Nuova Sabatini: finance new machinery and software for an Italian SME

Check the SME and the Italian investment location

Nuova Sabatini targets micro, small and medium businesses that are properly established, registered and able to conduct their business. The assessment includes financial difficulty under the applicable rules, liquidation situations and any incompatible aid that has not been repaid. SME size must be assessed with the relevant relationships to other companies; the applicant’s own headcount is not always the complete picture.

The company needs an Italian registered office or local operating unit. A non-resident business must demonstrate its Italian local unit when requesting payment of the contribution. Agriculture and fisheries are included under their relevant rules; financial and insurance activities are excluded. Where an investment spans several local units, MIMIT requires separate applications for the programmes assigned to each unit. Overseas equipment is not covered merely because the group also operates in Italy.

References: MIMIT — Beni strumentali, Nuova Sabatini · MIMIT — Nuova Sabatini, FAQ aggiornate

Identify new productive assets with the required functional autonomy

The scope includes qualifying machinery, plant, equipment, other productive capital assets, hardware, software and digital technologies. Assets must be new and connected with the company’s productive activity. Land, buildings, used and refurbished assets are excluded. A component without the required independent functionality does not become eligible simply because the supplier invoices it separately.

Before applying, obtain a quotation that separates the main configuration, accessories, software, installation and services. This makes the cost assessment possible without assuming that the whole package qualifies. Describe what the equipment will do, where it will be located and how it fits into the production process. Those details support both the technical discussion and the investment description needed for the application.

References: MIMIT — Beni strumentali, Nuova Sabatini

The published percentages are calculation rates, not your borrowing rate

Eligible finance can cover the entire qualifying investment, with a term of up to five years and an amount from €20,000 to €4 million. The company’s relevant existing Sabatini operations must be checked against its financing ceiling. The lender performs its own credit assessment and sets the contractual borrowing rate; the incentive does not guarantee loan approval.

The ministry’s contribution uses interest on a conventional five-year loan as its calculation basis. The percentages below are inputs to that model. They are neither a rate the bank must offer nor a single flat percentage applied to the equipment price. Compare the expected contribution with the actual lender quotation, fees and contractual conditions to understand the overall financial effect.

References: MIMIT — Beni strumentali, Nuova Sabatini · MIMIT — Nuova Sabatini, FAQ aggiornate

Worked example: a €100,000 equipment investment

Assume an entirely eligible €100,000 investment financed for the same amount, with all conditions satisfied and no reduction arising from other aid. Applying the model in MIMIT’s official workbook, based on ten half-yearly instalments over five years, produces an indicative contribution of approximately €7,717 for the standard route or €10,092 for the 4.0 or green route.

The enhanced routes are alternatives in this example, not two contributions to add on the same asset. These figures are not the final net investment cost or the repayment schedule offered by a bank. VAT, excluded items, actual interest and fees remain separate. Recalculate using the admitted investment and check the award decision: an example is not an approval or a guaranteed payment.

References: MIMIT — Foglio ufficiale di calcolo Sabatini e Capitalizzazione

Choose 4.0, green or capitalisation based on evidence

The 4.0 route requires the asset to match the Sabatini technical lists. Modern equipment does not automatically meet that definition. The green route requires an accepted environmental process or product certification or other evidence specifically allowed by the rules. A general sustainability statement from the supplier does not establish this. Request the actual evidence before including the enhanced contribution in the financial plan.

Capitalisation is intended for eligible companies undertaking a compliant share capital increase, not simply businesses reinvesting cash. MIMIT’s FAQs require an individual resolution amounting to at least 30% of the financing and specific timing for adoption, subscription and payment. Failure to perform the capital increase does not support an assumption that the application can automatically convert to standard Sabatini. Coordinate this route with the company’s corporate advisers and the financing timetable.

