Double Transition Voucher 2026: what it funds and excludes

In the Marche region the 2026 Double Transition Voucher window opens at 10:00 on 30 September and closes at 12:00 on 7 October. The pot holds 1.5 million euros, the maximum grant per company is 8,000 euros, and applications are processed in the chronological order in which they arrive. The arithmetic takes ten seconds: at best the fund covers fewer than two hundred companies.

The question we get asked most often right now is about the amounts. It is the wrong question, and the reason is that the amounts are public and identical for everyone. The question that decides the outcome is a different one: does what you want to buy fall under eligible expenses, or does it sit in one of the lines of article 8?

On that second question most of the guidance in circulation is evasive, because it paraphrases the press release instead of the call. This article starts from the text of the Marche call, approved by decision of the Secretary General on 7 July 2026, and says which line items of a software supply qualify, which do not, and which supplier constraints almost nobody reads before signing a quote.

TL;DR

• There is no single national call. There is a shared template, issued under the MIMIT decree of 17 March 2026 on the annual chamber fee, and every Chamber of Commerce publishes its own call with its own amounts, dates and constraints.
• Marche: 1,500,000 euros of funding, 70% for micro and small enterprises up to 8,000 euros, 50% for medium-sized ones up to 6,000 euros, minimum eligible investment 3,000 euros net of VAT, a 200 euro bonus for holders of the legality rating.
• Marche dates: pre-loading on the ReStart platform from 8 July, electronic submission from 10:00 on 30 September to 12:00 on 7 October, call code PD26. First come, first served, with early closure once the money runs out.
• Qualifies: artificial intelligence, cloud, cybersecurity, big data and analytics, ERP, MES, PLM, SCM, CRM, IoT, blockchain, EDI systems, geolocation, in-store customer experience, robotics, AR and VR, digital systems for energy and sustainability. Plus the consulting, certification and training attached to them.
• Does not qualify: company websites, PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones, web advertising, SEO and SEM, tax, accounting and legal advice, compliance work on statutory obligations, subscriptions and licences for software the company already owns, routine maintenance, payments in cash or by set-off, recoverable VAT.
• Costs count only if incurred after the application is submitted. An invoice dated 29 September does not belong to a project filed on 30 September.
• A supplier can appear in at most 10 applications. Past that threshold the first ten in chronological order stand and the rest become inadmissible.

One national template, roughly fifty different calls

The Double Transition Voucher sits inside the activities of the Digital Enterprise Points run by the Italian Chambers of Commerce, under the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy decree of 17 March 2026 on changes to the annual chamber fee, and within the scope of the national Transition 5.0 plan.

The practical mechanism is this: Unioncamere provides a template, individual Chambers opt in independently and adapt it. What changes is the budget, the percentage, the cap, the minimum investment, the bonuses, the opening and closing dates, and in some cases the list of eligible technologies.

Two examples that show how far apart two territories can be:

The operational consequence matters more than the table: every figure read in a generic article has to be checked against your own Chamber’s call, because the odds that a number belongs to a different territory are high. In the lines below, when we give a number without further qualification, the number is the Marche one.

How much you get, and on which spend

In Marche the grant is 70% of eligible costs for micro and small enterprises, up to 8,000 euros, and 50% for medium-sized enterprises, up to 6,000 euros. The minimum investment is 3,000 euros net of VAT: below that threshold the application is not admissible. Companies holding the legality rating receive a 200 euro bonus, whatever the number of stars.

Translated into real projects: a small company spending 11,430 euros on eligible technology hits the cap and collects 8,000 euros. Spending more does not raise the grant, spending less than 3,000 removes it.

An artificial intelligence integration on a warehouse ERP built up over fifteen years, developed by Obsidian Technologies through a middleware layer that leaves the core untouched, brought the pre-sales team to real-time answers across 30,000 SKUs and removed 30% of recurring internal requests from the purchasing department. That is precisely the kind of work article 7 of the call classifies under artificial intelligence and business process management systems.

