For all companies without a permanent establishment in Italy that want to hire Italian employees or have foreign employees working in Italy, it’s possible to rely on a contribution representative to fulfill the contribution obligations towards the worker.

Let’s take a step back.

When a company is considered ‘without a permanent establishment’?

A foreign company is considered without a permanent establishment in Italy when it doesn’t have a legal or physical presence in the Country but wants to hire employees locally to begin market research and/or promotion activities before the opening of a permanent establishment.

Can a company without a permanent establishment hire employees?

Companies without a permanent establishment can hire employees: they will be employed by the head quarter, which however must pay the contributions due in the Country where they carry out their work.

How does contribution representation work?

To pay contributions in Italy, it is necessary to open a social security position with INPS. This can be done by a subject with an Italian tax code, who must be delegated by the company as a contribution representative with a public act of acceptance of the mandate.

The contribution representative has to fulfill the social security obligations provided for by the legislation of the reference country. The representative must also take care of drafting all documents relating to the employment relationship (payrolls, F24 forms, Single Certification, Uniemens) and keep the Single Employee Record.

Who should be entrusted as contribution representative?

Usually, we refer to professionals who can also assist the company in the correct obbligations. Accountants and labor consultants are certainly the most qualified in terms of reliability and competence.

Our firm has long been acting as a contribution representative for companies without a permanent establishment in Italy. If you would like to receive more information on how to entrust us with this delicate task, please contact our consultants.