References: MIMIT — Beni strumentali, Nuova Sabatini · MIMIT — Nuova Sabatini, FAQ aggiornate · MIMIT — Nuova Sabatini, erogazione del contributo

Submit the application before orders, invoices and deposits trigger the start

The application is completed on the ministerial platform, digitally signed and sent through Italian certified email, PEC, to a participating bank or financial intermediary together with the financing request. Completing the online form alone does not replace that submission. The procedure provides the CUP project identifier, which must appear in the relevant electronic invoices together with the prescribed legal reference under MIMIT’s instructions.

The FAQs require the investment to start on a later date than the PEC application, not on the same day. A binding commitment, an invoice for the programme’s assets or a payment including a deposit can trigger the start, depending on which occurs first. Purchasing, finance and the supplier therefore need a shared timeline before an order is confirmed or an advance invoice issued.

References: MIMIT — Nuova Sabatini, FAQ aggiornate · MIMIT — Nuova Sabatini, presentazione delle domande

Move from the lender’s decision to the contribution payment

The lender checks the application, requests resource reservation and makes its finance decision under the procedure; the ministry issues the contribution award. For a new agreement, the investment must normally finish within 12 months of signing. Completion is identified by the final expenditure document or, for leasing, the final delivery record, rather than necessarily by commissioning or payment.

Once the programme is completed and paid in full, the RU payment request must be submitted through the platform within 120 days of the final permitted completion date. For new applications, a single contribution payment is available where approved financing does not exceed €200,000. Above that threshold the annual payment schedule applies. A single payment does not mean immediate cash when the order is placed.

References: MIMIT — Beni strumentali, Nuova Sabatini · MIMIT — Nuova Sabatini, FAQ aggiornate · MIMIT — Nuova Sabatini, erogazione del contributo

Build one consistent company, supplier and finance file

Collect company records, SME size information, investment location, relevant activity, quotations and asset classification. Retain the signed application and PEC receipts, CUP, finance agreement, award decision, invoices, payment evidence and delivery documents. A file is useful when its amounts, dates and asset descriptions agree, not just when all the expected document names appear in a folder.

Add the specific technical, environmental or corporate evidence required for the chosen route. Assign an owner to check invoice instructions before advance and final invoices are issued. On 9 September, MIMIT still indicated that Sabatini’s specific adjustment to catastrophe insurance provisions would follow through a further decree. Check the rules applicable to the individual application; notices for other incentives should not be treated as proof of Sabatini’s implemented conditions.

References: MIMIT — Beni strumentali, Nuova Sabatini · MIMIT — Nuova Sabatini, presentazione delle domande · MIMIT — Nuova Sabatini, erogazione del contributo

Assess combined support against each asset’s costs

Sabatini can be combined with other aid within the applicable aid amounts and intensities where the other scheme also permits it. The ministry’s FAQs distinguish State aid from general tax measures and require relevant other awards to be declared. A regional grant or public guarantee therefore calls for an assessment of its treatment, rather than simply adding the instruments’ face values.

Italy’s 2026 hyper-depreciation has its own requirement to reduce the calculation base by other contributions covering the same costs. In the investment model, separate asset price, repayable principal, ministerial contribution, other aid and tax savings over time. This lets management compare finance leases, purchases and alternative technical configurations without collapsing different cash flows into one unsupported headline saving.

References: MIMIT — Nuova Sabatini, FAQ aggiornate · Gazzetta Ufficiale — Legge 199/2025, articolo 1, commi 401–500

How Studio Dinamico can support the investment preparation

Studio Dinamico connects the production project with the incentive assessment: review the quotation, define the technical scope, identify evidence requirements and align procurement dates. A discussion can start with equipment already selected or with a production objective such as added capacity, automation or better operational data. The unresolved decisions remain visible as the project develops.

For the first review, the most useful information is the budget, intended Italian location, function of the assets and dates of commitments already made. The objective is to clarify what needs to be addressed with the supplier, administration and lender. The bank retains responsibility for credit assessment and the ministry for the award; preparing a coherent application does not replace either decision.