The voucher is paid out with a 4% withholding tax where applicable, under article 43(2) of Legislative Decree 33/2025. On 8,000 euros granted, the actual transfer is 7,680 euros: a small difference worth putting into the project budget rather than discovering it when the payment lands.

What actually qualifies

The call splits costs into four families and requires them to be kept separate in the quote and in the final reporting. This is more than a formality: the project sheet has to be filled in line by line, and a quote that lumps everything into a single row is the most banal cause of a request for clarification.

A) Technology. The article 7 list covers additive manufacturing and 3D printing, cloud, fog and quantum computing, cyber security and business continuity, artificial intelligence (the call explicitly names platforms embedding predictive or generative algorithms for decision support and business data analysis), HPC infrastructure, advanced and collaborative robotics, big data and analytics, blockchain, augmented and virtual reality, IoT and connected sensors, highly integrated business process management systems (ERP, MES, PLM, SCM, property management systems for hospitality, tracking technologies such as RFID and barcodes), CRM, fintech systems such as EDI, geolocation systems, in-store customer experience systems, and digital systems for sustainability and the energy transition.

B) Consulting. This covers digital maturity assessment, design of the work needed to implement the article 7 technologies, the company digital development plan, temporary external Innovation Manager services, energy audits, design work for Renewable Energy Communities, implementation of innovation and information security management systems (ISO 56000, ISO/IEC 42001, ISO 27001), energy management systems, and ESG and circularity work.

C) Certification. Third-party audits by accredited bodies to obtain certification of the management systems above, including ESG assurance by an independent auditor.

D) Training. Courses on digital, green or ESG skills for owners, legal representatives and employees, and qualification paths for profiles such as Innovation Manager or Energy Manager.

Does custom software qualify?

Yes, when it implements one of the listed technologies. The call does not fund the product category “software” as such: it funds the project, and capital goods and services, hardware or software, are there to deliver it. The project sheet has to state which article 7 technology the software implements, and the consistency between that statement and the quote is explicitly checked by the Chamber.

In practice: a demand forecasting module built on top of the ERP qualifies as artificial intelligence or as big data and analytics. A connector feeding production data into the ERP qualifies as a business process management system. An agent answering customers by reading the catalogue qualifies as artificial intelligence. The same work described as “portal restyling” does not.

What the call will not pay for

This is the section the guides skip, and it is the one that decides. Article 8 excludes in all cases:

• company websites;
• basic IT equipment: PCs, smartphones, switchboards, laptops, tablets, non-3D printers;
• web advertising, SEO and SEM;
• specialist advice on ordinary administrative or commercial activity: tax, accounting, legal, or purely promotional and advertising work;
• support and assistance services for compliance with statutory obligations;
• costs incurred before the application is submitted and after the project closes;
• capital goods and services tied to ordinary administration;
• subscriptions and licences for software, platforms and technologies the company already owns at the time of application, and their routine maintenance;
• advance invoices dated before the call opened;
• communication and marketing tied to ordinary business;
• taxes, duties and interest charges;
• costs settled in cash, by transfer of goods or by set-off of any kind between beneficiary and supplier;
• VAT, unless the beneficiary cannot recover it.

Three of these lines deserve a note, because they contradict the most common expectation.

The website does not qualify, even rebuilt from scratch. Anyone planning to fund a corporate site redesign with this voucher needs a different project. E-commerce systems do appear in some chamber calls, but only where they are interconnected with another listed technology, and in the Marche call e-commerce is absent from article 7 altogether: the only route is for the software to be described and justified as one of the listed technologies rather than as an online shop.

Regulatory compliance does not qualify. The line on support services for statutory compliance rules out projects presented as compliance work: NIS2, the AI Act, accessibility. The distinction is fine and it matters: implementing an information security management system to ISO 27001 is eligible consulting under letter B, being assisted in meeting a legal obligation is not. Where a project is driven by a regulatory deadline, other instruments are the right channel.

The licence on what you already have does not qualify. Renewing the licence of the ERP already in use is excluded by definition. Extending it with a module that was not there before qualifies.

