With Note n. 1082 of 5 February last, the Ministry of Labor provided some clarifications regarding the articles of the Third Sector Code which govern the membership of APS and ODV (articles 32, paragraph 2 and 35, paragraph 3) and which "set limits both qualitative and quantitative in nature. The first order of limitations concerns the nature of the eligible super-individuals, who must belong to strictly identified types (other ETS or non-profit entities). The second type of limitation concerns the number of such subjects, which cannot exceed 50% respectively of the associated ODVs or APS".
The answers to the questions that the Ministry has provided are given below, after specifying that "these limits do not limit the decision-making autonomy of the entities, which are not precluded from the right to modify, in compliance with the statutory provisions, their membership structure , beyond the limits indicated above, renouncing the qualification of ODV or APS".
The first question, formulated by the Piedmont Region, concerns the possibility of configuring a social composition that includes both natural persons and third sector or non-profit entities.
According to the Ministry, if it is undoubtedly possible that the statutes allow for the admission into the membership of both natural persons and entities whose nature is homogeneous with that of the subject in question (e.g. an APS that associates both natural persons and APS, a SB that associates both individuals and SBs) particular attention must be paid to evaluating further cases, i.e. opening up to other third sector or non-profit entities. The admission of such entities, in fact, represents an additional possibility which, permitted only where specifically mentioned by the statutes, must necessarily be subject to the conditions set forth in the Code, i.e. compliance - both statutory and concrete - with the numerical limits imposed by law. Therefore, it is not considered admissible, for example, either by statutory provision or concretely, that only natural persons and third sector or non-profit entities other than APS are part of an APS, or that such entities are actually more than the number 50 per cent of the APS effectively associated.
The Ministry then specifies that "if the situation emerges with reference to subjects already registered in the voluntary work or social promotion registers, if not openly in contrast with the regional provisions implementing the pre-existing provisions on the matter, it may be the subject of a notice to the bodies so that they adapt the related statutes and its de facto composition in anticipation of transmigration".
With the second question, raised by the National Forum of the Third Sector, it was asked whether it is possible for the ETS to welcome companies within its membership base; and, if so, whether or not the latter can hold control of the Entity and finally, whether this control can be exercised by a single company or possibly exercised jointly.
The Ministry believes that "in the absence of specific provisions relating to particular types of entities, companies (including for-profit ones) can set up or subsequently participate in the membership base of the ETS as well as hold control of it, both individually (by a sole enterprise) or jointly between two or more of them. In such cases, however, the formal and substantial observance of the rules (and the connected ratio of the legislator) established to oversee the nature and purposes of the ETS must in any case be respected: the pursuit, on a non-profit basis, of civic solidarity and of social utility and the exclusive or principal performance of one or more activities of general interest in the forms (voluntary action, free disbursement of money, goods or services, etc.) specific to the type of entity to which reference is made from time to time. The concrete observance of the constraints and limits dictated by the Third sector Code will be subject to control by the competent administrations".
