PART II

Authorization of certification bodies

Article 5.

General requirements and of independence of the SOAs.

1. Attestation body companies are established in the form of joint-stock companies, whose corporate name must expressly include the term "attestation bodies". The SOAs must be based in a Member State of the European Union which attributes to the certification that they adopt the ability to prove the possession of the qualification requirements of the executor of public works.

2. The share capital must be at least equal to 1,000,000 euros fully paid up. The net worth, consisting of the total of letter A) of the liabilities of the balance sheet referred to in in article 2424 of the civil code of the last financial statement filed, must be at least equal to the share capital. The financial statements of the SOAs must be certified by the auditing firms, registered in the appropriate register, according to the criteria established by the consolidated text of the provisions on financial intermediation, referred to in Legislative Decree 24 February 1998, n. 58.

3. The statute must provide as its exclusive object the carrying out of the certification activity according to the rules of this annex and the carrying out of the related technical controls on the company organization and production of construction companies, as well as on their operational and economic-financial capacity. SOAs are prohibited, under penalty of forfeiture of the authorization, from providing services of any nature to economic operators, directly or through associated companies or companies by virtue of contractual relationships.

4. The composition and organizational structure of the SOAs must ensure, even in the presence of any control or connection situations, that they are identified according to the provisions from article 2359 of the civil code, respect for the principle of independence of judgment and the absence of any commercial or financial interest that could lead to non-impartial or discriminatory behaviour.

5. SOAs must declare and adequately document, within fifteen days of their occurrence, any circumstances that may imply the presence of interests capable of influencing the independence requirement.

6. SOAs cannot carry out certification activities:

a) which are in a state of judicial liquidation, liquidation, composition with creditors, or any other equivalent situation according to current legislation;

b ) who are subject to proceedings for the declaration of one of these situations;

c) who are not in compliance with the tax, contribution and welfare obligations provided for by current legislation or have committed serious violations duly ascertained of the rules regarding safety and obligations deriving from employment relationships;

d) if towards its directors, legal representatives, direct or indirect shareholders, technical directors and personnel referred to in article 8, paragraph 2, a proceeding is pending for the application of one of the prevention measures or one of the impeding causes provided for by the code of anti-mafia laws and prevention measures pursuant to Legislative Decree 6 September 2011, n. exists. 159, or in respect of whom a provision has been issued resulting in the prohibition of contracting with the public administration;

e) if in respect of its directors, legal representatives, direct or indirect shareholders, directors technicians and personnel referred to in article 8, paragraph 2, a final conviction has been pronounced, or the punishment has been applied upon request pursuant to of article 444 of the code of criminal procedure for any crime that affects moral or professional reliability, or for financial crimes;

f) if the directors, the legal representatives, the direct or indirect shareholders, the technical directors and the staff referred to in the article 8 , paragraph 2, have been responsible for formally ascertained serious professional error;

g) if the directors, legal representatives, direct or indirect shareholders, technical directors and personnel referred to in article 8, paragraph 2, have made false declarations or provided false documentation regarding the information requested from them or the absence of situations capable of jeopardizing the requirement of independence or have used the company's documentation with intent or gross negligence, as per Article 18, untrue.

Article 6.

Controls on SOAs .

1. For the purposes of control and supervision of the shareholding composition of the SOAs, the persistence of the independence requirement and the absence of the conditions referred to in article 5, paragraph 6, the ANAC may request, indicating the deadline for the response not exceeding ten days, from the same SOAs and from the companies and entities that participate in the relevant share capital, any information regarding the names of the respective shareholders and any situations of control or connection, according to what appears from the shareholders' register, from the communications received and from any other data at their disposal.

2. The SOAs communicate to the ANAC, within fifteen days of their occurrence, the possible occurrence of facts or circumstances that affect the situations referred to in Article 5, paragraph 6.

Article 7.

Shareholdings.

1. The contracting authorities, the granting bodies, the certification bodies and the subjects indicated in article 65 of the code, limited to the subjects admitted to participate in the procedures for the awarding of public contracts relating to works, as well as the regions and autonomous provinces cannot own, in any capacity, directly or indirectly, a stake in the capital of an SOA.

