A questionnaire will be sent to the over 8,000 companies that have obtained or renewed their legality rating in the last two years. The request for Rating is constantly growing, + 12% in 2020
The Legality Rating continues to find increasing interest among companies. In fact, in 2020, the Authority concluded approximately 4,600 rating proceedings, with an increase by approximately 12% compared to 2019, confirming a constantly growing trend.
The Authority reminds that the Legality Rating is a reward institution: in addition to strengthening the reputation of economic operators obtaining the rating, it gives virtuous companies further benefits when they request public or bank funding and when they participate in tenders for the award of public contracts.
According to the Antitrust Authority, it is important, especially in the current period of economic crisis, that all the benefits in principle available for the companies that have obtained the Rating are fully recognized in practice, thus enhancing the economic operators which stand out in terms of corporate compliance and development of a business culture based on ethical principles.
For this reason, the Authority has decided to launch a survey to assess the actual impact of the Rating on the activity of the companies that own it and on the market in general. The questionnaire will be sent to all the over 8,000 companies that have obtained or renewed the Legality Rating in the last two years.
The data collection aims, in particular, at recording and measuring the benefits that companies have obtained thanks to the possession of the Rating, as well as to identify any obstacles to obtain them. The results could be used to shape further initiatives to strengthen this institution and its effectiveness.
Rome, 2 March 2021
The Chairman of the Italian Competition Authority, Roberto Rustichelli, and the Commander-General of the Carabinieri, Teo Luzi, met at the Carabinieri General Headquarters, almost two years after signing the Memorandum of Understanding on the Legality Rating in November 2020.
This was a favourable occasion to comment on the positive implementation of the Memorandum. Indeed, as a result of strengthening cooperation with the Carabinieri, and thanks to the high professionalism of its staff, the Italian Competition Authority is able to make the necessary assessments for assigning the Legality Rating in a more thorough, reliable and rapid manner.
The Legality Rating, issued by the AGCM, is a recognition that strengthens the reputation of the economic operators that obtain it, giving virtuous companies the right to access benefits when they request public or bank funding and when they participate in public procurement tenders.
The signed memorandum sets out -as areas of cooperation- the exchange of information for the release, renewal, downgrading and revocation of the Legality Rating; moreover, it allows the organisation of reciprocal training activities in matters of common interest and, finally, facilitates the exchange of best practices and lessons learned.
There are currently almost 10 thousand companies that have obtained the Legality Rating and, from the implementation of the Memorandum to date, there has been an effective collaboration with the Carabinieri in almost 9,000 cases.
The Memorandum of Understanding on the Legality Rating, which has a duration of five years, is an example of synergy in the Public Administration and effective cooperation among institutions to the benefit of the business community.
Rome, 27 September 2022
The Italian Competition Authority has implemented a web platform dedicated to businesses for completing and submitting applications and communications concerning Legality Rating.
WebRating is a tool that allows businesses to submit quickly and simply all data necessary to obtain the Legality Rating, as well as any corporate changes, in the interests of transparency and mutual cooperation.
The new system, which envisages the compilation of an online form, is directly accessible via the institutional portal www.agcm.it.
The new procedure offers numerous advantages:
Rome, 21 October 2019
The new implementing regulation on legality ratings comes into force today, 20 October. The amendments take into consideration the comments received from stakeholders following a public consultation.
Changes include the extended scope of application of the regulation, which now allows entities registered only in the Economic and Administrative Repertoire to apply for the rating. Furthermore, in order to make the rating more responsive to the objectives identified by the legislator, the legality requirements have been increased both from a subjective and objective point of view.
In particular, to further enhance the rewarding nature of the rating, the directors of the parent company or of the company or entity that exercises management and coordination activities over the company applying for the legality rating are also included among the relevant subjects. Moreover, in addition to the offences already envisaged by the Regulation as being an obstacle to issuing the rating, there are now also those of usury, fraudulent transfer of assets and fraudulent bankruptcy.
Additional amendments to the Regulation concern its adaptation to case law and the simplification and clarification of the procedure.
