Assonime illustrates, with its circular, the rules on legality ratings, introduced by the "Crescitalia" decree (1/2012) and recently completed with decree no. 57/2014 of the Minister of Economy and Finance and of the Minister of Economic Development. The 2014 decree regulates, in particular, the methods according to which the rating is taken into account for the purpose of granting loans by public administrations and accessing bank credit.
The legality rating for companies is aimed at promoting the introduction of ethical principles in corporate behaviour. It is up to the Competition and Market Authority to proceed, in collaboration with the Ministries of Justice and the Interior, "with the elaboration and attribution, upon request of a party, of a legality rating for companies operating in the national territory that reach a minimum turnover of two million euros, referring to the individual company or group to which they belong". Up until 30 April 2014, the rating was assigned to 111 companies. The most frequent score (obtained by 34 companies, equal to 30% of the total) is that of two "stars" and two + signs. Only two companies obtained the minimum score of one "star", while the maximum score of three "stars" was obtained by 19 companies. The complete list is available on the website of the Antitrust Authority (http://www.agcm.it/rating-di-legalita/elenco.html).
In the circular, Assonime places the new institute in the broader context of the measures aimed at countering the illegal behavior of companies, including the interference of criminal organizations with business activities which, especially in some sectors, seriously hinder the correct operation of the mechanisms of market and the development of a healthy economy. Among these, the regulation of causes impeding the participation of companies in procedures for awarding public contracts, contained in the Procurement Code, and the anti-corruption legislation, which has recently been strengthened by law no. 190/2012, the legislative decree n. 33/2013, the new Code of Conduct for Public Employees and the National Anti-Corruption Plan.
The circular also analyzes the question of the relevance of the rating in the procedures for awarding public contracts. The mandatory nature of the causes for exclusion from participation in tenders, envisaged by European law, does not allow the rating to be directly used as a requirement for admission to the procedures for awarding public contracts.
