Art. 38 of the PNRR Decree (Decree-Law 19/2024) introduced the new 5.0 tax credit for investments made in 2024 and 2025 in assets allowing for energy savings beyond certain percentage limits, to be recognised to an increasing extent according to the level of consumption reduction achieved.
The beneficiaries of the tax credit are companies resident in Italy as well as permanent establishments of non-residents, regardless of their legal form, economic sector, size, or the regime for determining the company’s income.
Reception of the benefit is subject to:
- compliance with workplace safety regulations applicable in each sector;
- proper fulfilment of obligations to pay social security and welfare contributions for workers.
Paragraph 4 of the aforementioned article provides that investments in new tangible and intangible assets that are instrumental to business operations, as set forth in Annexes A and B passed by Law No. 232 of 11 December 2016 (assets with 4.0 characteristics), and that are interconnected to the company’s production management system or supply network, are eligible, on the condition that, through them, a certain overall reduction in energy consumption is achieved. More specifically, the only investments eligible for aid are those which achieve, as a whole:
- a reduction of no less than 3% in energy consumption in relation to the entire production structure located in the national territory to which the innovation project refers; or, alternatively,
- a reduction of no less than 5% of energy consumption in relation only to the processes concerned by the investment.
This reduction is to be determined with reference to the energy consumption recorded in the financial year preceding that in which the investments were made.
The facility is also extended to investments in new capital goods necessary for the self-production of energy from renewable sources and expenditure on employee training aimed at acquiring or consolidating skills in technologies for the digital and energy transition of production processes.
The new tax credit is recognised to the extent of:
- 35% of the cost, for the portion of investments up to EUR 2.5 million;
- 15% of the cost, for the portion of investments over EUR 2.5 million and up to EUR 10 million;
- 5% of the cost, for the portion of investments over EUR 10 million and up to a maximum eligible cost limit of EUR 50 million (on an annual basis and for each beneficiary company).
The above percentages, for each investment tranche, are also increased, respectively:
- to 40%, 20% and 10%, in the case of a reduction in the energy consumption of the production structure located in the national territory of more than 6% or, alternatively, a reduction in the energy consumption of the processes involved in the investment of more than 10%;
- 45%, 25% and 15% in the event of a reduction of more than 10% in the energy consumption of the production structure located in Italy or, alternatively, a reduction of more than 15% in the energy consumption of the processes involved in the investment.
The benefit, which is subject to the fulfilment of a considerable documentation requirement (both of a technical and accounting nature, with precise preservation obligations) by the applicant, cannot be cumulated, in relation to the same eligible costs, with the investments bonus 4.0 or with the bonus for the “ZES unica Mezzogiorno” and can only be used in compensation after five days from the transmission by GSE to the Revenue Agency of the list of beneficiaries with an indication of the relevant credit due, and by the date of 31 December 2025; the amount still to be used at that date can be carried forward and used in five annual instalments of equal amount. Lastly, it is worth noting that, by express provision of the Law, the 5.0 tax credit does not contribute to the formation of income or the tax base of the regional business tax.
