This bond enables participation in public tenders for works, supplies, services and maintenance, guaranteeing that the contract will subsequently be signed and that the Principal will fulfil its obligations if awarded the contract.
As required by law, the contracting authority requests this bond from every company wishing to take part in a tender. Its purpose is to guarantee to the public body that the successful bidder will sign the contract.
The bid bond also covers cases in which the participating company does not meet the technical, organizational, economic and financial requirements set out in the tender notice. The bond must also include the guarantor’s undertaking to issue the successful bidder with a performance bond, also known as the “definitive guarantee”. The bond amount is set at 2% of the base tender value of the works and may be reduced by 50% if the company holds ISO certification.

The performance bond is a fundamental instrument for protecting the contracting authority, provided for by Article 117 of Legislative Decree 36/2023, the new Public Contracts Code. It is a mandatory guarantee that the successful bidder for a public contract must provide when signing the contract, in the form of a cash deposit or a surety guarantee, for an amount equal to 10% of the contract value, unless otherwise stated in the tender documents.

Amount and special cases

As set out in paragraph 1 of Article 117:

• For framework agreements, the maximum amount of the guarantee is set at 2% of the total estimated value;
• For aggregated procedures conducted by central purchasing bodies, the guarantee is set at a maximum of 10%;
• The final amount is always stated in the tender documents.

Purpose and duration of the guarantee

Under paragraph 2 of Article 117, the performance bond covers:

• All contractual obligations of the contractor;
• Any compensation for damages arising from non-performance;
• The reimbursement of any sums unduly received in relation to the final settlement.

The guarantee ceases to have effect only on the date of issue of the provisional acceptance certificate or the certificate of proper execution.

As provided for in paragraph 3, the contracting authority may require the guarantee to be reinstated if it lapses, even in part. In the event of non-compliance, reinstatement may be carried out by withholding amounts from payment installments.

Reductions in the guarantee amount

Article 117, in conjunction with Article 106, paragraph 8 of the Code, provides for several benefits for qualified economic operators, in the form of reductions in the amount of the guarantee and of any renewals:

• 30% reduction for operators holding UNI CEI ISO 9000 quality certification, issued by bodies accredited under the UNI CEI EN 45000 or UNI CEI EN ISO/IEC 17000 standards;
• 50% reduction (not cumulative with the previous one) for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), as well as for groupings or consortia made up exclusively of MSMEs;
• 10% reduction for those submitting a digital surety guarantee managed on platforms based on distributed ledger technologies (blockchain), in accordance with Article 106, paragraph 3;
• Up to 20% reduction for operators holding the certifications or labels listed in Annex II.13 of the Code, with amounts and conditions detailed in the tender documents.

This bond guarantees the proper execution of the works by the company awarded the contract. The successful bidder must submit this policy as a guarantee of all obligations undertaken by signing the contract.

The bond amount is set at 10% of the value of the works, net of any bid discount. If the contract is awarded with a discount exceeding 10%, the guarantee is increased by as many percentage points as those exceeding 10%; if the discount exceeds 20%, the guarantee is increased by two percentage points for each point of discount above 20%.

The amounts guaranteed under the policy are progressively released upon presentation of a statement of work progress or similar document. The release is automatic and does not require the approval of the contracting authority, the sole condition being the prior delivery to the insurance company of the statements of work progress or similar documents, either in original form or as certified copies, attesting that the required percentages of completed work have been reached.

The policy remains in effect until the date of issue of the provisional acceptance certificate or the certificate of proper execution, and in any case until twelve months after the date of the certificate of completion of the works.

On July 6, 2005, Legislative Decree No. 122 of June 20, 2005 was published in the Italian Official Gazette. Implementing the principles established in Enabling Law No. 210/2004, it introduced specific legislation in Italy to protect property buyers.
The purpose of this measure is to provide comprehensive insurance coverage that meets the essential need to better protect the claims of buyers and prospective buyers of off-plan properties in all those cases, recorded in the past with alarming frequency, in which the builder becomes subject to insolvency-related proceedings. In particular, the legislator established a series of obligations and regulatory instruments, the most important of which are:

* The issue to the property buyer of a surety policy guaranteeing the advance payments made, should delivery deadlines be missed because of the company’s financial distress
* The issue of a ten-year insurance policy covering direct material damage to the property, including damage to third parties, pursuant to Article 1669 of the Italian Civil Code, resulting from total or partial collapse or from serious construction defects in the works, due to soil defects or faulty construction.

This policy, issued in favor of the Ministry of the Environment, is required of all companies engaged in the transport and/or brokerage of waste, as a guarantee of compliance with Legislative Decree No. 152/2006.
These activities may only be carried out by companies registered with a specific body, the National Register of Environmental Managers (Albo Nazionale Gestori Ambientali), which is divided into categories according to the type of activity performed and the quantities of waste handled. Registration requires a surety guarantee in favor of the Ministry. In line with the categories established by law, Olimpia MGA S.r.l. issues guarantees for the following activities:

* transport of hazardous municipal waste (category 1)
* transport of hazardous waste (category 5)
* brokerage and trade of waste without holding it (category 8).

