PROCEDURE FOR HANDLING REPORTS AND COMPLAINTS
AND COMPLAINTS REGARDING VIOLATIONS OF THE CODE OF ETHICS

1. OBJECT

This Procedure governs the procedures for handling complaints, claims and reports (hereinafter referred to as ‘complaints’) of violations of the ethical-behavioral principles set out in the Politubes S.r.l. Code of Ethics (hereinafter referred to as ‘violations’).

Reports falling within the scope of whistleblowing concern (Legislative Decree 24/23 Art. 2(1)(a)):

  1. administrative, accounting, civil or criminal offences that do not fall under (3), (4), (5) and (6) below;
  2. unlawful conduct within the meaning of Legislative Decree No. 231 of 8 June 2001, or violations of the organization and management models provided for therein, which are not covered by numbers 3), 4), 5) and 6) below;
  3. offences falling within the scope of the European Union or national acts set out in the Annex to the Decree or national acts constituting implementation of the European Union acts set out in the Annex to Directive (EU) 2019/1937, although not set out in the Annex to the Decree, relating to the following areas: public procurement; financial services, products and markets and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing; product safety and compliance; transport safety; environmental protection; radiation protection and nuclear safety; food and feed safety and animal health and welfare; public health; consumer protection; privacy and personal data protection and security of networks and information systems;
  4. acts or omissions affecting the financial interests of the Union as referred to in Article 325 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union specified in the relevant secondary law of the European Union;
  5. acts or omissions relating to the internal market, as referred to in Article 26(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, including infringements of the European Union competition and State aid rules, as well as infringements relating to the internal market related to acts in breach of corporate tax rules or mechanisms whose purpose is to obtain a tax advantage that frustrates the object or purpose of the applicable corporate tax law;
  6. acts or conduct that frustrate the object or purpose of the provisions of Union acts in the areas indicated in (3), (4) and (5);

By express legislative provision, the provisions on whistleblowing do not apply (Art. 1, Legislative Decree 24/2023):

  1. objections, claims or demands linked to a personal interest of the reporting person or of the person lodging a complaint with the judicial or accounting authorities that relate exclusively to his or her individual work or public employment relationship, or inherent to his or her work or public employment relationship with hierarchically superior figures;
  2. to reports of breaches where they are already mandatorily regulated by the European Union or national acts indicated in Part II of the Annex to this Decree or by national acts constituting the implementation of the European Union acts indicated in Part II of the Annex to Directive (EU) 2019/1937, although not indicated in Part II of the Annex to this Decree;
  3. national security breaches, as well as procurement relating to defense or national security aspects, unless these aspects are covered by relevant secondary EU law.

Complaints received by members of the Corporate Bodies, Staff (whether or not employees) and all those who, directly indirectly, permanently or temporarily, establish relations and relationships with Politubes S.r.l., or, in any event, work to pursue its objectives (‘Complainants’) shall be taken into consideration.

Politubes S.r.l. undertakes to safeguard the anonymity of the whistleblower and to ensure that the same is not subject to any form of retaliation.

2. CHANNELS THROUGH WHICH AN INTERNAL REPORT CAN BE SUBMITTED

Complaints of infringement may be made in writing or orally as follows.

  • By letter or e-mail, signed or anonymously to one of the following addresses:
  1. by ordinary mail or by hand to Politubes S.r.l, via Enrico Fermi 9/11, 20875, Burago di Molgora (MB), Italy, for the attention of the Supervisory Body;
  2. via e-mail to: segnalazioni@politubes.com.
  • Orally on telephone number 039 9054999, requesting a telephone appointment with the Supervisory Board.

Politubes S.r.l. ensures maximum protection of Whistleblowers’ data and counteracts any retaliation against whistleblowers who report alleged violations.

3. MANAGEMENT OF INTERNAL REPORTING CHANNELS

The management of the internal reporting channels is thus entrusted to the Supervisory Board, which ensures the proper conduct of the proceedings and which will provide for the following activities:

  • issue the reporter with an acknowledgement of receipt, within 7 (seven) days from the date of receipt;
  • liaise with the reporter and request additions from the latter, if necessary;
  • diligently follow up the alert;
  • provide acknowledgement of the report within three months of the date of the acknowledgement of receipt or, in the absence of such notice, within three months of the expiry of the seven-day period from the submission of the report.
4. EXTERNAL SIGNALLING CHANNEL

The external reporting channel is entrusted to ANAC, which, with the entry into force of the legislative decree in question, will also be able to receive and will have to manage external reports from persons belonging to the private sector. Reports, these, which, pursuant to Article 6, may be made upon the occurrence of one of the following conditions:

  • in the absence of provision for or activation of an internal reporting channel in the relevant work context, or in the presence of a reporting channel that does not comply with Article 4;
  • in the event that the report made through the internal channel has gone unheeded;
  • where the whistleblower has reasonable grounds to believe that making an internal report would go unheeded, or could lead to the risk of retaliation;
  • where the reporter has reasonable grounds to believe that the breach may constitute an imminent danger to the public interest.

As in the case of internal reporting, ANAC must also activate a channel for external reporting that guarantees the confidentiality of the reporter, the person involved and the person mentioned in the report, as well as the content and documentation attached thereto (Article 7(1)).

External reports are submitted in written form, via a special IT platform, or orally, via telephone lines, voice messaging systems or meetings with the relevant personnel (Art. 7(2)).

If the external report is mistakenly submitted to a person other than the ANAC, the person receiving it must forward it to the latter within seven days, notifying the reporting party (Article 7(3)).

The procedures for the management of external reports, specifically identified by Art. 8, are substantially superimposable on those relating to the management of internal reports, with the difference that, in this case, the ANAC is expressly required to notify the reporting party of the final outcome of the procedure, which may also consist in the filing of the report, in a recommendation or administrative sanction, or in its transmission to the competent authorities (administrative or judicial, including European Union institutions, bodies or organs), which will have to manage the report in accordance with the procedures set out in Article 8(1).

The latter occurs in cases where the report concerns information on violations that do not fall within the competence of the ANAC.

ANAC also provides for the annual transmission to the European Commission of information on the number of external reports received, the number and types of proceedings initiated as a result of the reports, with an indication of their outcome, as well as on any ascertained financial damage resulting from the reported breaches (Article 8(3)).

5. PROTECTION OF THE COMPLAINANT

In accordance with best practice on the subject, Politubes S.r.l. does not tolerate any kind of retaliation against anyone who, in good faith, reports an unlawful activity or violation or provides assistance to the Sole Director and/or Management in investigating the matter.

The Sole Administrator does not disclose the identity of the whistleblower and does not tolerate initiatives aimed at identifying the whistleblower.

Politubes S.r.l. also ensures that reports received are treated with absolute confidentiality and privacy, in line with regulatory provisions.

6. PROTECTION OF THE COMPLAINANT

This Procedure was approved on 11 January 2022.

In order to make communication and training to employees effective, the Administration will implement the following process:

  • sending by e-mail the text of the Procedure to the heads of functions;
  • posting of this procedure on the notice board;
  • indication of references to which complaints should be addressed;
  • inclusion of the Procedure on the website, so that external parties can also view its contents.

PRIVACY INFORMATION