Contributions of trainees to the separate management of Inps

Trainee chartered accountants with VAT registration number and those who, having completed their traineeship, carry out an activity of self-employment comparable to that of a chartered accountant, do not have to pay contributions to the National Fund for providence and assistance for chartered accountants (Cnpadc), an obligation that was, moreover, provided for by the amendment of the Fund's statutes.

The Council of State, in its ruling No. 5182 of 13 June, rejected the appeal filed by the Cassa against the TAR (Regional Administrative Tribunal) ruling that had deemed legitimate the ministerial refusal to approve those statutory amendments.

The reasons are intuitively simple. Law 100/1963 instituting the Cnpadc provides for the obligatory registration of only 'chartered accountants registered in the professional register, who exercise the free profession' (Article 2, not repealed by Article 23 of Law 1140/1970) and - although the relief may appear truistic - a primary regulatory source (such as the law) cannot be superseded, derogated from or amended by a statute of a private social security fund, whose management autonomy cannot go so far as to offer trainees a different social security classification, such as to exempt them from registration and contribution to the separate management of the INPS.

This is moreover in line with the amphibious and ancipitous nature of the pension funds of the liberal professions, which on the one hand have the structure of private entities and on the other perform public functions. It is also true that some social security funds (such as the forensic one or Inarcassa) enjoy a marked regulatory autonomy, such that they can derogate from legal provisions, but this power is still conferred by the legislature (on this point, see, by way of example, Supreme Court decision 3461/2018).

The public welfare and assistance institutions for the liberal professions (the first were those in favour of lawyers or solicitors and notaries, set up in 1919 and 1933 respectively) have undergone a long legislative evolution. Since 1995, a number of these bodies have been transformed by law into legal persons with managerial, organisational and accounting autonomy to carry out activities in favour of the categories of professionals for which they were established (including lawyers, accountants, doctors, surveyors, architects, engineers, labour consultants) and since 1996 new bodies have been set up to offer pension protection to individuals who carry out so-called reserved freelance activities. In any case, the various funds, even if privatised, continue to pursue public interest purposes, under the supervision of the State, with compulsory membership and contributions remaining compulsory.