Clarifications on Gender Equality Contribution Exemption

In its message no. 2844/2024, INPS reminds employers that Article 5 of Law 162/2021 provides a 1% exemption from social security contributions, with an annual maximum limit of €50,000 per beneficiary. This exemption is available to private employers who hold a valid Gender Equality Certification as per Article 46-bis, Legislative Decree 198/2006.

According to the implementing decree, the Gender Equality Certification is issued in accordance with UNI/PdR 125:2022 guidelines by accredited compliance assessment bodies, as outlined in Regulation 765/2008/EC of the European Parliament and Council. Therefore, only certifications bearing the UNI mark and the accreditation body’s logo are valid for employers seeking the contributory benefit.

INPS Circular no. 137/2022 provided details on this contribution exemption and operational instructions for employers who obtained the Gender Equality Certification by December 31, 2022, allowing them to apply for the exemption through the specific online form “PAR_GEN.”

Regarding the 2022 exemption applications, message no. 1269/2023 extended the deadline for submissions and clarified that applicants must indicate the average monthly global wage, not the individual employee’s salary. Subsequently, message no. 4614/2023 provided instructions for 2023 applications, reiterating that the average monthly global wage for the certification period must be provided when submitting the application.

However, despite these clarifications, some employers entered an incorrect average monthly global wage in their applications, which was lower than the actual amount. INPS clarifies that the average monthly global wage refers to all salaries paid or payable by the employer during the certification period and not the average salary of individual employees. For example, if the company has 100 employees, the average monthly global wage should reflect the total salaries of all 100 employees, not just one.

Therefore, in message 2844/2024, INPS informs employers who obtained the certification by December 31, 2023 and submitted incorrect data in their applications, that they may correct these errors by withdrawing the original application and submitting a new one with the correct information, particularly the accurate average monthly global wage. This must be done by the strict deadline of October 15, 2024.

After this deadline, all applications in “submitted” status related to certifications obtained by December 31, 2023, will be processed in bulk. If an incorrect application is not amended by the deadline, it will be approved based on the lower, erroneously entered average monthly global wage, assuming all other legal requirements are met.

Once the bulk processing is completed, each applicant will be notified of the authorized amount, which will be noted at the bottom of the online application form available on the “Benefits Portal” (formerly DiResCo).

The approved exemption can be used from the first month of the certification’s validity for the entire duration of the certification. INPS will authorize employers to use the exemption of up to 1% of the total social security contributions, as indicated in the application, with a maximum annual limit of €50,000 per beneficiary. This €50,000 cap is linked to the employer’s tax code. Thus, if multiple applications are submitted for business units under the same tax code, INPS will ensure that the exemption does not exceed the annual limit of €50,000 per tax code.

Applications that receive full approval will be marked as “Approved.” However, if the €50 million annual funding limit is exceeded, the exemption will be proportionally reduced for all eligible applicants. In such cases, the applications will be marked as “Partially Approved.”

After processing the applications, employers granted the exemption will receive the authorization code (CA) “4R,” which denotes “Company authorized for the exemption under Article 5 of Law 162/2021.” Only employers with this code in INPS records will be eligible for the exemption.

Additionally, it is clarified that:

• Employers who have already submitted an exemption application and possess a valid Gender Equality Certification in line with Law 162/2021 and the Decree of the Minister for Equal Opportunities and Family of April 29, 2022, do not need to reapply. The exemption will be automatically recognized for the entire 36-month validity of the certification. If an application was approved in 2022, any subsequent applications for certifications obtained in 2023 will be rejected.
• Private employers who submitted an application with an erroneously short certification validity period (less than 36 months) will benefit from the exemption for the full legal validity period. INPS will automatically rectify the applications and grant the exemption for the entire eligible period.

The exemption will be available only after the bulk processing of submitted applications is completed.