2. The national trade associations that have signed national collective labor agreements for employees of construction and similar companies or in the sector and the national associations representing contracting authorities may own shares in an SOA up to a maximum overall limit of 20 percent of the share capital, and each of the associations to the maximum extent of 10 percent. In order to guarantee the principle of equal participation of the parties interested in the qualification, participation in the capital by the aforementioned trade associations is permitted if in the same SOA there is equal participation by associations of contracting authorities and vice versa.< /p>

3. Anyone, for any reason, intends to acquire or sell, directly or indirectly, a shareholding in an SOA, must express this intention to the SOA itself, attaching the documentation required for the issue of the authorization by the ANAC. The SOA, having assessed the existence of the conditions of legitimacy of the share transfer operation, sends the request for authorization for the share transfer to the ANAC. The authorization request is also necessary for share transfers within the existing shareholding structure. Shareholdings transferred through controlled companies pursuant to article 2359 of the civil code are considered to be acquired or sold indirectly. >, trust companies, or in any case through a third party.

4. The ANAC, within sixty days of communication, may prohibit the transfer of the shareholding when it may influence the correctness of the management of the SOA or may compromise the independence requirement pursuant to article 5, paragraph 4; the passage of the deadline without the ANAC adopting any measure is equivalent to authorization for the operation. In the case of preliminary requests, the deadline remains suspended only once until the relevant fulfillment. The authorization is considered lapsed if the SOA does not send a copy of the updated shareholders' register or the request made by the purchasing or selling shareholder for registration in the shareholders' register of the transfer of shares, within ninety days from the date of communication of the authorization or, in case of lack of express authorization, starting from the date of formation of the silent consent.

5. Once the transfer of participation has taken place, it is communicated to ANAC and SOA within fifteen days.

6. The ANAC may deny authorization to the shareholding of the SOA, towards subjects other than those referred to in paragraph 1, when the person holding the shareholding could influence the correct management of the SOA or compromise the independence requirement.

Article 8.

Technical requirements of SOAs.

a) a technical director with a degree in engineering or architecture, authorized to practice the profession for at least ten years, registered at the time of the award of the position, in the relevant professional register, hired on a permanent and full-time basis, with at least five years' adequate experience in the public works sector gained in a position of managerial responsibility, in the technical control activity of construction sites (organisation, quality, work progress, costs ) or evaluation of the economic-financial capacity of companies in relation to their order portfolio, or in quality certification activities; the same technical director must declare, in the forms required by current laws, that he does not carry out a similar role at other SOAs;

b) by three graduates, one of whom in engineering or architecture, one in law and one in economy and commerce, hired on a permanent and full-time basis, in possession of at least three years' professional experience relevant to the public works sector;

c) by six employees, in possession of at least a high school diploma, hired permanent and full-time.

2. The staff of the SOAs as well as the subjects who carry out administration, management and control functions in the SOAs, as well as the subjects who carry out activities directly or indirectly in the name and on behalf of the SOAs, must possess the moral requirements set out in Article 5, paragraph 6.

3. Failure to meet the requirements referred to in article 5, paragraph 6, determines the forfeiture of office for subjects who carry out administration, management and control functions in SOAs; it is declared by the SOA corporate bodies within fifteen days of becoming aware of the fact; the SOA, in the following fifteen days from the declaration of forfeiture, informs the ANAC.

4. The absence of the requirements referred to in article 5, paragraph 6, for the personnel referred to in the paragraph 2, determines the initiation of legal procedures for the termination of the employment relationship. The SOA informs the ANAC within fifteen days of the start of the resolution procedure.

5. The SOAs must have IT equipment for communicating information to the ANAC.

Article 9.

Issuance of authorization.

1. The SOA's carrying out the qualification certification activity pursuant to this title is subject to the authorization of the ANAC.

2. The SOA presents an application for authorization, accompanied by the following documents:

a) the deed of incorporation and the company statute;

b) the list of the shareholder structure and the declaration regarding any situations of control or connection;

c) the organizational chart of the SOA, including the curriculum of the subjects who are part of it;

d) the declaration of the legal representative, in the manner and with the forms provided for by current laws, regarding the non-existence of the situations provided for by article 5, paragraph 6 , in the hands of the SOA, its administrators, legal representatives or technical directors and the personnel referred to in the article 8, paragraph 2;

e) certificate of the criminal record relating to the administrators, legal representatives, technical directors and personnel referred to in article 8, paragraph 2;

f) a document containing the description of the procedures which, in accordance with what is established by the ANAC, will be used for the exercise of the certification activity;

g) an insurance policy stipulated with an insurance company authorized to cover the risk to which the obligation refers, for the coverage of liabilities resulting from the activity carried out, with a maximum limit not less than six times the expected turnover.

