RELIANCE (AVVALIMENTO)

Reliance (avvalimento) is a legal instrument that allows participation in any public tender even if a company lacks the required technical-professional or economic-financial qualifications, by using those of another company (the “auxiliary company”). The advantage is that the Work Execution Certificate will be issued in favor of the assisted company (the one that borrowed the requirements).

There are formally two types of reliance:

a) RELIANCE FOR A SINGLE TENDER: its purpose is to allow a company lacking economic-financial and technical-organizational requirements to participate in a specific tender;
b) PERMANENT (STABLE) RELIANCE: its purpose is to obtain a qualification certification (SOA).

PERMANENT (STABLE) RELIANCE

In order for this institution to apply, certain specific conditions must be met:

1. A control relationship must exist between the assisted company and the auxiliary company as provided by Article 2359 of the Italian Civil Code, or both must be controlled by the same company;
2. The auxiliary company must issue a declaration undertaking, both towards the assisted company and the contracting authorities, to make the resources subject to reliance available for the entire validity period of the SOA certification;
3. Both the auxiliary and the assisted companies are required to communicate any circumstances that may terminate the availability of such resources;
4. For each tender, the provisions of paragraphs 8 and 9 of Article 49 shall in any case apply.

RELIANCE FOR A SINGLE TENDER

A bidder intending to participate in a tender through reliance must attach to the application a set of documents specifically related to reliance:

1. Its own SOA certification (if available) and that of the auxiliary company;
2. A declaration signed by a representative of the assisted company, authorized to bind the company, confirming the use of the necessary requirements for participation in the tender, with specific indication of such requirements and of the auxiliary company;
3. A declaration concerning the possession of general requirements (as specified in Article 38 of the Public Contracts Code);
4. A declaration signed by a representative of the auxiliary company, authorized to bind the company, certifying possession of general, technical, and economic requirements subject to reliance;
5. An unconditional and irrevocable declaration by the auxiliary company committing to make available to the bidder and the contracting authority, for the entire duration of the contract, the resources lacking to the bidder;
6. A declaration by the auxiliary company stating that it will not independently participate in the same tender;
7. The original or certified copy of the contract under which the auxiliary company undertakes to provide the requirements and necessary resources for the entire duration of the contract;
8. In case of reliance between companies belonging to the same group, the above contract may be replaced by a declaration certifying the legal and economic link within the group.

FALSE DECLARATIONS

In the case of false declarations, penalties include fines ranging from €25,000 to €50,000, enforcement of the guarantee policy, and transmission of the documents to the authority, which may suspend the SOA certification from 6 months to 3 years.

IMPORTANT

To participate in a tender, each operator must possess two types of requirements.

Only the second type can be subject to reliance, while the first must be possessed simultaneously by both parties.

• Joint and several liability towards the contracting authority for the performance of the contract;
• For works, it is possible to rely on only one auxiliary company per category (“NO SPLITTING RULE”), unless otherwise provided in the tender notice;
• Prohibition, under penalty of exclusion, for more than one bidder to rely on the same auxiliary company within the same tender, except in special cases where the nature of the contract allows it;
• Prohibition of cascading reliance: reliance is allowed only for the bidder, not for the auxiliary company (no chain reliance);
• Reliance based solely on ISO certification without SOA certification is not allowed;
• Reliance is not allowed for registration in special registers (e.g., Prefectural License, Security Clearance, Prior Authorization);
• The 20% increase rule cannot be applied to the SOA qualification obtained through reliance;
• The auxiliary company may act as a subcontractor within the limits of the provided requirements and within the limits set by Article 118 (subcontracting up to 30% of the contract value).

REQUESTS FOR RELIANCE

For reliance requests, it is necessary to send an email to info@apconsultingsrl.it, specifying the required category and classification and attaching:

• the tender notice;
• the tender specifications;
• the company registration certificate;
• the SOA certification (if available).

SERVICE COSTS (procedure setup)

€ 200.00 + VAT per single reliance (avvalimento) and/or ATI
€ 180.00 each + VAT for a package of 3 reliances
€ 150.00 each + VAT for a package of 5 reliances
€ 1,300.00 + VAT for a package of 10 reliances

Service Conditions

Cancellation of the requested reliance is allowed within 7 working days from the deadline for submission of the tender. Failing this, the applicant will still be required to pay the flat-rate fee.

All documentation will be prepared and provided, in particular the declarations (signed by the auxiliary or associated company) required for participation in tenders, including those provided for by Legislative Decree 50/2016, as well as any additional declarations required by the tender notices.

Purchased packages are valid for 12 months.

COSTS FOR RELIANCE and/or ATI for SIOS categories

(amount payable in case of contract award)

3.00% from €0 to €3,000,000.00
2.50% from €3,000,000.00 to €10,000,000.00
2.00% above €10,000,000.00

The above royalties are calculated on the value of the signed contract supported by reliance, and payment is divided into three installments.

ADDITIONAL COSTS

WARNING: The new Public Procurement Code (Legislative Decree 50/2016, Article 89, paragraph 9) requires that the RUP verifies during execution that the contractual services are carried out directly by the human and technical resources of the auxiliary company.

NEW CONSORTIUM

In order to overcome all the issues introduced by the new Public Procurement Code in relation to reliance (avvalimento), a new Consortium is currently being established.

Registrations are now open. Please contact our offices.