The WebRating platform, through which companies submit rating applications electronically, has already been updated in accordance with the provisions of the new Regulation.
Rome, 20 October 2020
PRESS RELEASE
LEGALITY RATING 583 CASES CLOSED IN THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF 2016
In the first four months of 2016, the ICA closed 583 cases attributing 418 Legality Ratings (equal to 71%). Compared to the same four-month period of 2015, this tool - appointed to the ICA to reward virtuous companies - experienced an increase respectively of 124% and 111%. Moreover, renewals amounted to 17 as well as confirmations, plus 16 score increases. Whereas, denials amounted to 27 (equal to 5%), with 3 suspensions, 4 revocations and 81 dismissals.
From January 2013 to 30 April 2016, out of a total of 2,828 requests submitted to the ICA, 2,430 cases were closed (86%), while 398 are still ongoing (14%). The total amount of Rating attributions was equal to 1,789 (74%), with 69 confirmations (3%) and 41 attributions with a higher score (2%). To complete the general view of the activity carried out to date by the ICA’s Directorate, denials amount to 104 (4%), with 10 suspensions (0.5%), 12 revocations (0.5%), 52 renewals (2%) and 353 dismissals (14%).
In these four years, most of the Legality Rating applications have been submitted by Northern Regions (53%), while 30% have been submitted by Southern Regions and the Islands (with Puglia ranking first at 10.6%), and 17% by Central Regions.
Approved by the Parliament at the end of 2012, the Legality Rating is a “premium” tool. In fact, the ICA has been appointed to attribute a score - from one to three “stars” - to virtuous companies, with a yearly turnover above two million Euros, that satisfy a series of legal requirements. First of all, in order to obtain a “star”, the Company’s owner and managers must not have criminal or fiscal records. Moreover, the Company must not have been sentenced for anti-competitive behaviours in the two previous years, and all of its payments and financial transactions above one thousand Euros must be carried out exclusively through traceable means. In order to obtain a higher score, the Regulation indicates six further requirements: two “stars” are granted if half of the requirements are satisfied, three “stars” if they are all satisfied.
According to what provided for by law, the Legality Rating entrusted to the ICA “is relevant in the granting of public funds and in access to bank credit”. Pursuant to the same regulation, “when granting funds to companies, banks that do not keep into account the attributed rating are obliged to submit a detailed report to Banca d’Italia motivating their reasons”.
The complete and updated list of companies that have obtained the Legality Rating is provided on this same website (http://www.agcm.it/rating-di-legalita/elenco.html).
Rome, 3 May 2016
RATING OF LEGALITY, NEW RULES FOR MORE STRINGENT TESTS, THE BOOM OF ALLOCATIONS CONTINUES
In the first eight months of 2016, 616 companies have obtained the rating of legality given by the Antitrust Authority, up from the 434 allocations in the same period in 2015. Also, there were 1215 requests received, an increase of 30.1% with respect to 2015. 28 companies were deemed unfit, whilst only three companies lost their “trading stamp”, a guarantee of good behaviour.
This is some of the data of the 2016 rating of legality published on the Antitrust Authority website. The comparison with the previous year shows, in general, a growing trend both for the requests ( 30.9%) and the allocations ( 39%), the confirmations ( 311.1% and the increase in the score ( 155%).
Published in the Official Gazette number 213 of 12 September 2016, the amendments to the regulations on the rating of legality are for two years and renewable with a specific request of the company signed by the legal representative and compiled using the form published on the Authority’s site. The modifications mainly concern requirements for access to the rating and the attainment of additional stars, the formal procedures and the controls provided for the verification of the existence of the self-certified conditions upon request.
Among the changes, reduction of the rating for companies that have received sanctions from the Anti-corruption Authority or annotations in computer records, more control on the ownership of subsidiaries of foreign companies that cannot receive the rating without the identification of the owners. Furthermore, no quality certification for companies that have received condemnation measures by the Antitrust Authority for unfair business practices or measures of conviction for non-compliance that can no longer be contested or a final judgement in the two years before the rating request.
