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Grants

1. WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS 2022″ PROGRAMME – OPENING OF THE CALL FOR FINANCING

In the Official Gazette (Part I) no.799 of 11 August 2022 was published the M.A.T. Order no.1314/2022 on the approval of the implementation procedure of the National Multiannual Programme for the development of entrepreneurial culture among women managers in the SME sector is in force from 11 August 2022.

For 2022, the budget allocated to the de minimis scheme, approved by Law no. 317/2021, is 157,624,000 lei, and beneficiaries can obtain a maximum of 200,000 lei/company.

According to the information provided by the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Tourism (MAT), the main objective of the de minimis scheme is to stimulate and support the establishment and development of private economic structures established and run by women, to improve their economic performance, to achieve smart, sustainable and inclusive economic growth, based on digitization, sustainable development, innovation and entrepreneurial training, in the context of the problems related to maintaining the balance between family and professional obligations and the prejudices still existing at local level.

According to the implementation procedure, eligible companies must comply with the criterion that at least one of the partners must be a woman and own at least 50% of the shares/shares of the company in the case of SME applicants.

In the case of companies established on the basis of Law no.1/2005 on the organization and functioning of the cooperative, the condition is considered fulfilled if the majority of the cooperative members of the Board of Directors are women.

It is important to note that the registration to the programme, as well as the whole implementation and running of the support measure is done exclusively online through the application of the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Tourism IMM-Recover.

According to an announcement of the M.A.T., the date from which the computer application for the registration and management of the Women Entrepreneur Programme is active is today, 18 August 2022, starting at 10.00.

Applicants have 30 working days to submit their application for funding.

2.     GRANTS FOR INVESTMENTS NEEDED TO RESTORE RESILIENCE CAPACITY

The European Commission has approved a €358 million state aid scheme for Romania to support businesses in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Ministry of European Investment and Projects, this measure supports investments in service provision and upgrading capacities, in order to restore resilience capacity, through Action 4.1.1 – Competitiveness Operational Programme.

Thus, in the Official Gazette, Part I, no. 796 of 11 August 2022, M.I.P.E. Order no. 1981 was published. /2022 for the approval of the de minimis aid scheme “Support through grants for investments necessary for the provision of services to restore resilience capacity”, under priority axis 4 “Support for the alleviation of the effects caused by the crisis in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and its social consequences and on the preparation of a green recovery”, and resilient recovery of the economy”, investment priority “Supporting the alleviation of the effects of the crisis in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and its social consequences and preparing for a green, digital and resilient recovery of the economy”, specific objective “Strengthening the market position of SMEs affected by the COVID-19 pandemic”, action 4. 1.1 “Investments in productive activities from the Competitiveness Operational Programme 2014-2020”.

The objective of the de minimis aid scheme is to finance grants for investments in service provision capacities, with a view to restoring resilience capacity, applicable in the following areas:

-education;

-health and social care;

-other service activities.

It is important to note that this de minimis aid scheme applies in all development regions of Romania.

The limits of support through grants for investments necessary for the provision of service capacities to be granted per project and beneficiary, in the form of de minimis aid, are between the minimum amount of 50.000 euro and the maximum amount of 200.000 euro (equivalent in lei at the inforeuro rate valid in June 2022).

The maximum value can be appreciated up to the amount representing a maximum of 5 times the turnover achieved in 2019, without exceeding the amount of 200,000 euros.

The maximum support granted through the de minimis aid under this call must not exceed the amount of 200,000 euros granted in the last 3 fiscal years, for beneficiaries operating in the following areas:

  1. a) Class P – Education;
  2. b) Class Q – Health and social work;
  3. c) class S – Other service activities, according to the annex which is an integral part of this de minimis aid scheme.

The CAEN code for which support is requested must be authorised by 31 December 2019.

Please note that the beneficiaries of the de minimis aid scheme are micro-enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises operating in Romania, in the economic sectors mentioned in the annex to this de minimis aid scheme.

The verification of the beneficiary’s SME status is carried out by the Managing Authority for the Competitiveness Operational Programme (MA-POC) after the submission of the application and until the conclusion of the financing contracts.

According to M.I.P.E. Order no.1981, support is granted to beneficiaries who cumulatively meet the following conditions:

  • registered an operating profit from operating activities in the financial year 2019;
  • are established on or before 31 December 2018;
  • undertake to ensure the sustainability of the project, i.e. to ensure the running of the operational/current activity for a minimum period of 3 years after the expiry of the project implementation period;
  • have their own co-financing of the project at a rate of 5% for micro enterprises, 10% for small enterprises and 15% for medium enterprises;
  • are not considered to be enterprises in difficulty in 2019, in accordance with the provisions of Article 2, point 18 of Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of the European Commission of 17 June 2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty, as amended and supplemented;
  • they have not received financial support from public funds, including European funds, in the last 5 years for the same categories of activities or are not carrying out projects currently financed, in part or in full, from other public sources, for the same activities;
  • undertakes to provide evidence of the reasonableness of the costs of the investments for which de minimis aid is requested;
  • the grant for investments in service provision capacity requested will have a minimum value of 50,000 euro and a maximum value of 200,000 euro over the last 3 fiscal years and will not exceed a maximum of 5 times the turnover in 2019;
  • at least 20% of the value of the project represents investments that attest to the green character in accordance with the provisions of Annex 1 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2.139 of 4 June 2021 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council by laying down technical criteria for examining whether an economic activity qualifies as an activity that makes a substantial contribution to climate change mitigation or adaptation and whether that economic activity causes significant damage to any of the other environmental objectives.