The supplier constraint almost nobody reads

Article 6 of the call sets four prohibitions and one ceiling. Suppliers of technology and services cannot be linked or associated with the applicant company under Annex I to Regulation (EU) 651/2014, cannot be directors or shareholders of the applicant or their close relatives, cannot be companies whose ownership includes those directors or shareholders, and cannot themselves be beneficiaries of the same measure.

Then comes the ceiling, and it is the part that changes how a supplier has to work: each supplier can appear in at most 10 applications. Beyond the tenth, in chronological order of submission, applications are deemed inadmissible. A software house that says yes to twenty clients on the same call is damaging ten of them, and nobody notices until the assessment stage.

For consulting and training services the constraint tightens further. The supplier has to belong to one of the accredited categories (Competence Centres, EDIHs, trade-association Digital Innovation Hubs, certified incubators, FabLabs, innovative start-ups and SMEs, technology transfer centres, research bodies, training providers, certified energy experts and ESCOs, Innovation Managers certified to UNI 11814 or listed in the MIMIT and Unioncamere registers), or be a VAT-registered party that has delivered at least three consulting or training engagements for different clients over the past three years in the technology areas of the call, attested through Form C signed digitally by its own legal representative.

For the purchase of capital goods and services, hardware or software, Form C is not required: the supplier’s company name and VAT number in Form B is enough. The gap between the two routes is reason enough to decide early whether a line item is consulting or supply, and to write it up accordingly.

How to write a quote that holds up

The call is explicit about the formal requirements of the quote, and these are the points where the assessment asks for clarification.

1. In euros and in Italian, or with a short translation attached.
2. Addressed to the applicant company, on the supplier’s letterhead.
3. Cost lines separate and individually legible, split between technology, consulting, certification and training.
4. No self-issued quotes. The document has to come from a properly qualified third-party supplier.
5. For capital goods, software included, some Chambers also ask for the product data sheet.
6. Form B must carry the company name and VAT number of every supplier, with the share of the work each one delivers.

Obsidian Technologies prepares its quotes in this shape already, with line items separated by cost family and the technical description the project sheet requires, and says up front which parts of a project fall under article 7 and which do not: that is the information needed to decide whether to apply at all, and asking for it commits you to nothing.

One last formal warning, which looks obvious and is not: preparing the grant application is not an eligible cost. Anyone offering to invoice the paperwork inside the project is creating a problem for you at reporting time.

Why 10:00 on 30 September matters more than anything else

In Marche the procedure is assessed on a rolling basis in chronological order of submission, under article 13(2)(a) of Legislative Decree 184/2025. There is no merit ranking and no score: what counts is the minute the file enters ReStart. The Chamber explicitly reserves the right to close the window early once funds run out.

With 1.5 million euros of budget and an 8,000 euro cap, the number of companies that can be funded sits between 190 and 300, depending on average project size. Admissible applications arriving after the money is gone go onto a reserve list in chronological order, and are funded only if others withdraw, grants are revoked, or new money is allocated.

From which follows the only sensible strategy, and it sits entirely upstream of the date:

• the ReStart platform has been open for pre-loading since 8 July: the file is compiled and signed beforehand, not on the morning of the 30th;
• the SELFI 4.0 assessment has to be completed within the 3 months before the application, and repeated at reporting stage;
• quotes should be requested from suppliers at least two weeks ahead, because the supplier may also have to produce Form C;
• the DURC contributions certificate, payment of the annual chamber fee and the catastrophe insurance policy required by article 1(101) of Law 213/2023 need checking beforehand, not afterwards.

The mistakes that sink an application

1. Invoicing before filing. In Marche only costs incurred from the date the application is submitted are eligible. This is the most expensive mistake, because it comes from being in a hurry to start.

2. Signing with the wrong person. The file has to be signed digitally by the owner or the legal representative. A missing Form A or Form B, or either of them submitted blank, means automatic exclusion with no prior notice of rejection.

3. A mismatched certified email address. The PEC address has to be single and identical between Form A and the ReStart record. Every subsequent communication goes through it.

