PRESS RELEASE

BOOM OF REQUESTS TO ANTITRUST AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN THE RATING OF LEGALITY

The requests sent to the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) have more than doubled in 2014 compared to 2013, following the adoption of the decree of 20 February (number 57) on the criteria to account for the rating of legality in the concession of public finance and the access to credit. And the requests, for which there are no administrative costs, continue to increase day by day even in the new year.

In 2013, when the ICA regulations came into force, the number of requests was 142; in 2014 these were 402, for a total of 544 until 31 December of last year. “The growing trend – comments Antitrust President Giovanni Pitruzzella – confirms the validity and the effectiveness of a reward mechanism that promotes transparency and free competition: this, together with the suppression and punishment of crimes, is the best antidote against the hidden tax which is corruption”.

Approved by Parliament at the end of 2012, the rating of legality is the instrument with which ICA attributes a score, from one to three “little stars”, to the honest businesses that have a turnover of more than EUR 2 million per year and that meet a number of legal and “quality” requirements.  To obtain a “little star”, the owner of the company and other executives should not have previous convictions for the offences referred to in Legislative Decree number 231 of 2001 and for major crimes against the public administration as well as for tax offences. Furthermore, these persons should not have been prosecuted for crimes related to the mafia.

With regards to the company, it should not have committed administrative offences arising from the offences referred to in Legislative Decree number 231 and must not have been convicted in the previous two years for illegal antitrust and consumer protection.  The company also has to make payments and financial transactions over EUR 1 000 exclusively using traceable instruments. To get a higher score, the Regulations indicate another six requirements: two “little stars” if half of these are followed and three “little stars” if all are followed.

The rating given by the Antitrust Authority, as required by law, and in accordance with the provisions in Decree number 57 of 2014, “is taken into account in the granting of loans by the government, as well as in the access to bank credit”. Under the same legislation, “the credit institutions that fail to take account of the rating assigned in the granting of loans to businesses are required to forward to the Bank of Italy a detailed report on the reasons for the decisions taken”.

Overall, from the entry into force of the Regulation at the end of 2014 there were 271 ratings given, equal to 50% of the requests, against 12 which were turned down.  In 18 cases the scores were confirmed and were increased in six. The requests considered as not evaluable, because the turnover of the companies did not reach the minimum threshold, were 64 while 173 are being examined.

Most of the requests come from the North (43.3%), in respect to 22% in the Centre and 31.7% in the South (South and the islands). Over 62% are concentrated in five regions, with Sicily at the top (14%), followed by Lombardy (13.2), Veneto (13), Lazio (12.3) and Emilia Romagna (10.3).

Around 80% of the companies that have requested the rating of legality have a turnover of between EUR 2 and 50 million per year. Less than 3% have a turnover of over EUR300 million. Most have less than 100 employees (78%), against a 3% that employ more than 1 000 persons.

Depending on the type of activity, about 25% of the applicant companies operate in areas known as “sensitive”, such as construction, transportation of goods and people, and the disposal of waste. The largest share consists of limited liability companies (55.19%), followed by shared companies (31.39%).

The complete list of companies that have obtained the rating, with its score, and publicised on the website of the Italian Competition Authority (www.agcm.it).

Rome, 29 January 2015