The Regulation is aimed at companies that have headquarters in the national territory, having achieved a turnover of over two million Euros in the year before the rating request and have been entered into the register of companies for at least two years.
Rome, 21 September 2016
In 2016 the trend of requests for the legality rating from companies - the recognition granted by the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) to virtuous enterprises under the law of 2012 - increased continuously. In the year just ended, in fact, the applications for obtaining this ‘mark of quality’, which is a guarantee of legality and transparency, totalled 2118 compared to 1427 in 2015, with an increase of 48%. The number of ratings assigned also rose to 1499 in 2016, compared to 1046 in the previous year ( 43%). There were also 64 renewals compared to 40 in 2015 ( 60%).
As of January 2013, when the ICA’s Regulation came into force, 4603 applications for rating were received by the Authority; 2690 ratings were assigned (68% of cases), 161 (4%) were denied, 121 companies (3%) received confirmation of their ratings, 80 improved their quality level (2%), 108 had their ratings renewed (3.7%) and 10 had them revoked (0.3 %). There were 753 cases (19%) closed.
Approved by the Italian Parliament at the end of 2012 and entered into force with the ICA’s Regulation in 2013, the legality rating is the ‘award’ instrument that the ICA has been entrusted with, assigning a score from one to three ‘stars’ to virtuous companies which have an annual turnover of over two million euros and meet a number of legal requirements. To get one ‘star’, the company owner and other executives must not have a criminal or tax infringement history. In addition not to being sentenced for antitrust offences in the two prior years, the company must make payments and financial transactions over one thousand euros exclusively by means of traceable instruments. The Regulation establishes six additional requirements for companies to obtain a higher score; the companies that meet half of them get two ‘stars’, while those that meet all of these six requirements are assigned and gets three ‘stars’.
The rating awarded by the Authority, according to the aforementioned law ‘is taken into account in the granting of funds by public administrations, as well as access to bank credit’. Under the same legislation, ‘credit institutes that fail to take account of the legality rating when granting a loan to a company are required to transmit a detailed report of the reasons for their decision to the Bank of Italy’.
The complete list of companies that have so far obtained the legality rating, with their relative scores, is published on the website of the Italian Competition Authority (www.agcm.it).
Rome, 5 January 2017
LEGALITY RATING BOOM AT THE ICA: +243% REQUESTS AND +450% CASES CLOSED
The statistical data concerning the Legality Rating are such to even make the term “boom” seem inadequate. Through this tool, the ICA attributes a score to virtuous companies on the basis of the law dated 2012. From 2014 to 2015, the requests basically tripled, passing from 441 to 1,514 ( 243%), while the cases closed by the ICA’s Offices almost quintupled: from 251 to 1,382 ( 450%). Aimed at transparency and fight against corruption, this tool clearly provides economic, financial and reputational benefits which an increasing number of companies are interested in obtaining, submitting request to the ICA for a “quality label”.
More in detail, against the 183 ratings attributed in 2014, last year they rose to 1,083. In parallel, also the denials increased from 6 to 66, as well as confirmations passing from 15 to 28. Lastly, 5 revocations were carried out, while none in the previous year.
Approved by the Parliament at the end of 2012 and entered into force with the ICA’s Regulation in 2013, the Legality Rating is an “awarding” tool. In fact, the ICA has been appointed to attribute a score - from one to three “stars” - to virtuous companies, with a yearly turnover above two million Euros, that satisfy a series of legal requirements. First of all, in order to obtain a “star,” the Company’s owner and managers must not have criminal or fiscal records. Moreover, the Company must not have been sentenced for anti-competitive behaviours in the two previous years, and all of its payments and financial transactions above one thousand Euros must be carried out exclusively through traceable means. In order to obtain a higher score, the Regulation indicates six further requirements: two “stars” are granted if half of the requirements are satisfied, three “stars” if they are all satisfied.
According to what provided for by law, the Legality Rating entrusted to the ICA “is relevant in the granting of public funds and in access to bank credit.” Pursuant to the same regulation, “when granting funds to companies, banks that do not keep into account the attributed rating are obliged to submit a detailed report to Banca d’Italia motivating their reasons”.
