Penalties

Periodic inspections are an obligation that the employer must fulfil (art. 4 D.P.R. 462/01). The parties appointed to carry out those inspections are exclusively the Authorised Bodies (today authorised by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy — MiMit) as well as the territorially competent ASL/ARPA.

Art. 87 of Legislative Decree no. 81/08 penalises the employer for failure to carry out the periodic inspections required by law under D.P.R. 462/01 and for the absence of inspection reports on electrical installations and lightning protection (fine from 500 to 1,800 euro).

In particular, in the case of electrical installations in areas with an explosion hazard, failure to carry out inspections under D.P.R. 462/01 (arts. 6, 7) is punished with imprisonment from three to six months or a fine from 2,500 to 6,400 euro (art. 296-7 Legislative Decree 81/08).

In addition, under Legislative Decree 81/08 (Consolidated Law on health and safety at work) art. 80, the employer takes the measures necessary to safeguard workers from all electrical risks and, in particular, from those arising from: indirect electrical contacts (b), ignition of explosions (d) [paragraph 1] and prepares operating and maintenance procedures to ensure that the level of safety is maintained over time [paragraph 3].

Failure to comply with those provisions is punished with imprisonment from three to six months or a fine from 1,000 to 4,800 euro.

Periodic inspections are intended to ascertain that the components of the installation (in particular as regards protection systems against indirect contacts) maintain those levels of effectiveness and safety.