The area of 8 regions of Southern Italy is a Special Economic Zone benefiting of Tax Credit for investments in many sectors
The "Zona Economica Speciale Unica Mezzogiorno": includes Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Puglia, Sicily, and Sardinia.
From January 1st 2024 in Italy is in force the Single Southern Italy Special Economic Zone (SEZ, called “Zona Economica Speciale Unica Mezzogiorno”) as per Law 162/2023 which includes the territories of the regions: Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Puglia, Sicily, and Sardinia.
The characteristics of the SEZ (in Italian the acronym is ZES) as defined by law are:
- it is a delimited area of the territory of the state;
- inside this area are performed economic and entrepreneurial activities;
- the operators inside SEZ can be companies already operating in the relevant territories and/or companies that will establish there;
- all operators of the SEZ can benefit of special conditions, in relation to investments and development activities and of tax credit incentive.
The “ZES Unica Mezzogiorno” aims to support economic development and growth in the regions of Southern Italy through administrative simplification (Autorizzazione Unica, Single Authorization) and investment facilitation.
Beneficiaries of SEZ incentive
All kind of businesses, can be performed into the SEZ, including enterprises active in the primary production of agricultural products, in the fisheries and aquaculture sector and in the processing and marketing of agricultural, fisheries and aquaculture products.
Exclusions concern entities operating in the sectors of: steel, coal and lignite industry, transport and related infrastructure, energy production, storage, transmission and distribution and energy infrastructure, broadband, credit, financial and insurance sectors.
Beneficiary companies must maintain their activity in the plant areas, located in the assisted zones in which the investment subject to the subsidy was made, for at least 5 years after the completion of the investment.
Incentives
Contribution, in the form of a tax credit, to the maximum extent permitted.
Regions | Small businesses(up to 50 million investment) | Medium-sized enterprises(up to 50 million investment) |
| Large companies(and SMEs with an investment of over 50 million) |
Abruzzo | 35% | 25% |
| 15% |
Molise | 50% | 40% |
| 30% |
Sardinia | 50% | 40% |
| 30% |
Sardinia | 60% | 50% |
| 40% |
Campania | 60% | 50% |
| 40% |
Apulia | 60% | 50% |
| 40% |
Puglia | 70% | 60% |
| 50% |
Basilicata | 50% | 40% |
| 30% |
Calabria | 60% | 50% |
| 40% |
Sicily | 60% | 50% |
| 40% |
The tax credit is proportionate to the share of the overall cost of the goods purchased or, in the case of real estate investments, for each investment project of no more than € 100 million.
For investments made through financial leasing contracts, the cost incurred by the lessor for the purchase of the goods is assumed; this cost does not include maintenance costs.
Investment projects with an amount lower than € 200.000 are not eligible for SEZ.
Costs that are part of an initial investment project relating to the purchase, including through financial leasing contracts, of new machinery, plants and various equipment intended for existing production facilities or which are being set up in the SEZ, purchase of land and the acquisition, construction or expansion of properties instrumental to the investments and actually used for the exercise of the activity in the production facility, are eligible for tax credit incentive.
Investments in instrumental real estate are eligible for tax relief even if they concern assets already used by the assignor or by other parties for the performance of an economic activity.
The value of the land and buildings eligible for the incentive cannot exceed 50% of the overall value of the supported investment.
Only acquisitions between parties between which there must not exist any control or connection relationships are eligible for assistance.
The tax credit may be cumulated with de minimis aid and with other state aid that has as its object the same costs eligible for the benefit, provided that such cumulation does not lead to exceeding the highest aid intensity or amount permitted by the relevant European reference regulations.
To access the tax credit, interested party must communicate to the Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate), the amount of eligible expenses incurred from 1st January.
The “Autorizzazione Unica” (Single Authoriation)
For settling a company inside the SEZ is necessary to start the procedure of Single Authorization (Autorizzazione Unica) which is an administrative simplification tool.
