Article 116. Testing and verification of conformity.

1. The contracts are subject to testing for the works and verification of conformity for the services and supplies to certify compliance with the technical, economic and qualitative characteristics of the works and performances, as well as the objectives and times, in accordance with the provisions and contractual agreements. 2. The final testing or verification of conformity must be completed no later than six months from the completion of the works or services, except in cases, identified in Annex II.14, of particular complexity, for which the term can be extended up to one year. In the letter of assignment, in the presence of works or services of limited complexity, the times can be reduced. The test certificate is provisional in nature and becomes definitive two years after its issue. Once this deadline has elapsed, the testing is considered tacitly approved even if the formal act of approval has not been issued within two months of the expiry of the same deadline. 3. Without prejudice to the provisions of article 1669 of the civil code, the contractor is liable for any discrepancies and defects in the work, even if recognisable, provided they are reported by the contracting authority before the testing certificate becomes definitive. 4. To carry out work testing activities, contracting authorities which are public administrations appoint from one to three testers chosen from among their own employees or from among the employees of other public administrations, with qualifications related to the type and characteristics of the contract, in possession of the requirements of morality, competence and professionalism. The testers employed by the same administration belong to functionally independent structures. The compensation due for the testing activity is contained for employees of the same administration within the scope of the incentive referred to in article 45, while for employees of other public administrations it is determined in accordance with the legislation applicable to contracting authorities and in compliance with the provisions of article 61, paragraph 9, of the legislative decree of 25 June 2008, n. 112, converted, with amendments, by law 6 August 2008, n. 133. The tester of the structures for drawing up the static testing is also identified among the employees of the contracting authority or among the employees of other administrations. For ascertained shortages in the staff of the contracting authority, or of other public administrations, or in cases of particular technical complexity, the contracting authority entrusts the task in accordance with the procedures established by the code. 5. For service and supply contracts, verification compliance is carried out by the RUP or, if appointed, by the enforcement director. For services and supplies characterized by high technological content or high complexity or innovation, the contracting authorities may provide for the appointment of one or more conformity verifiers other than the RUP or the director of contract execution. Paragraph 4 applies to the appointment and remuneration of verifiers. 6. Testing and conformity verification tasks cannot be entrusted to: a) ordinary, administrative and accounting magistrates, and state lawyers and prosecutors, in service activities and, for public works contracts of an amount equal to or greater than the thresholds of European relevance, to those retired in the region or regions where the service activity was carried out; b) to employees belonging to public administration roles in service or on retirement, for public works contracts of an amount equal to or greater than the thresholds of European relevance located in the region or regions where it is carried out for employees in service or is the service activity was carried out for those in retirement; c) to those who in the previous three years have had self-employed or subordinate employment relationships with economic operators in any capacity involved in the execution of the contract; d) to those who have in any case carried out or carry out control, verification, design, approval, authorisation, supervision or management activities on the contract to be tested; e) to those who participated in the tender procedure. 7. The technical methods and times for carrying out the testing, as well as the cases in which the works testing certificate and the conformity verification certificate can be replaced by the certificate of regular execution, are governed by Annex II.14. 8. The technical methods and times of the conformity verification are established by the contracting authority in the specifications. The frequency of the checks may not coincide with the periodic payment of the services so as not to hinder the regular payment in favor of the economic operators. 9. Unless justified needs, conformity verification activities are carried out during the execution of periodic or continuous performance contracts. 10. At the end of the work, the following are drawn up: a) for cultural heritage assets, a scientific final balance prepared by the director of the works or, in the case of interventions on movable cultural assets, decorated surfaces of architectural assets and historicized materials of immovable assets of historical-artistic interest, by restorers of cultural assets or, in the case of archaeological interventions, by qualified archaeologists, in accordance with current legislation, as the last phase of the knowledge and restoration process and as a premise for the future intervention program on the asset; the costs for preparing the scientific final balance are foreseen in the economic framework of the intervention; b) updating the maintenance plan and any information modeling of the work carried out referred to in Article 43 for subsequent life cycle management; c) from the professionals relating to their respective skills, a technical-scientific report, with the explanation of the cultural and scientific results achieved. 11. Laboratory checks and mandatory technical checks inherent to the activities referred to in this article and to the activities referred to in Annex II.14 or specifically provided for in the special works tender specifications, are arranged by the management of the works or by the testing or conformity verification body, attributing the expense to the available sums set aside for this title in the economic framework. These expenses are not subject to reduction. The criteria for determining costs are identified in Annex II.15. Upon first application, Annex II.15 is repealed and replaced by a corresponding decree of the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, adopted on the proposal of the Superior Council of Public Works, which replaces it entirely also as an annex to the code. EFFECTIVE: July 1, 2023