3. For investigative purposes, the ANAC may request further information and additions to the documentation provided by the requesting SOA, and concludes the procedure within sixty days of receiving the request. The time necessary for ANAC to acquire the requested additions is not included in the deadline.

4. The refusal of authorization does not prevent the submission of a new application.

Article 10.

List of SOAs and lists of operators qualified economic.

1. The ANAC enters the companies authorized to carry out certification activities in a special list and ensures their publicity.

2. The ANAC, on the basis of the certifications transmitted by the SOA pursuant to article 11, paragraph 6, takes care the formation on a regional basis, with reference to the registered office of the qualified entities, of lists of economic operators who have obtained the qualification pursuant to article 100, paragraph 4, of the code. These lists are made public through the ANAC.

Article 11.

SOA qualification and organization activities – Tariffs.

1. In carrying out their activities, SOAs must:

a) operate with diligence, correctness and transparency, in compliance with the general principles of the code;

b) acquire the necessary information from the subjects to be qualify and operate in such a way as to ensure adequate information;

c) act in such a way as to guarantee impartiality and fair treatment;

d) ensure and maintain the independence required by the provisions of the code and from this annex;

e) have resources and procedures, including internal control, suitable to ensure efficiency and correctness;

f) verify the truthfulness and substance of the declarations, certifications and documentation, referred to in article 18, presented by the subjects to whom the certificate is issued, as well as the continued possession of the requirements referred to in article 18, paragraph 1;

g) issue the qualification certificate in accordance with the documentation produced by the economic operator and verified pursuant to letter f).

2. In carrying out their qualification assessment and verification activities, the SOAs acquire economic-financial data, such as balance sheets as well as information on organizational changes and transformations of the legal nature of economic operators, also from the chamber of commerce database , industry, craftsmanship and agriculture.

3. To carry out their institutional activities, SOAs cannot resort to the services of subjects external to their corporate organisation. The SOAs are in any case responsible for every activity carried out directly and indirectly in the name and on their behalf.

4. Each certification of qualification or its renewal as well as all additional audit or variation activities are subject to the payment of a specific fee, in relation to the overall amount and the number of general or specialized categories for which qualification is required, according to the formulas referred to in Table B - Part I. For stable consortia, the fee due to the SOA for each activity is reduced by 50 percent; for companies qualified up to the second classification of amount, the fee due to the SOA for each activity is reduced by 20 percent.

5. The amounts determined pursuant to paragraph 4 are considered minimum consideration for the service rendered. The payment of a fee greater than double that determined with the criteria referred to in paragraph 4 cannot be expected. Any agreement to the contrary is null and void. The fee must be paid in full before the certification, revision or variation is issued; Extensions of no more than six months are permitted, where, at the time of issuing the certificate, the authorization to debit the entire amount from the bank account (RID) has been arranged and communicated to the SOA.

6 . The SOAs transmit the certificates to ANAC within fifteen days of their issue according to the methods established in the provisions of ANAC itself.

7. The SOAs communicate to the ANAC, within ten days, the start of the procedure to ascertain the possession of the requirements for the companies as well as the related outcome.

Article 12.

1. The ANAC, pursuant to article 222, paragraph 3, letter f), of the code, supervises the qualification system, and to this end, also carrying out inspections, even without notice, or requesting any document deemed necessary, checks that the SOAs:

a) operate according to the procedures, including internal control, presented when requesting authorization and approved by the ANAC itself;

b) have a behavior that eliminates any possibility of conflicts of interest;

c) issue the certificates in full compliance with the requirements established by article 4 and Part III;

d) apply the tariffs referred to in Table B - Part I;

e) carry out their activities in accordance with the provisions of the 'article 11.

2. The supervisory and control powers of the ANAC, for the purposes of the provisions of paragraph 1, are also exercised upon the motivated and documented request of an economic operator or of an SOA or of a contracting authority or granting body. Upon the request for verification, the ANAC, having made the necessary checks also through its own offices and having consulted the company subjected to verification, shall proceed within sixty days in the manner and with the effects provided for in paragraph 3.

3. The ANAC, having consulted the SOA and the economic operator whose certification is concerned, as well as the requesting party referred to in paragraph 2, in the case of a request for verification, having acquired the necessary information, shall inform the SOA within sixty days of any conditions to be observed in the execution of the stipulated contract, or to ask the SOA to suspend or cancel the certification, assigning the SOA a suitable deadline, not less than fifteen days. Failure by the SOA to comply with the ANAC's indications constitutes conduct that can be assessed pursuant to article 13, paragraph 5, letter a). If the SOA does not suspend or cancel the certification within the assigned deadline, the ANAC, after notifying the SOA and the company concerned of the initiation of the procedure where no urgency reasons preclude it, will automatically suspend or cancel the certification. cancellation, promptly notifying the SOA and the company concerned.

