Certification of gender equality: the Italian Ministry of Labour establishes the criteria and procedures for granting tax exemption   

With the press release of 28 November, the Italian Ministry of Labour and Social Policy publicised the ministerial decree of 20 October 2022 which defines the criteria and procedures for granting the tax exemption for private employers who obtain the certification of gender equality introduced into our legal system by Italian Law No 162/2021.  

This is a voluntary certification that the most compliant companies can apply for and obtaining it brings with it a series of concessions, including: tax relief up to 1% and a maximum of EUR 50,000.00/year for each company; advantageous criteria in tenders; possibility of obtaining a bonus score in the assessments by authorities holding national and regional European funds, of project proposals for the granting of state aid to co-finance the investment undertaken.

To obtain the tax exemption, the decree establishes that certified companies will be able to submit, by electronic means only, the application for exemption from the National Social Security Entity (Istituto Nazionale della Previdenza Sociale, ‘INPS’), according to the instructions to be provided by INPS.

This application must include certain information including: (i) the company’s identification data, (ii) the average monthly salary and the estimated average rate relating to the equality certification’s period of validity, (iii) the sworn self-declaration, issued under Italian Presidential Decree No 445/2000, with which the company declares that it holds the gender equality certification, and (iv) the certification’s period of validity.

INPS will assess the applications on the basis of the information in its possession (and that transmitted by the Department for Equal Opportunities of the Presidency of the Council) and will grant the company the exemption for the certification’s entire period of validity.

The exemption, calculated on a monthly basis, will be used by employers through a reduction in their social security contributions for all the months of the certification’s validity, provided that the certification is not revoked and no measures are taken to suspend the social security benefits adopted by the National Labour Inspectorate (Ispettorato nazionale del lavoro).

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