Bicycle voucher, new postponement: refunds are postponed until early November

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Again, this time at the beginning of November, the portal of the Ministry of the Environment that will put into operation the bike voucher, the incentive for “sustainable” mobility that reaches a maximum of 500 euros and covers up to 60% of the purchase of bicycles, electric bicycles, electric scooters purchased from May 4 to December 31. A voucher that can be declined either in the form of a refund (for those who have already purchased) or an electronic voucher for future purchases. The postponement, compared to the originally scheduled date of late August, is due to a further “administrative slowdown.” But also to the decision of the Ministry of the Environment to launch the portal when the allocated 210 million are available.

The long administrative process
But let’s go in order. And let’s start with the administrative problems. After a long tug of war between the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Transport, the Environment thesis on the need (to qualify for one of the most anticipated bonuses of the Relaunch) of the talking receipt, the document that specifies the nature of the goods purchased and shows the buyer’s tax code. The implementing decree, however, stayed at MIT (simple receipt advocate) for 23 days, before being published on July 16. To then pass the Mef and Mise exam, whose signature arrived on July 24. To reach its publication in the Official Gazette, the decree needed the approval of the United States-Regions Conference, scheduled for August 6. But in that session the decree was not put on the order of the day.

The execution decree has been postponed to the Gazzetta
To avoid having to wait for the new meeting scheduled for mid-September, the ministry’s legislature decided to unpack the decree. How? Writing a new decree dedicated solely to the bicycle voucher for 2020 (which does not need the opinion of the Unified Conference). And eliminating the part related to the bonus for scrapping cars for the years 2021 and 2022. The new decree had a fast track, with a green light in record time by Mef and Mise. And registration at the Corte dei Conti on Sunday, August 30. Publication in the Gazzetta, initially scheduled for August 7-8, was however (presumably) postponed until September 2. However, there is an economic reason to explain the postponement of the launch of the portal.

Objective: avoid the risk of click day
The available resources are still lower than those allocated. To the 120 million cash allocated by the Relaunch decree, we must add another 20 million (immediately available) provided for by the decree conversion law and another 70 million that are in the budget adjustment of the Ministry of the Environment (for a total of 210 million). But the latter can only be used at the end of October. Hence the decision to launch the portal at the beginning of November, when all the resources will be “on the plate” (after publication in the Magazine, the Ministry of the Environment has up to 60 days to put the portal into operation, which will be managed by Sogei). The goal of the Environment is, in fact, also to avoid the risk of click day. Not only. Depending on the progress of the reimbursement requests and vouchers, a new provision will be defined in the budget law, because “our intention – explains the ministry – is to guarantee the bonus to all those who request it.” With a clarification. Those who have already bought the bicycle and upload the speech receipt to the portal will have priority in terms of reimbursement, compared to those who want to download the purchase voucher.