The complete list of companies that, to date, have obtained the Legality Rating, and related score, is provided on the ICA’s website (www.agcm.it).
Rome, 5 January 2016
LEGALITY RATINGS: 1,077 APPLICATIONS PRESENTED TO THE ITALIAN ANTITRUST AUTHORITY IN THE FIRST NINE MONTHS OF 2015
A total of 1,077 applications were submitted by various companies in the first nine months of the year to obtain the Legality Rating that is issued by law by the Italian Antitrust Authority. From 83 applications during last January, the applications went up to 174 in September. Closed cases amounted to 963 while the others are still undergoing checks and investigations.
In particular, Rating awards totalled 778 (equivalent to 81%), against 43 refusals (4.4%) and four revocations (.04%). For the rest, there were 16 confirmations (1.6%), 10 higher scores (1.0%) and 85 applications that were archived (8.8%).
Approved by Parliament in 2012, the Legality Rating is the “reward” instrument that was entrusted to the Italian Antitrust Authority by means of which to assign points, from one to three “small stars”, to honest businesses with an annual turnover in excess of €2.0 million and that comply with a set of legal requirements. In order to obtain a “small star”, the owner of the company and the other directors should not have previous criminal or tax infringements. Besides not being sentenced in the previous two years for antitrust offences, the company must make its payments and financial transactions that are over €1,000 exclusively by means of traceable methods. In order to obtain a higher score, the Rules list six other requirements: two “small stars” if half of these requirements are met, three “small stars” if all these requirements are observed.
In a Rating assigned by the Italian Antitrust Authority, according to law, “consideration is given to the granting of loans by the public administration, as well as access to bank credit”. Under the same law, “credit institutions that fail to take into account the rating given in the granting of loans to enterprises are required to send to the Banca d'Italia a detailed report on the reasons behind the decision taken”.
A complete and updated list of companies that have been awarded a Legality Rating is published on this website (http://www.agcm.it/rating-di-legalita/elenco.html).
Rome, 5 October 2015
LEGALITY RATINGS - SHARP INCREASE IN REQUESTS: 726 (OF WHICH 406 WERE ACCEPTED) IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2015
In the first half of 2015, 726 applications were submitted to the Antitrust Authority to obtain a legality rating, the “reward tool” assigned to honest businesses under law (no.62/2012). This is a trend that is showing a strong increase compared to a total of 1,307 applications that arrived throughout a two and a half year period since the entry into force of the measure, that is from January 2013 up till now.
Of these 726 requests, the office of the Antitrust Authority closed 513 cases, while 213 assessments are under way. Rating allocations reached a total of 406, equivalent to 79%, with four renewals, six confirmations and five higher scores. The Antitrust Authority instead issued 15 refusals (equivalent to 3%) and two cancellations while 75 files were put away (14.7%) for lack of sufficient evidence.
Approved by Parliament at the end of 2012, the legality rating is a “reward” tool with which the Antitrust Authority was assigned the task of assigning a score, from one to three “small stars”, to honest businesses with a turnover that exceeds €2.0 million annually and that meet a series of legal requirements. To obtain a “small star”, the owner of the company and the other executives must not have – among others – criminal or tax proceedings. Besides not being sentenced in the previous two years for antitrust offences, the company must make payments and financial transactions that are over €1,000 only by means of traceable systems. To obtain a higher score, the Rules indicate six other requirements: two “small stars” if half of these requirements are met, three “small stars” if all these requirements are met.
The Rating assigned by the Antitrust Authority, as required by law, “is taken into account in the granting of loans by the public administration, as well as when gaining access to bank credit”. Under the same legislation, “credit institutions that fail to take into account the rating assigned at the time when granting finance to business are bound to submit to the Banca d'Italia a detailed report on the reasons behind the decision taken”.
The full list of enterprises that have so far obtained a legality rating and instructions on how to present a request can be found on the website of the Antitrust Authority (http://www.agcm.it/rating-di-legalita.html).
Rome, 6 July 2015
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