What are these inspections and why are they carried out?
What are the inspections and why are they carried out? National and regional legislation and the Tuition Fee Regulations of Politecnico establish that students who benefit from tuition fee reduction may be inspected to verify the truthfulness of the ISEE declaration (or ISEE Parificato) that they presented to Politecnico in order to determine the amount of the reduction and, therefore, the amount of the tuition fees due to the University.
These inspections aim to verify the truthfulness of the data declared by the student for ISEE purposes (family members, economic/financial condition of the members of the household). These data contribute to determine the following values: SE (Scale of Equivalence), ISE (Indicator of Economic Condition), ISEE (Indicator of Equivalent Economic Condition), ISP (Indicator of Patrimonial Condition) and ISPE (Indicator of Equivalent Patrimonial Condition).
When are these inspections carried out?
Inspections are carried out after students are granted tuition fee reduction or full waiver. After the closing date for tuition fee reduction applications, Politecnico identifies the students who will be checked, in compliance with the Tuition Fee Regulations.
Inspections are normally conducted within 5 years of the damage deriving from the untruthfulness of the ISEE declaration (in accordance with art. 2947 of the Civil Code).
Who may be inspected?
Politecnico inspects a sample of the ISEE Declarations received by students with priority to the following categories:
- ISEE Declarations that contain omissions/problems, not corrected according to the procedures set forth in the Tuition Fee Regulations.
- ISEE Declarations with value near or equal to zero (0).
- ISEE Declarations of individuals who declare to be economically independent for ISEE purposes.
- ISEE Declarations that deviates from the declaration presented in the previous academic year (± €10,000.00), with an unchanged number of family members.
- ISEE Declarations of first-year students who have not applied for an Edisu scholarship but meet the income requirements to compete for it.
- ISEE Declarations that have been reported as irregular by the Italian finance police (Guardia di Finanza) or ISEE Declarations associated to a court judgement following the inspections carried out by another Public Administration;
- ISEE Declarations with a value of the equivalence scale that indicates an inconsistent composition of the family unit or other specific conditions (i.e., cohabitation, family with underage children only, etc.)
- ISEE Declarations that do not belong to any of the above-mentioned categories, eventually chosen by the Director of the PIFIC Department each year.
The Director of the Financial Planning and Budgeting Department (PIFIC) shall determine the size of the sample that will be inspected for the categories listed above (i.e., the total number of students under category no.3, a specific number of students under category no. 7…). When only some individuals pertaining to a category need to be inspected, they will be chosen randomly.
A notice on this page will be published to inform all students when the inspections of ISEE declarations begin.
Who carries out the inspections?
The Director of the PIFIC Department appoints the Inspections Manager and the Office in charge of conducting the inspections. This information is sent to the students who will be inspected.
How does Politecnico carries out the inspections?
To carry out these inspections, Politecnico di Torino has signed specific agreements to have access to the databases of the following organizations: Tax Revenue Authority/Agenzia delle Entrate (income declarations, rental contracts, loans...), Territorial Authority/Agenzia del Territorio (real estate registry information...), Social Security Authority/ INPS, Chamber of Commerce. Politecnico also checks the data held by other public administrations, such as Municipalities, for the verification of personal details and residence data.
As a general rule, Politecnico carries out the inspections independently. Only if it becomes necessary (i.e. if a check reveals an error in the ISEE declaration or, if the situation requires further investigation), Politecnico asks the student to provide additional documentation that may demonstrate or support the elements contained in the declaration. In this case Politecnico initiates formal proceedings by sending the student a communication by registered mail (or certified e-mail, if available, or by other means provided for by the law).
Possible examples of requests for supporting documents may include but are not limited to the following:
- rental contracts;
- certificates of disability issued to people with disabilities;
- statements of accounts of bank and postal deposits and current accounts as of 31.12 of the corresponding year;
- securities account statement (government bonds, bonds, shareholdings, etc);
- accounting documents in the event of businesses owned by one person (asset register, depreciation, etc);
- inheritance declarations;
- documents on allowances for child support/alimony
The outcome of the inspection, whether positive or negative, is communicated individually and formally to the students concerned by sending a communication by registered mail (or certified e-mail, if available, or by other means provided for by the law).
What are the most common mistakes?
Filling out the ISEE declaration requires care and accuracy.
Errors, omissions, or incorrect statements may prevent access to benefits or result in penalties.
Here are some of the most common mistakes to avoid:
- Incomplete family unit composition: the family unit must include all the members listed in the family certificate (stato di famiglia) on the date of submission of the DSU, except for specific exceptions provided by ISEE regulations.
- Incorrect assessment of student independence: Students can be considered independent for ISEE purposes only if both of the following conditions are met:
- they have been officially residing (registered residence, i.e. no longer listed in the parents’ family certificate), for at least two years before the date of submission of the DSU, in a house that is not owned (even partially) by any family member – including not only parents or siblings, but also other relatives. For example, living in a property owned by the mother or by the grandfather, even under a loan-for-use agreement (comodato) or a rental agreement, does not qualify as independent living.
- they have earned employment income (or equivalent) of at least €9,000 gross per year in each of the two calendar years preceding the DSU.
- Failure to consider special cases: for instance, in the event of parents who are not married and not cohabiting, specific rules apply to determine the composition of the family unit.
- Incomplete or incorrect declarations of assets and income: frequent mistakes include:
- Failing to declare joint bank accounts held with people outside the family unit (e.g. grandparents).
- Failing to declare life insurance policies (some types must be declared depending on their characteristics).
- Omitting the average balance of prepaid cards.
- Partially or completely omitting financial assets related to business activities or company shares.
- Using the wrong type of ISEE: to access university benefits, students must use the ISEE per le prestazioni agevolate Universitarie (ISEE for university benefits), not the ISEE Ordinario (standard ISEE).
- Overlooking the limits of the pre-filled DSU: even if pre-filled, the DSU remains under the responsibility of the applicant. The pre-filled data are only partial, so all information must still be checked and, if necessary, modified and self-declared.
What are the consequences of non-compliance?
If the outcome of an inspection for a given academic year is negative:
1. students must pay the difference between the tuition fee amount that is actually due and the reduced amount paid on the basis of the incorrect ISEE declaration; students also have to return any other benefits illegitimately obtained;
2. students are sanctioned according to the law:
1. Legislative Decree no. 68 of 29 March 2012, , art. 10 paragraph 3: “Whoever, without being in the conditions established by state and regional provisions, presents untruthful declarations, whether on his/her condition or on family members, in order to obtain certain benefits, is imposed an administrative sanction consisting in paying a sum that is three times the amount received, or the value of the services illegitimately used, and loses the right to receive other payments for the entire duration of the course of studies [...]".
2. Decree-Law no. 78 of 31 May 2010, (amended by Law no. 122 of 3 July 2010,), art. 38 paragraph 3: "[...] a fine between 500 and 5,000 euros will be given to individuals who have illegitimately benefited from subsidized social benefits for having declared a lower income, [...]";
Non-compliant students will be informed by Politecnico about the possible payment methods to settle the above-mentioned outstanding debts.
Furthermore, Politecnico may report non-compliant students to the competent authorities for the possible application of further measures and actions provided for by current legislation.
