Focus on the new italian code of public contracts

In order to obtain the funds of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), the Italian legislator recently approved a procurement reform, which came into force on 1 July 2023. However, the new Code of Public Contracts will not be entirely applicable from that date, since the so-called 'Public Procurement Ecosystem' will only come into force starting 1 January 2024.

This is a major reform, as from the beginning of next year, paper-based tenders will no longer be used and all procedures will be carried out on digital platforms only. In addition, unlike in the past, when administrative documents had to be sent for each tender, with the creation of the so-called 'Economic Operator’s Virtual File' (FVOE), profiling will only take place once, after which the contracting authorities will have to retrieve the administrative documents for each procedure directly from the National Public Contracts Database held by ANAC, where the FVOEs of all competitors in public tenders will be stored.

It is expected that this innovation will have a strong impact on foreign bidders, who will no longer be obliged to prepare complicated administrative documents for each individual tender (but only for the establishment of the FVOE). Most importantly, they will be able to participate in tenders online directly from their foreign offices, and will no longer need to be physically present in Italy.

For this reason, our law firm has decided to prepare this white paper in English by the end of the year, so that all non-Italian operators can be properly informed of the fundamental changes that will come into force in 2024.

Studio Stefanelli&Stefanelli will be at your disposal for any further clarifications and/or needs (for registration in the ANAC database and/or participation in online tenders, etc.).