The Single Authorization procedure includes the release of two or more enabling titles (license, authorization by public entity), necessary for an investment project, the Help Desk SEZ office for Single Authorization is not competent for the release of each single enabling title, so that, when the applicant submits the Single Authorization application, it is on the applicant's responsibility to:
- submit the documentation to be attached to the application in a complete and exhaustive manner;
- indicate the enabling titles required for the investment project, which will be included in the Single Authorization application and the competent entities that will be involved in the “Conferenza dei Servizi” (it is the meeting of the competent bodies in a single session that issues a single decision);
- attach to the application the business plan with the characteristics of the proposed projects and the related employment implications; there is no predefined business plan model, it can be drawn up according to the specificities of the individual project; it is available a model of BP that summarises the minimum content.
It is possible for the applicant:
- to ask for a Preventive Consultation to the Help Desk, it is an additional service that serves to provide initial guidance, facilitating the subsequent submission of the application;
- to submit the “Preventive Communication form” which is not mandatory and does not in any way replace the formal presentation of the application, it has the purpose of communicating with the SEZ Mission Structure for an initial orientation. If the information provided with the Preventive Communication is sufficient, the Mission Structure will indicate whether the initiative illustrated by the company falls within the regulatory scope of the Single Authorization and whether, therefore, a formal request must be submitted through the Help Desk and the ad hoc forms; it is always possible to submit a request for a Single Authorization regardless of any Preventive Consultation.
When submitting the application for a Single Authorization, all the elements and documentation required by the sector regulations that allow the competent administrations to carry out the investigation must be attached; if these are missing or insufficient, appropriate documentary integration could be requested also during the review.
It is possible to monitor the status of a practice on line. Any request of information relating to the pending practices are addressed to the Help Desk of the SEZ, they are tracked and archived; further requests for clarifications relating to ongoing proceedings made outside the Help Desk require the identification of the applicant who must certify his/her legitimacy to externally represent the investing company.
All further administrative procedures following the release of the Single Authorization are of competence of the related bodies.
A receipt is issued electronically upon submission of the application and the related attached documents, which certifies the submission of the application and indicates the terms within which the SEZ is required to respond, or within which the silence of the SEZ is equivalent to acceptance of the application.
Which projects can be approved by the Single Authorization
The following kind of applications will be able to access the simplified Single Authorization regime:
1) investment projects relating to territories falling within one of the areas included in the eight pre-existing regional SEZ (those for each Southern region: Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Puglia, Sicily, and Sardinia);
2) new investment projects be located mainly in industrial areas or intended for industrial and production settlements, if aimed at achieving at least one of the following results:
- construction of new plant;
- expansion of an existing plant or its production capacity;
- reconversion or diversification of the production of an existing plant.
Projects not subject to Single Authorization
The following projects are not subject to a Single Authorization under the jurisdiction of the SEZ:
- relating to energy plants and infrastructures;
- concerning works and other activities inside airports;
- relating to investments of preeminent national strategic importance, as per art. 13 of Legislative Decree no. 104 of 2023, by foreign investment programmes on Italian territory of the value of at least € 1 billion, which require, for their implementation, integrated and coordinated administrative procedures of local authorities, regions, autonomous provinces, state administrations and other public bodies or subjects of any nature which are coordinate by an extraordinary commissioner; in any case, the ownership structures of companies operating in sectors considered strategic and of national interest are excluded, such as: defense; national security; some activities of strategic importance in the sectors of energy, transport, communications, broadband electronic telecommunications networks with "fifth generation" (5G) technology, and further sectors to be identified with regulations;
- relating to trade activities;
- projects which needs the release of the SCIA (Segnalazione Certificata di Inizio Attività), it is one of the main administrative procedures to be carried out to start, modify or cease a craft, commercial or industrial production activity; SCIA is an administrative declaration that must be presented using the appropriate form filled out with self-certification; in most cases, it is sufficient to submit the relevant SCIA form, correctly filled out to start an economic activity;
- projects for which the issuing of an enabling title is not foreseen;
- individual procedures to be activated by application to a competent body.
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