Si.Ge.Co.
The Management and Control System (Si.Ge.Co) of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers was approved by decree of the Coordinator of the NRRP Mission Unit at the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of 12 April 2022, as updated by decree of the Coordinator of the same Mission Unit of 8 September 2023.
To provide the Implementing Administrations and the Implementing Subjects of the projects accepted for funding under "Mission 2 - Component 4 - sub-investment 2.1b" with an operational tool of reference at each stage of the implementation of the interventions, the Department of Civil Protection, also in fulfillment of Art. 5, lett. c), of the Agreements entered into, pursuant to 'art. 15 of Law no. 241 of 1990, with each Region and Autonomous Province, has taken steps to draft an Addendum to the Si.Ge.Co. of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers specific to the governance underlying the investment of which the Department is the owner.
Specifically, the Department of Civil Protection has drafted:
▪ the "Operational Manual for the Implementation of the NRRP investments under the responsibility of the Civil Protection Department", approved by the Decree of the Head of the Civil Protection Department on July 7, 2023, to provide technical guidelines and specific recommendations helpful to the implementing Administrations at each stage of the interventions' implementation;
▪ the "Operational Instructions for the Implementing Entity" approved by the Decree of the Head of the Civil Protection Department on March 10, 2023, to provide technical guidelines and specific recommendations useful to the Implementing Entities at each stage of the interventions' implementation;
▪ the document "Risk analysis and sampling procedure for on-desk and on-site administrative checks by the implementing Administrations", approved by the Decree of the Head of the Department of Civil Protection of 14 February 2024, in order to provide the implementing Administrations with a procedure to be followed for the extraction of the representative sample of operations to be subjected to on-desk administrative checks and possible on-site checks, as provided for in the "Operational Manual for the start of the implementation of the NRRP investments under the responsibility of the Department of Civil Protection".
Here are the FAQs on the Operational Instructions for the Implementing Entity:
- What is the Act of Acknowledgement? When is it used?
The Act of Acknowledgement is a substitute declaration of the affidavit that the implementing party prepares to meet afterward the obligations connected with the use of NRRP resources in the event of procedures already performed and expenditures already made.
- Do "existing projects" have to be supported by the checklists for contracts and expenditure eligibility?
Sì, Yes, "existing projects" are subject to the same checks as "new projects." The difference is that for "existing projects," there may be contracts already closed and/or expenditures already cleared. In such cases, the check is carried out using the same checklist "as of now."
- What obligations must be fulfilled for "existing projects"?
For "existing projects" the same obligations must be fulfilled as for "new projects," with the following exceptions:▪ with reference to the DNSH evaluation, the simplified form attached to the Civil Protection Department note no. 53687 of 10.12.2021 may be filled in;
▪ concerning the request for a fund transfer, the ReGiS system is not used as the flows continue according to the original financing terms.
- Should the Operational Guidelines concerning DNSH / LOGOS / CHECKLIST PROCUREMENT / ADVERTISING OBLIGATIONS be applied to "existing projects" that are not yet under contract?
Yes. In particular, about DNSH, the simplified form attached to the Civil Protection Department note no. 53687 of 10.12.2021 can be used for "existing projects."
- Are exemptions set out in the Civil Protection Ordinances, in accordance with Article 25 of Legislative Decree No. 1/2018, admissible even if they are inconsistent with the DNSH principle?
No, they are not admissible.
- What is the starting date for "existing projects" to be entered in ReGiS?
The date of the Civil Protection Department note with which the plan of interventions ( foreseen by the Civil Protection Ordinances) or of investments (foreseen by the "Proteggi Italia" Plan) in which the project is contained, subsequently selected and included among the " existing projects" of the NRRP, was approved.
- For "existing projects," do the reporting and payment procedures follow the existing methods and instruments provided in the Civil Protection Ordinances (e.g., the down payment provided in the Civil Protection Ordinances is applied, and ReGiS is not used for the payment request)?
For "existing projects," the procedures for transferring funds will follow the methods and instruments foreseen by the Civil Protection Ordinances or the Proteggi Italia Plan. The reporting procedures are those foreseen by the Operational Instructions approved by the Decree of the Head of Civil Protection Department of March 10, 2023.
- Does the declaration of the closure of activities also have to be produced for 'existing projects'?
Yes, the declaration of activity closure must also be produced for "existing projects."
- Is the verification point regarding the absence of any conflict of interest related to the economic operator's involvement in the procurement process considered verified with the acquisition of the substitute declaration of the affidavit - DSAN (Attachment 2, Part A, item 1)?
Yes.
- Can the information related to the verification point related to the mention of funding from the European Union, the Next Generation EU initiative, and the EU emblem for the procurement procedure by Agreement be obtained when awarding single implementing contracts ( Attachment 2, Part A, point 6)?
Yes.
- For interventions executed through Framework Agreements, whose tender documents do not mention the CUPs of the NRRP interventions, is it enough to include the CUP in the acquisition of the contract identification codes (CIG) (Attachment 2, Part B, item 6)?
Yes.
- For interventions executed through Framework Agreements, whose tender documents do not mention the resources of the Revolving Fund for the execution of the Next Generation EU-Italy initiative, does the reference necessarily have to be included in the individual implementing contracts ( Attachment 2, Part D, point 8)?
Yes.
- Which project modifications must be completed and submitted for the form Attachment 6 in Section 3.7.2?
Attachment 6 is used for the modification of project elements:▪ data entered in the funding decree (CUP, contracting entity, project title...);
▪ project indications entered in the report sent by the Region/Autonomous Province to the Department of Civil Protection to receive funding for the project.It should not be used for project variations that occur during implementation and are subject to the rules of the code of public contracts.
