogram –
(ITALPRESS).
