Industry 4.0: Benefits and Opportunities of revamping

2022-12-28

FROM THE TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS TO THE PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE HOW TO ACCESS THE TAX CREDIT EXPECTED UNTIL 2025

Extend the life of the machines, limit the introduction of new materials into the environment, contain costs and be able to quickly dispose of efficient machinery, in a phase of production slowed down due to difficulties in finding raw materials.

Among the most important advantages of revamping, the practice of modernization of machines that can enjoy, within the Industry 4.0 program, important tax benefits. This was discussed last May at MECFOR, the b2b appointment for the mechanical and manufacturing industry, organized by Fiere di Parma and CEU-Centro Esposizioni UCIMU (the body connected with the association of Italian manufacturers of machine tools, robots and automation), at the conference “Revamping and 4.0: the advantages in optics 4.0”.

Measure

So what are the goods covered by the measure?

What are the requirements for an intervention to be recognized as revamping? And what are the ultimate aims of similar interventions? Let’s start with the definition. Revamping refers to the replacement of worn parts or integration with improvement parts in order to realize a renewed machine. Changes must be substantial and aim for specific purposes. Enrico Annacondia, of the Technical Direction of UCIMU explained that the facilitation is provided exclusively for machine tools and capital goods included in the categories provided for by annexes A (capital goods) and B (softare

The machines involved are those whose operation is controlled by computerized systems or managed through appropriate sensors and drives. Under this category fall the main categories of capital goods used in manufacturing, for example machine tools for removal, for plastic deformation of metals, for additive manufacturing, for assembly, joining and welding, packaging and packaging, robots, and so on. Quality and sustainability assurance systems are also involved in the measure. These are all those systems related to the sensorization of machines and plants, the monitoring of working conditions, the traceability of products, the quality management, the characterization of the product and materials. Also included are devices for human-machine interaction and for improving ergonomics and workplace safety in logic “4.0”. That is, all those tools that improve the working conditions of the human operator and integrate data into the information flow of the company. Finally, the measure includes intangible assets (softare Programs for design, virtualization and simulation, decentralization, remote data processing and storage, servitization. In line with what has already been established for the pre-existing measure of superammortamento, the subsidized assets can be acquired either through the acquisition in ownership, or with a financial lease agreement.

Objective

Fulvio Sassi of TIFQ, a company of the ICIM group, highlighted the purposes of revamping. The first is to reduce production costs, including in
a perspective of progressive automation. Then there is the need to reduce the size of the machines and to develop the most efficientout Revamping also serves
to increase the reliability of the control system and safety-related parts, and finally, but not least, it must point to the interconnection of company data with production data. The goods involved, in addition to regulatory compliance, must also meet the latest parameters of safety, health and hygiene at work. There is also the obligation of CE marking, which involves the presence of the instructions, the EC Declaration of Conformity, the EC plate and the Technical File. In addition, as far as capital goods are concerned, there are five mandatory requirements to be met.

The first is that the machine has a numerical control or PLC. Interconnection to the factory IT systems with remote loading of instructions and/or part programs is also necessary, as well as automated integration with the factory logistics system, the supply network and/or with other machines in the production cycle. The interfaces between man and machine must be simple and intuitive, and finally, as already mentioned, the entire machine must be in line with the safety parameters. In addition to these mandatory requirements, at least two other of the following must be met: be equipped with telemaintenance systems, telediagnosis, remote control. And there must be continuous monitoring of working conditions and process parameters set of sensors. Rarer, but included in the list, is finally the requirement of the so-called” c sistema physical system”, or that system of integration between physical machine and/or plant with the modeling and/or simulation of its behavior in the process.

The tax advantages

Finally, Aldo Tassoni of the Tomasin Studio illustrated the most relevant tax aspects. First of all he pointed out that the facilitation was extended at the level 31 December 2025, in the face of a progressive decrease in the tax benefit. The investments made in 2022 in fact, enjoy a tax credit that starts from 40% and decreases up to 10%, while from 2023 there will be a substantial halving of the tax credit. Consequently, the first rate, applicable on investments of up to 2.5 million euros, will be 20% and will gradually decrease. The limit within which 4.0 investments must be made, equal to 20 million, applies for each year of the 23-25 three-year period, as has been clarified by the Revenue Agency.

Hyper-depreciation has been designed for both new and used machines. In this regard, Tassoni recalled that the circular 4/E of the Agency specifies that the goods that contain used components are also considered new. The facilitation is in fact recognized on the entire machine, not therefore on the individual components. The criterion is that of cost and the Agency is clear: the cost of new components must be higher than the cost of used components. The document certifying
this head is the technical file of the machine. The good can also be purchased by a person other than the manufacturer, therefore also the subjects who have carried out the revamping itself. In this case, they will have to specify in the invoice that it is a new machine, to allow the buyer to enjoy the tax credit. Finally, the tax benefit can be applied in compensation over three years. But if the company is not able to fully use the tax credit within this period – and there are many realities that are in this situation – it can still use it later and without any time limit. An advantage and an additional opportunity for those who want to access the measure.