4. ANAC periodically carries out random checks on a number of certificates issued by the SOAs, established from year to year by ANAC itself.

5. The ANAC controls the decisions taken by the SOAs regarding the contracts stipulated by the companies to obtain the certification if the companies involved request it within thirty days from the date of actual knowledge of the decisions themselves.

Article 13.

Sanctions against SOAs.

1. The pecuniary administrative sanction provided for by article 222, paragraph 3, letter a), of the code, up to a maximum of 25,000 euros, is applied to SOAs in the event of:

a) failure to respond to the requests of the 'ANAC pursuant to articles 6, paragraph 1, and 7, paragraph 4, within the deadline indicated by the ANAC itself;

b) failure to communicate pursuant to articles 5, paragraph 5 , 6, paragraph 2, 8, paragraphs 3 and 4, 11, paragraph 7, 14, paragraph 4, and 21, paragraph 6, within the terms provided therein;

c) violation of the obligations of communication and transmission of the documentation referred to in paragraph 9;

d) violation of the further communication obligations imposed by the provisions of the ANAC.

2. The pecuniary administrative sanction provided for by article 222, paragraph 3, letter a) of the code is applied to SOAs, up to a maximum of 50,000 euros in the event of:

a) transmission of information, data or untruthful documents, including the documents provided by the company during the certification;

b) carrying out the SOA's activity in a manner that does not comply with the provisions of the article 11, paragraphs 1 and 2, and the procedures contained in the document referred to in article 9, paragraph 2, letter f);

c) failure to comply with the conditions set out in article 12, paragraph 1;

d) sending inaccurate or untruthful communications, or transmission of inaccurate or untruthful documentation, in relation to the obligations referred to in paragraph 9;

e) failure to comply with the provisions of article 17, paragraph 3;

f) failure to comply with the provisions of article 21, paragraph 7;

g) failure to comply with the obligations of inclusion in the computer register established by ANAC pursuant to article 222, paragraph 10, of the code.

3. In addition to the pecuniary sanction, in the event of violations committed, according to the ANAC's assessment, with willful misconduct or gross negligence, the sanction of suspension is applied:

a) for a period of up to one hundred and twenty days, in the event of multiple violations referred to in paragraph 1, or a new violation referred to in paragraph 1 after a previous sanction;

b) for a period of up to two hundred and forty days, in the case of multiple violations referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, or of a new violation of paragraph 2 after a previous sanction for violations referred to in paragraph 1, or vice versa;

c) for a period of up to one year, in the case of multiple violations of referred to in paragraph 2, or of a new violation referred to in paragraph 2 after a previous sanction.

4. The forfeiture sanction is applied in the event of a new violation after a previous suspension, if the suspension period to be imposed for the new violation, cumulated with the previous one, is equal to or greater than three hundred and sixty days, as well as in the case of a new violation after four sanctions which have resulted in suspension for a total period exceeding one hundred and twenty days.

5. The authorization is forfeited, in addition to the cases referred to in paragraph 4, in the event of:

a) failure to meet the requirements and conditions referred to in articles 5, 6 , 7, 8 and 11, paragraph 3;

b) failure to begin corporate activity within one hundred and eighty days of authorization;

c) interruption of activity for more than one hundred and eighty days;

d) failure to comply with the provisions referred to in paragraph 9, first sentence;

e) failure to comply with the provisions given with the suspension provision referred to in paragraph 3;

6. The procedure for the imposition of the sanctions referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, and the forfeiture procedure referred to in paragraph 4, is started automatically by the ANAC, when it becomes aware of the existence, also following a complaint of interested third parties, of the occurrence of one of the circumstances referred to in paragraphs 1 to 4. To this end, ANAC contests the charges against the SOA, inviting it to present its counterarguments and any documentation within a peremptory deadline not exceeding thirty days, and adopts the relevant provision within the following ninety days.

7.The ANAC may arrange for all necessary hearings and documentary acquisitions; the hearings are carried out in cross-examination with the SOA concerned and the documentary acquisitions are communicated to it, with the assignment of a term of no less than thirty and no more than sixty days for counterarguments and documents; the term