ROLL OF BUSINESS AGENTS

The business agent’s activity

The business agent, as it is defined by the civil code, is a self-employed person who has the job of  promoting, on behalf of a mandator, the signing of a contract in a definite area (art.1742 of the Civil Code).

This activity is caracterized by:

• acting in the name and on behalf of a third party;
• entering into a contract in a given area;
• being the agency an onerous contract, therefore the agent is due a commission by the mandator.

The business agent has also the power to strike a bargain in the name and on behalf of the mandator.

The activity can be exercised as one-man business or in partnership.

IMPORTANT

Art. 74 of Legislative Decree No. 73 of 26^th March 2010 put into practice the EU directive 2006/123 related to home market services and eliminated the business agents’ roll. Therefore, according to art. 19 of Law 241/1990 (as amended by Law No.122 of 30^th July 2010) people intending to exercise brokerage have to send in a self-certification of business start-up (in Italian SCIA, “segnalazione certificata di inizio attività”) to the Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber, after examining the qualifications required, will register the activity in the Business Register if it is exercised as an enterprise. Otherwise, it will be registered in the Economic Administrative Index (REA).

The new conditions and registration procedures for Business Register and REA will be defined by decree of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, according to the provisions of Legislative Decree No. 59/2010.

Meanwhile, registration, modification and cancellation will be carried out as usual.