TV scrapping bonus: how it works and what happened
The TV bonus started in trouble, that's why. All the details
The TV bonus started in trouble, the measure desired by the Mise to favor the replacement of television sets that will no longer be suitable for the new technological standards. On the first day of the initiative, only 5,651 requests for the scrapping of old TVs and another 800 for the bonus decoder arrived at the Ministry of Economic Development.
What is the scrapping bonus
The scrapping bonus was introduced with the Sostegni decree. Those who decide to get rid of a device purchased before 2018 may be entitled to a 20% discount on the purchase price of the new TV , up to a maximum of 100 euros. The government has allocated a fund of 250 million euros for this bonus. You can apply for the bonus until December 31, 2022, unless the fund is sufficient for everyone. The bonus does not require income requirements but you only need to be resident in Italy, hold an electricity contract on which the TV fee is charged, want to scrap an old TV purchased before 22 December 2018 and fill in the substitute declaration downloadable from the Mise website. . Scrapping takes place by delivering the old appliance to the point of sale or by presenting the certificate of withdrawal of an ecological island.
How does it work
To obtain the payment of the bonus, the customer only has to show up in the shop with the old TV and with the form that can be downloaded from the Mise website. There is no IT procedure or click day for consumers . The retailer, after registering on the dedicated platform, must enter the customer's tax code and other identification data of the new TV, which are essential to obtain a 20% discount on the sale price. Once the checks have been carried out and the availability of resources has been ascertained, the platform issues a certificate of availability of the bonus. The reseller will be able to recover the discount in the form of a tax credit that can be used from the day following the disbursement of the bonus.
Inefficiencies on the Revenue Agency website
The problems were found on the portal of the Revenue Agency which yesterday for many hours was inaccessible to shopkeepers who tried to forward requests to obtain the discount. “ The platform was unable to provide the bonus because it puts accredited retailers on hold – explains Davide Rossi, general manager of Aires-Confcommercio, to Sole 24 ore -. Like Aires, we asked Mise to carry out a series of technical tests in view of the start of the bonus but we had no response, only generic assurances on the functioning of the systems. After the morning (yesterday ed) of the platform block has started to operate even if still in a discontinuous way. "
The inconvenience to customers
The director of Aires underlines how customers have suffered difficulties in accessing the measure. “This is the umpteenth time that they are disappointed with technical and non- technical problems , with the risk of compromising the relationship of trust with retailers – adds Davide Rossi -. The first time was as soon as the news of the initial allocation of 250 million for the bonus spread, then the long wait until 7 August for publication in the Official Gazette and now the Agency's systems have broken down ”. Perhaps also for fear of disservices, the customers concerned were prepared and with the documentation ready to obtain the discount. “ We have registered a lot of interest in the purchase of TVs and decoders – Gabriele Gennai, Chief commercial officer of Unieuro, told Sole 24 ore. We have detected some connection problems with the Inland Revenue portal and created an internal reservation list so as not to upset customers. Finally we have seen a slow improvement in accesses ”.
Positive sales results
Despite the IT difficulties, the fear of finding oneself with an unusable device within a few months has increased sales of televisions. “The results in terms of sales in this first day are positive, I would say above expectations – remarked Massimo Dell'Acqua – CEO of Euronics Italia, heard by Sole 24 Ore -. Unfortunately, the portal of the Revenue Agency has had some problems , many customers have booked the TV also leaving a deposit and will close the practice in the following days. We are confident in a positive trend in sales also in the coming weeks because, in addition to the scrapping bonus and the switch off, the fact that Tim and Dazn offer the A series creates the need to buy smart TVs and many are targeting high-end products such as the OLED screens ".
Procedures open in the afternoon
In the afternoon, the portal started working regularly again. The Revenue Agency has made it known that the procedures are generally opened in the afternoon . In the morning, however, instrumental tests are performed. It is probably those tests that have made the site inaccessible.
Additional funding
“There will probably be 15 million TV sets to be scrapped between now and October 1st , but two phases are foreseen – Davide Rossi reminds the business newspaper -. We could therefore reach 25 million by the next deadline of 31 December 2022. However, it is not certain that all the old televisions will be replaced ». The fund allocated for the scrapping bonus is 250 million euros. The Mise, as reported by La Verità, specified that it was unable to make an estimate of the obsolete appliances in circulation that will have to be replaced by January 2023. The Ministry said it was ready to ask, based on the use of the measure, for further funding of the bonus in the next budget law.
Switching to second generation digital: the two steps
The change in technology will take place in two steps : the first in September 2021 and the second in June 2022. From 1 July 2022 on the whole national territory it will no longer be possible to receive television broadcasts except with new generation devices (TV or decoder). Only the TVs and decoders purchased from December 2018 are compatible with the two new standards, the old TVs, those that are now unable to view HD channels, will no longer be usable. The Mise has made available to citizens the New digital TV portal from which you can check if your device can receive the new signal.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/bonus-rottamazione-tv-come-funziona-e-che-cosa-e-successo/ on Tue, 24 Aug 2021 10:50:44 +0000.