We support Italian trade fair companies affected by Covid-19 by granting non-repayable grants from the Integrated Promotion Fund.

Exhibition centres or companies that organise international trade fairs, established as limited companies, which have filed their financial statements for the 2019 financial year with the Companies Register. The requirement for access is to have organised or hosted, in the four years prior to the date of submission of the grant application, at least one international event/trade fair listed in the AEFI calendar of international events.

In the case of companies that organise events of international importance, they must have been active as of 31 December 2019 in the organisation of conferences and trade fairs (ATECO 82.30.00) or in other business support services (ATECO 82.99.99).

The measure aims to provide relief, through the granting of a non-repayable grant, for fixed costs not covered by profits incurred by the trade fair system.
In order to be eligible for the measure, it is necessary to have suffered a drop in turnover (Revenue Item A1) of at least 30% during the so-called “Eligible Period” compared to the same period in 2019. The beneficiary company may choose either of the following as the “Eligible Period”:

• from 1 March to 31 December 2020 (in this case, the comparison must be made with the turnover reported in the 2019 financial statements filed and referring to the period between 1 March and 31 December 2019).
• from 1 March 2020 to 28 February 2021 (in this case, the comparison must be made with the turnover reported in the 2019 financial statements).

In order to verify the decline in turnover, the loss recorded and the related grantable contribution, the data from the financial statements for the reference periods must be indicated in the turnover decline calculation form attached to the application form and in the contribution calculation form, attaching the relevant Certification Reports drawn up in accordance with ISA 805 auditing standards, issued by a person registered in the Register of Auditors kept by the MEF. Consult the SIMEST certification report template here.

Maximum amount of the grant available: €10,000,000*

For further details on how the instrument works, please refer to the resolution of 17 December here and Circular 1/FPI/2021 on the measure here.

• Download the application form* and the contribution calculation form.
• Complete the application form and the contribution calculation form. For assistance in completing the forms, contact Customer Care on the toll-free number 800.020.030 or at info@sacesimest.it.
• Have the application form and all attachments digitally signed by the legal representative indicated in the application. With regard to the Certification Reports, the documents must also be digitally signed by the auditor;

Send the application form, complete with all attachments, via certified email to simest@legalmail.it, indicating “Request for contribution towards fixed costs for the exhibition system” in the subject line

The application must be accompanied by the following attachments:

• current company articles of association
• resolution granting signing authority to the legal representative signing the application, where necessary
• letter of appointment for the contact person not belonging to your company, if applicable
• certification reports for the selected period, as per Article 3 of Circular 1/FPI/2021
• calculation scheme for the decline in turnover
• contribution calculation scheme
• other documentation necessary for the purposes of the preliminary investigation, where available
• substitute declaration for the preliminary investigation of the trade fair compensation contribution

In order to receive the grant, the following declaration must be submitted:

– Substitute declaration for the payment of trade fair compensation