- What does it mean that the Implementing Entities must launch activities from the Agreement's signing date? How does this coordinate with the provision of the eligible expenditure's retroactive nature as of 01/02/2020?
With the signing of the Agreement, the Implementing Entity undertakes the commitment to implement the intervention and to activate the relevant procedures. Procedures that may have already been launched by the Implementing Entity for the implementation of the project, however, after the date of February 1, 2020, are not affected. Therefore, expenses before the date of the act of access to funding under the NRRP are also accountable as long as they occurred after February 1, 2020.
- Is reporting expenses for "incentives for technical functions" under Article 113 of Legislative Decree No. 50/2016 possible?
Yes, support activities for the SMP should be considered eligible expenses under Article 1, paragraph 1 of Decree-Law No. 80/2021 and RGS Circular No. 4 of January 18, 2022.
- Is revocation provided for a breach of transparency standards? Does this concept cover the publication of acts?
Yes, there is such a possibility, but it must be noted that the revocation process includes an adversarial phase with the Implementing Entity aimed at establishing the possibility of correcting the irregularity that led to the revocation process.
- How and when should checklists be filled out?
Checklists must be produced at the reporting stage.
- In which cases must the Implementing Entity sign Attachment 7, and in which cases must it sign an Agreement?
The Implementing Entity of an "existing project" signs Attachment 7. The Implementing Entity of a "new project" signs a Funding Agreement with the Implementing Administration.
- For "existing projects," is Attachment 7 a substitute for all other attachments and any declarations specified in the Operational Instructions for the Implementing Entity?
No.
- Should invoices be rejected if they do not meet all the requirements on page 36 of the Operational Instructions for the Implementing Entity?
Yes, if they are issued after the approval and publication of the Operational Instructions for the Implementing Entity.
- Does the current regulation on simplified costs apply for activities planned as part of approved projects financed with resources under M2C42.1B?
No, it does not apply.
- Are expenditures for land acquisition eligible as part of the hydrogeological disruption interventions financed with NRRP resources under the responsibility of the Department? If so, which criteria must be met?
MEF-RGS Circular No. 32 of September 22, 2022, establishes that the purchase of real estate, such as buildings or land, is a reportable expense under the NRRP project if:▪ it is essential/instrumental to the implementation of the intervention and the fulfillment of its objectives;
▪ is relevant and directly related to the intervention;
▪ to the extent that such expenditure can be considered eligible under current national and EU reference regulations.Regarding land acquisition, the reference national framework is Presidential Decree No. 22 of February 5, 2018, which, in Article 17, provides that expenditures for land acquisition are eligible within the limit of 10% of the total expenditure of the operation being considered, except for the cases specifically mentioned in paragraphs 2 (sites in a state of degradation and for those previously used for industrial purposes that include buildings) and 3 (operations for environmental protection).
To this end, it is considered that the M2C4I2.1b interventions, whose primary purpose is the reduction of the residual risk associated with the event and the restoration of damaged public facilities and infrastructure according to letters d) and e), respectively, of paragraph 2 art 25 of Presidential Decree no.1 /2018 - Civil Protection Code can be treated as interventions for environmental protection and that the expenditure for land acquisition, according to the paragraph mentioned above 3 of art. 17 of Presidential Decree 22/2018, can exceed the limit of 10% of the eligible expenditure of the project considered, while still complying with the requirements of the Circular mentioned above, the verification of which falls to the implementing entities of the intervention.
- What is meant by a STARTED project? Which dates should be considered as the start and end?
The project is considered "STARTED" with the approval of the Department of Civil Protection, acting as the owner Administration. The dates accepted are as follows:▪ start date. For "existing projects" is the date of the note of the Department of Civil Protection by which the plan of interventions (foreseen by the Civil Protection Ordinances) or investments (foreseen by the Proteggi Italia Plan) in which the project is contained, subsequently selected and included among the "existing projects" of the NRRP was approved; for "new projects" is the date of the Decree of the Head of Department of Civil Protection by which the detail list was approved.
▪ end date. The date of the certificate of completion of the work.
- What is meant by a project IN EXECUTION?
The project is considered "IN EXECUTION" upon delivery of the work.
- What is meant by a COMPLETE project?
The project is considered " COMPLETE" with the release of the certificate of completion of the work.
- How should the time schedule be filled out?
In general, the time schedule must be in line with the completion date of the works (attested by the issuance of the certificate of completion), expected by December 31, 2025. Paragraph 4 of Article 2 of the August 23, 2022 Decree by the President of the Council of Ministers stipulated that the "Regions and Autonomous Provinces, within thirty days of the approval of the lists mentioned in paragraph 1, shall send the Department of Civil Protection the procedural and expenditure timetable for each intervention." For "new projects," the time schedule must also be in line with the dates indicated in the Decree by the President of the Council of Minister August 23, 2022 and subsequent amendments and integrations:▪ publication of tender notices or the start of the procurement procedure by November 30, 2023;
▪ conclusion of the contract of procurement by March 30, 2024; actual start of activities with work delivery report by April 15, 2024;
▪ emission of work completion certificate by December 31, 2025.
- When filing the economic frameworks on the ReGiS system, what regulations (national/regional) should be observed for costs not subject to reductions?
The economic frameworks on the ReGiS system should be filled by entering the entries provided in the system (e.g., works, security charges, VAT on works, etc. ) in compliance with national and regional regulations, if applicable.
- Where should the Funding Agreements (so-called Level II Agreements) signed by the Implementing Administration with the Implementing Entities of the interventions be uploaded to the ReGiS platform?
On the ReGiS platform, Level II Agreements should be uploaded in the "Attachments" section of the "Project Data" module.