Out of that, €100 million ($104.32 million) is meant for development contracts, €100 million for mini development contracts, €15 million ($15.65 million) to support a green and digital transition, and €30.5 million ($31.8 million) has been allocated for promoting sustainability in the sector.
Italy has allocated of $260.8 million for the domestic fashion sector this year, minister of enterprises and ‘Made in Italy’ Adolfo Urso recently announced.
Out of that, $104.32 million each is meant for development contracts and mini development contracts, $15.65 million to support a green and digital transition, and $31.8 million has been allocated for promoting sustainability.
“This significant financial commitment, implemented through concrete tools, aims to provide stability and confidence to fashion businesses, enabling them to return to growth,” said the minister in an official release.
A key element in this strategy is the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Bill promoted by the ministry and recently approved by the council of ministers.
This bill allocates €100 million for development contracts in the fashion sector and introduces innovative measures such as generational business transition incentives, business aggregation incentives, and the long-awaited reform of the Confidi (credit guarantee) system.
The minister said in over €22 billion will be allocated to businesses across all production sectors this year.
The measures introduced include nearly €9 billion for fiscal measures under Transition Plans 4.0 and 5.0 and rewarded corporate income tax (IRES); €2.2 billion for tax credits in the Unified Special Economic Zone (ZES); over €7.5 billion for development and mini-development contracts; and €1.7 billion under the New Sabatini Scheme.
“This is a significant commitment given budgetary constraints, from which the fashion industry can also benefit,” Urso emphasized. “Of this, €3 billion is exclusively for SMEs and €4 billion is specifically allocated to businesses in Southern Italy,” he noted.
Regarding tax credit for research and development, Urso announced an amendment to the Milleproroghe Decree, aiming to improve existing provisions from the Budget Law. This amendment seeks to provide a sustainable solution to past issues, which continue to burden fashion enterprises.
Among other provisions, the amendment reopens the deadline for adherence to the repayment procedure; introduces a discount as an alternative to direct contributions, benefiting businesses that need to repay significant amounts; and allocates a total of €250 million for this initiative.
The labour ministry reported that the fashion sector’s use of extraordinary wage support measures has been minimal last year.
According to data for 2024 and 2025 from the Istituto Nazionale della Previdenza Sociale (National Institute for Social Security), the government allocated €110 million for wage subsidies in the fashion sector—€73.6 million for 2024 and €36.8 million for 2025. However, only €2.9 million has been disbursed so far.
Therefore, both the ministries will initiate discussions with regional governments to extend wage support measures and redefine their scope to ensure full utilisation.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