4. Ignoring the de minimis ceiling. The grant is awarded under de minimis rules per Regulation (EU) 2023/2831. If, added to aid already received as a “single undertaking” over three years, it exceeds the ceiling, the Chamber reduces the amount. Checking your position on the national State aid register beforehand is worth the ten minutes.

5. Applying through two companies in the same group. Applications from firms belonging to the same single undertaking are all rejected except the first to arrive.

6. Forgetting the rotation rule. Companies that already received the Digital Enterprise 5.0 Voucher from the Marche Chamber cannot apply to this call.

7. Writing the project in sales language. The Chamber checks the project against the aims of the call, against the article 7 technologies and against the article 6 supplier requirements. A project sheet promising “efficiency” without naming the technology being implemented hands the assessor every reason to ask for clarification, and clarifications have a 10-day deadline after which the application lapses.

FAQ

Who can apply for the 2026 Double Transition Voucher in Marche?

Micro, small and medium enterprises in any economic sector with a registered office or operating unit in the Marche region, registered and active in the Business Register, up to date with the annual chamber fee, with a valid DURC and with the catastrophe insurance obligation met. Each company may file one application only.

How much is the grant worth?

70% of eligible costs up to 8,000 euros for micro and small enterprises, 50% up to 6,000 euros for medium-sized ones. The minimum investment is 3,000 euros net of VAT. Holders of the legality rating receive 200 euros more. A 4% withholding tax applies on payout where due.

Does the company website count as an eligible cost?

No. Company websites are explicitly excluded by article 8, along with web advertising, SEO and SEM. The voucher funds enabling technologies and the services attached to them, not the company’s online presence.

Can I buy a new ERP?

Yes, provided the project implements one of the article 7 technologies, for instance a highly integrated business process management system (ERP, MES, PLM, SCM) or a CRM. Licences and subscriptions for software the company already owns at application time remain excluded, as does their routine maintenance.

When can the project start?

After the application is filed. Costs incurred earlier are not eligible, including advance invoices dated before the call opened. Final reporting is due within 9 months of publication of the award decision, whose exact deadline is communicated with the decision itself.

Can the voucher be combined with other grants?

Yes, with other public aid within the maximum aid intensities set by European rules, and with general tax measures that do not constitute State aid, up to 100% of the costs actually incurred. The real constraint remains the de minimis ceiling over three years.

If I am late, do I still stand a chance?

Admissible applications not funded because the money ran out go onto a chronological reserve list, and can be funded if others withdraw, grants are revoked or new money is allocated. The Chamber also reserves the right to reopen the window if funds are not exhausted.

Does the same reasoning apply outside Marche?

The template does, the numbers do not. Budget, rates, caps, minimum investment, dates and priority criteria vary from Chamber to Chamber, and some allocate first to female-led, youth-led or legality-rated firms. Your own Chamber’s call is the only document that governs.

10:00 on 30 September, and what has to be ready by then

There are a little over two weeks between today and the opening of the window, and they are enough provided they go into the file rather than into the decision. The three things to have in hand before 30 September are the completed SELFI 4.0 assessment, the final quotes with line items separated by technology, consulting, certification and training, and the project sheet naming the article 7 technology the project implements. With those three, submission is a five-minute formality. Without them, 30 September is spent chasing documents while the fund drains.

If you have a software, integration or artificial intelligence project and want to know whether it falls under article 7 before putting time into the paperwork, let’s talk: half an hour is enough to say whether the spend is eligible and how it needs to be described.

If you are starting the business right now, the route is a different one: Autoimpiego and Resto al Sud 2.0 covers 100% of the investment and explicitly allows ecommerce, apps and digital platforms.

For further reading on the kind of projects that qualify: the AI agents pillar, the AI integration into your ERP page, and the article on how much an AI customer service agent costs, useful for placing a project with 11,430 euros of eligible spend.

Sources: the Double Transition Voucher 2026 call published by the Marche Chamber of Commerce with its forms, the national Digital Enterprise Point page and the national State aid register for checking the de minimis ceiling. Figures verified against the text of the call on 13 September 2026: since this is a rolling-window measure that can close early, the state of the funds should be rechecked on the Chamber website before committing spend.