Non-repayable grant as compensation for loss of income sustained by export companies based in areas affected by flooding

SIMEST is disbursing a non-repayable grant (from Integrated Promotion Fund resources) to export companies that have their operating base or local units in areas affected by the flooding, as compensation for loss of income ascertained by a sworn report prepared by an independent, authorised auditor.

WHAT’S NEW: as from 18 June, access to the non-repayable grants as compensation for loss of income will also be extended to import companies and businesses that do not export directly but are related to an export-based production chain, and that have a turnover deriving from proven operations with companies that directly operate on foreign markets, based in the areas affected by the flooding of November 2023 in the provinces of Florence, Livorno, Pisa, Pistoia and Prato.

All businesses, of all sizes, that:

• have filed financial statements with the Companies’ Register:
  – for 2022 and for the previous four complete financial years for businesses affected by the flooding in Emilia-Romagna and surrounding areas;
  – for 2023 and for the previous five complete financial years for businesses affected by the flooding in Tuscany;
• have: 
• (i) an export turnover of at least 3%; or alternatively:
• (ii) a production-category ATECO code (the ATECO code is an economic activity code), and at least 10% of their total turnover (line item A1 of the income statement) realised overall with one or more export client companies that have a production-category ATECO code, and which each directly realise an export turnover of at least 3%;
• have their registered office in an EU Member State
• have at least one operating base or local units in areas affected by the flooding as identified in Annex 1 to Italian Decree Law no. 61 of 1 June 2023 (the so-called Flooding Decree Law), or in Annex A to Italian Decree Law no. 145 of 18 October 2023
• have sustained a loss of income following the flooding in May 2023 or November 2023, as ascertained by a Sworn report written by an expert registered with a professional Roll/Association/Body:
  (i) as a result of activities being totally or partially suspended for a maximum of 6 months since the event occurred
  (ii) determined by comparing financial data – referred only to the site affected by the event – relative to:
  a) for Emilia-Romagna and surrounding areas:
•  the 6 months of 2023, as of point (i), with the average of three years identified between the five years preceding the flooding (2018-2022), excluding the two years with the best and worst financial result, respectively, and calculated for the same period of six months taken as the reference in 2023 (according to the SIMEST format in the section Annexes)
  b) for Tuscany:
•  the 6 months after the event, resulting from the sum of financial data of the two months of 2023 and the first four months of 2024 (a period of six months), with the average of the three corresponding periods of six months identified between the five periods of the six months prior to the flooding (2018/2019-2022/2023), excluding the two periods of six months with the best and worst financial result, respectively (according to the SIMEST format in the section Annexes)
• have an ATECO code that is not excluded by the Circular.

A non-repayable grant covering loss of income caused by activities being totally or partially suspended for a maximum period of six months from the flooding, sustained by the applicant company with a direct causal relationship with the event, as ascertained by a sworn report issued by an independent, authorised auditor.

The amount which may be granted

A maximum overall amount of €5,000,000

In any event, the amount of the Grant that may be disbursed and any amount already granted pursuant to the Operating Circulars no. 2/FPI/2023 and no. 1/FPI/2024 may not exceed €5 million.

In addition, the amount of the grant that may be disbursed cannot exceeded 100% of eligible costs relative to the damage sustained from the event. The grant is provided within the limits of the loss of income for which no other public financing has been received, or for which no insurance payouts, in any from whatsoever, have been granted or disbursed by any party whatsoever.

Disbursement of the grant

The grant is disbursed as a single payment within 10 days from receipt of approval by the Financial Support Committee

Documents required to apply for the grant

When submitting an application via SIMEST’s portal, 

the following documents must be uploaded:

• VAT return of the last financial year
• A sworn report on the loss of income, provided by an independent auditor appointed by the applicant company, who is on the register of auditors kept by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, according to the SIMEST format in the section Annexes
• The contract of a current account for the financing granted by SIMEST
• The identity document of the beneficial owner(s)
• the DURC (single record of social security payments)
• Documentation certifying the powers to sign of the Legal Representative (articles of association, deed of appointment or documents granting powers according to the SIMEST format in the section Annexes)
• Anti-mafia documentation for amounts over €150,000 (see the section Annexes)
• Where applicable, a Statement certifying that the Grant does not concern Exclusions (see the section Annexes)
• Statement of the Applicant Company certifying that the flooding totally or partially suspended its activities;

If access via the production chain is a requirement, the company shall also provide:

• A list of export and equivalent clients, showing the amount of sales for each client in 2022 (for Emilia-Romagna and surrounding areas) or 2022/2023 (for Tuscany), and the amounts of sales and relative invoices of the export clients of the export client company

And, alternatively, one of the following documents:

• The VAT return of the export client company
• An excerpt of the VAT return, in cases where the Applicant Company declares that its export client company is not willing to provide the VAT return
• A statement of intent of the export client company
• The financial statements of the export client company

The application, signed digitally by the legal representative and sent via the Portal, can only be received if it includes all requested attachments.

Consult the Circular 2/FPI/2023 as amended on 27 May 2024 and the Circular 1/FPI/2024 for all details on the necessary documents, and on how the measure works. 

• From 09.00 hours on 18 June 2024 you can access the Portal to compile and submit applications for the grant. Businesses located in areas affected by the flooding in Tuscany in November 2023 can also apply 
• From 18.00 hours of 17 June until the opening on 18 June the Portal will be offline, for updates
• To access the Portal, you need to join the virtual queue. When it is your turn, you will have a maximum time to compile the application. After this time has lapsed, you will have to join the queue again. 
• The Portal will be open from 09.00 hours to 18.00 hours, Mondays to Fridays, unless it closes early, because all available financial resources have already been allocated.
• If you are not able to access the compilation stage of the grant application by the time indicated, you will keep your position in the queue only and exclusively when the Portal opens again the following day.
• To compile the application, you must (i) attach all necessary documentation, as indicated in the Circular, (ii) give details of the legal representative, (iii) give details of the beneficial owner of the Applicant company, (iv) upload the contract of the dedicated current account, (v) upload the articles of association of the company. All documents must be digitally signed 
• In any case, submitting an application does not entitle the applicant to have the financing approved. Approval is subject to the application being complete, the successful completion of SIMEST’s application review and the actual availability of financial resources.