Bonus home appliances for seven product categories: how it works

The first step for consumers will be to access the computer platform of PagoPa (this should be the same one on which the State 'cashback' was managed and will probably require Spid or the electronic identity card, although these details will be announced later). At that point, data from the Inps will be cross-referenced, to verify the Isee; and from the National Register of Resident Population, to verify the composition of the household. Once these requisites have been checked, the platform confirms to the consumer the right to receive the contribution and indicates its maximum amount through the issue of a voucher, associated with the tax code, which will be used to block the resources but will have a limited validity in time from the moment of issue, to avoid a hoarding race that may not be matched by an actual purchase. If the voucher is not used within the validity time limit, the consumer can still renew the request, but according to modalities that will be defined in one of the next decrees to be published. In any case, it will only be at the time of purchase that the user will know the final amount he or she is entitled to, because this is linked to the sale price (a maximum of 30%).

The mechanism thus configured nevertheless prefigures a sort of 'click day', despite the temporary validity of the voucher. The decree, moreover, specifies that the order in which applications are submitted applies and that 'the issuance of the voucher entails the tying of the sums to the financial endowment', albeit limited to the period of validity of the voucher. In short, whoever gets the voucher first and then confirms the purchase from the seller counts, until the funds are exhausted. There will be monitoring reports by Invitalia and, when the resources are finished, Mimit will announce the closure of the campaign.

However, some steps are still missing. In fact, one or more directorial decrees of Mimit will have to indicate the timing of the activation of the initiative, its duration, the operation of the IT platform, the processing of personal data, the criteria for verification and control, as well as the explanatory guidelines concerning the temporary validity of the voucher. And the cases of online sales and the return of the appliance are also to be regulated. In short, there is still quite a package of clarifications to be finalised, and for this reason the actual start could still take a few months, with the aim of probably reaching at least the end of the year.

In order to take part in the campaign, sellers, including e-commerce sellers, will have to register in the IT platform, specifying the ATECO code compatible with the goods they purchase, and attesting their registration in the e-waste management telematics portal (RAEE). At that point, the trader is included in the list that will be available online, on the Mimit website. Then, once the customer's voucher has been accepted, he will have to issue an invoice referring exclusively to the appliance being sold, with the original price, the value of the contribution actually accrued, and an explanation of the obligation to dispose of the replacement appliance. Once the deadline for the customer to exercise the right of withdrawal has expired, the retailer may be reimbursed by entering the purchase documentation in the platform. Not only that. He/she will have to keep it, together with the documentation concerning the management of a possible return and the documentation certifying that the replaced appliance has been sent for proper disposal for recycling.