(Finance) – The Council of Ministers has given the green light to the Competition bill. The Council of Ministers has approved, on the proposal of the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo UrsoThe Annual Market and Competition Bill. The provision – explains the Mimit in a note – contains important measures regarding outdoor seating, portability of black boxes for insurance purposes, non-scheduled public transport, price collection, shrinkflation and innovative startups, in addition to other relevant measures under the jurisdiction of other ministries.
Respected the annual cadence of the Competition Bill, provision introduced in 2009 but remained unapplied until the beginning of the current legislature. The one approved today is in fact the fourth annual bill for the Market and Competition, after those of 2017, 2022 and last year. The bill fits fully into the framework of the measures and implementation interventions of the “National Recovery and Resilience Plan”. The allocation of funds provided for in the PNRR itself is subject to the annual approval of a “Law on Competition”.
“The Council of Ministers has given the green light to the Competition bill which also includes the issue of motorway concessions. For the first time, a portion of the tolls will not go to the coffers of large concessionaire groups – including international ones – but to the State. The objective – explained the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini – is to carry out public works and keep tolls under control.”
“We are convinced that it is necessary to increase the competitiveness of our country, also through internal competition, and with the approval of the Competition Bill we are taking another significant step in the right direction, to support businesses and protect consumers – he declared Bear –. As far as we are concerned, I think the rules regarding the insurance sector, to protect consumers, and the catering and hospitality sector are particularly important. With respect to this specific point, we have laid the foundations to overcome the emergency phase and set up an organic reform of the sector that responds to four objectives: improving hospitality, increasing the decorum of cities, incentivizing investments and allowing greater resources for Municipalities. A framework of certainty of the rules shared positively with all institutional interlocutors, Municipalities, Ministries and Superintendencies, in the interest of economic operators”.
Extension for outdoor seating – The Competition Bill does not currently provide for stabilization for outdoor seating, but an extension to December 31, 2025. The Bill, explains a note from Mimit, establishes that within one year of the law coming into force, a legislative decree is expected to be issued, on a proposal from Mimit and in agreement with the Ministries of the Interior, Justice, Public Administration, Tourism and Infrastructure, to reorganize and coordinate the concession to public establishments of spaces and public areas of cultural and landscape interest for the installation of removable structures functional to the activity. It is also expected that the Municipalities will adapt their Regulations to ensure, in particular, adequate areas for the passage of pedestrians and people with limited or impaired motor skills in the case of occupation of sidewalks. The 2020 regulations related to the Covid pandemic are extended until 31 December 2025, and in any case until the date of entry into force of the legislative decree.
Insurance: Portability for Black Boxes Approved – Insurance companies are prohibited from providing contractual clauses that prevent or limit the right of the insured to uninstall, without costs and at the annual expiry of the contract, electronic devices (black boxes) for monitoring data on the circulation of motor vehicles (the so-called black box) or penalties in the event of return after the expiry. The rule, explains a note from Mimit, aims to encourage the mobility of demand in the insurance sector and to reduce the phenomenon of forced loyalty and, consequently, to increase competition and reduce costs. A mechanism for the portability of data recorded by black boxes is established that the consumer can request, through the insurance company, from the company that manages the electronic devices. This concerns, for example, the overall mileage, the mileage differentiated according to the different types of roads traveled, the daytime or nighttime hours of travel in the last 12 months. The data must be provided in a commonly used and machine-readable format, to ensure the continuity of the data processing service to the new insurance company, which, in order to use them, must pay a one-off fee to the company that manages the electronic device. The establishment of an information system, subject to the supervision of IVASS, on non-compulsory insurance relationships is foreseen in order to make the prevention and fight against fraudulent behavior more effective. The costs related to the creation and management of the anti-fraud information system are entirely borne by the participating insurance companies.
Clampdown on taxis and NCCs – In order to address the serious phenomenon of illegal activity in the non-scheduled public transport sector, therefore taxis and NCCs, sanctions are expected to be applied in the event of failure to register, ranging from suspension to revocation from the role of drivers. The rule is included in the competition bill approved today by the Council of Ministers. Municipalities, explains a note from Mimit, will be able to access the register by verifying the veracity of the data and communicate to the Ministry of Transport the data relating to any revocation or suspension measures adopted. This will also allow a survey of the number of licenses and authorizations for each Municipality. The sanctions envisaged in the field of non-scheduled public transport, whether it is taxis or rental with driver, are also rationalized and aligned.
More powers to Mister Prices for effective control over products – In order to make the price and tariff monitoring activity carried out by the Chambers of Commerce more functional, a note from Mimit explains, the Guarantor for price surveillance is given the power to identify the products to be subjected to control. In order to better coordinate this activity, it is also expected that the Guarantor will adopt specific guidelines to identify uniform methods of detecting prices such as, for example, time intervals. The same bill introduces a measure to combat the phenomenon of so-called “shrinkflation”, the practice of reducing the quantity of product, while maintaining the packaging unchanged, which in fact determines a related increase in the price per unit of measurement. To this end, an obligation to inform the consumer is provided for, which requires the affixing of a specific label to the displayed product.
Incentives for innovative startups – New parameters for the definition of innovative startups, extension to 84 months for their permanence in the special register, incubators the same tax benefits recognized to innovative startups. New parameters are introduced that can identify and reward the companies with the greatest potential, that is, explains a note from Mimit, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that, within 2 years of registration in the special register, have a share capital of 20 thousand euros and at least one employee. Particular attention is given to innovative startups that operate in strategic sectors, which can remain in the special register for up to 84 months (instead of 60). The cases in which certified incubators can be recognized and registered in the special register have been expanded, extending to them the benefits of the 30% tax deductions from IRES that other economic entities that invest in startups currently benefit from. Provisions are also foreseen to promote investments in risk capital by private and institutional investors.