The policy has a term of five years, plus a further two-year period during which the beneficiary may enforce the guarantee only for breaches that occurred while it was in effect, and therefore only for claims arising in the preceding five years. Companies holding EMAS registration (Regulation (EC) No. 1221/2009) or UNI EN ISO 14001 certification are entitled to reductions of 50% and 40%, respectively, in the amounts to be guaranteed.

Surety guarantees for the periodic deferred payment of customs duties, for temporary imports and for other customs operations. They guarantee the fulfillment of obligations undertaken toward the Customs Administration in the following cases:

* final imports with the benefit of periodic and/or deferred payment of customs duties
* imports or exports under simplified procedures
* inward and outward processing (formerly temporary import and export)
* entry into private customs warehouses
* goods with suspended duties
* transfer from one Italian customs office to another (c.m.e.)
* operations outside customs office hours
* ship’s manifest

Regional, national, or European entities, through calls for proposals or competitive grants, provide funding for the development of specific activities such as: research and innovation, the launch of new production activities or the purchase of machinery, training courses and internships, and the development and provision of services in areas considered underdeveloped due to a lack of essential infrastructure and services. In particular, the successful bidder intending to carry out one of the aforementioned activities may request an advance on its share of the loan by entering into a surety bond with the competent authority to guarantee the advanced amount.

Garantisce l’adempimento degli oneri siano essi rappresentati da obblighi di fare (realizzazione di opere di urbanizzazione) che da obblighi di dare (pagamento costi di costruzione / Legge Bucalossi).

La normativa vigente stabilisce che ogni attività comportante trasformazione urbanistica o edilizia del territorio comunale partecipa agli “oneri” a essa relativi e che l’esecuzione delle opere è subordinata a concessione da parte del sindaco, a fronte di:

• versamento di un contributo in relazione agli oneri dallo stesso sostenuti per opere di urbanizzazione primarie e secondarie
• realizzazione di opere di urbanizzazione ancora da realizzare
• versamento di un contributo commisurato al costo di costruzione

VAT applies to the supply of goods and/or services carried out in the course of business, trade or professional activities, and to imports, regardless of who carries them out.
Taxpayers who supply goods and services, having paid the tax collected to the Treasury (determining output VAT and input VAT), must periodically file a VAT return, either annually or quarterly.
If the return shows that input VAT exceeds output VAT, the taxpayer is entitled to claim this credit by providing a guarantee in the form of a SURETY POLICY.
This surety guarantees that, in the event of an adverse VAT assessment, the credit paid out and the related interest will be repaid in full or in part.
The VAT refund surety has a term of three years, and no extensions are provided for.

Following the implementation of EEC Directives 91/156 on waste, 91/689 on hazardous waste and 94/62 on packaging and packaging waste, Italy has adopted a body of specific, constantly evolving legislation aimed at regulating waste management in all its forms.
The obligation to provide financial guarantees in connection with the issue of the Authorization for the construction and management of a landfill (the outcome of all the preliminary checks and assessments carried out by the competent authorities on the basis of the documentation submitted by the applicant) is currently set out in Article 14 of Legislative Decree 36/2003.
Two separate guarantees are required:

* The guarantee for the activation and operational management of the landfill, including closure procedures, ensures fulfillment of and compliance with the requirements set out in the Authorization for landfill management, as well as the obligations related to its closure. The amount (always stated in the authorization document) is proportionate to the authorized capacity of the landfill.
* The guarantee for post-closure management ensures that post-operational management procedures (maintenance, surveillance and monitoring of the closed landfill) are carried out and complied with. Here too, the guaranteed maximum amount (also stated in the Authorization) is proportionate to the total cost of post-operational management.

These guarantees must be submitted when the activation or management of the landfill begins, and their submission is in any case required in the authorization document.

Within the limits of the guaranteed amount, the Guarantor undertakes to the Contracting Authority to repay the final payment, in full or in part, to cover any amounts owed by the Principal for non-conformities and defects in the works covered by the contract.

The surety guarantee for quarrying is generally required by the public body responsible for issuing quarrying permits (currently the Region) from all companies engaged in mineral extraction, as a guarantee of compliance with obligations relating to the enhancement and redevelopment of the land on which they operate. There is currently no specific Italian law on this matter, so reference is made to the relevant European directives.
A company applying for this permit must submit a declaration of commencement of works, attach the health and safety document and comply with the applicable European environmental regulations. If it fails to comply, the public administration may, once the works are completed, claim the total amount of the damage caused by the failure to redevelop the land. To avoid the risk of non-payment, the public administration requires a surety guarantee to secure compliance with the environmental redevelopment rules for the site where extraction takes place.