The aid is granted in the form of non-reimbursable financial assistance in one or more instalments. Grants that may be paid in several instalments are discounted to their value at the time they are awarded.

The eligibility conditions for beneficiaries and the criteria for selecting projects for funding are also laid down in Order 1981/2022.

The de minimis aid scheme applies from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette of Romania until 31 December 2022, payments can be made by the de minimis aid provider until 31 December 2024.

3. INVESTMENT GRANTS FOR MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

In the Official Gazette with the number 776 of August 4, 2022 was published the Government Decision (HG) no.959 for the establishment of a state aid scheme for the granting of investment grants for the manufacturing industry.

The aid scheme will be managed by the Ministry of Economy and will be applied on the basis of financing agreements issued by this institute until 31 December 2023, with the payment of state aid to be made in the period 2022-2027.

The provisions of HG no.959/2022 will enter into force on 1 September 2022.

The granting of state aid established by the scheme is carried out within the commitment appropriations and budgetary appropriations approved by the annual budget laws through the budget of the Ministry of Economy.

State aid is granted under this scheme for initial investments or for an initial investment in a new economic activity.

According to HG 959/2022, they are considered eligible costs:

  1. a) costs of investments in tangible and intangible assets;
  2. b) the estimated wage costs resulting from the creation of employment following an initial investment, calculated over a period of two years; or
  3. c) a combination of (a) and (b) not exceeding the amount in (a) or (b), whichever is the greater.

The assets acquired must be new, except for SMEs and the acquisition of a unit.

Intangible assets are eligible for the calculation of investment costs if they cumulatively meet the following conditions:

  • they must be used exclusively in the establishment receiving State aid;
  • they must be depreciable;
  • they must be purchased under market conditions from third parties not connected with the buyer;
  • they must be included in the assets of the enterprise receiving state aid and must remain associated with the project for which the state aid was granted for at least 5 years or 3 years in the case of SMEs.

In the case of large enterprises, the costs of intangible assets are eligible only up to a ceiling of 50% of the total eligible costs of the initial investment.

Where eligible costs are calculated on the basis of estimated wage costs, wage costs incurred over a period of 2 consecutive years as a result of job creation and which cumulatively meet the following conditions are considered eligible costs:

  • the investment project results in a net increase in the number of employees in the establishment in which the investment was carried out, compared to the average over the previous 12 months, which means that any jobs lost are deducted from the apparent number of jobs created in that period;
  • each job is filled within 3 years of completion of the works;
  • each job created by the investment is maintained in the area concerned for a period of at least 5 years or, in the case of SMEs, at least 3 years from the date on which the job was first taken up, unless the job was lost between 1 January 2020 and 30 June 2021.

Please note that VAT is an eligible expense insofar as it is non-deductible and relates to an eligible cost.

According to Article 8 of HG 959/2022, the beneficiary of state aid must ensure a financial contribution of at least 25% of the eligible costs, either through own resources or through external financing, in a form that is not subject to any other public aid.

We stress that the investment must be maintained in the beneficiary region for a period of at least 5 years or, in the case of SMEs, at least 3 years after completion of the investment.

This condition does not preclude the replacement of plant or equipment which has become obsolete or has been destroyed during this period, provided that economic activity is maintained in the region concerned for the minimum relevant period.

The companies in activity can benefit from state aid under the scheme if they fulfil cumulatively, at the date of registration of the application for financing, the criteria mentioned above, as well as the following eligibility criteria:

  • have a return on turnover greater than zero in one of the last three completed financial years;
  • have positive equity in their last completed financial year;
  • have subscribed share capital paid up in accordance with the law of at least 100,000 lei;
  • the investments made have a value representing the equivalent in lei of at least 3 million euro.

In order to benefit from state aid, the applicant company must obtain an agreement for financing from the Ministry of Economy.

State aid payments are made to enterprises in the period 2022-2027 on the basis of financing agreements issued within the limit of the annual budget allocated to the scheme after partial or total payment of eligible costs incurred under the financing agreement.

In order to pay the state aid, the enterprise submits to the Ministry of Economy the request for payment of the state aid and the claim form, accompanied by supporting documents, according to the Applicant’s Guide drawn up in application of this decision.

Please note that the eligible sectors of activity are listed in Annex 1 of HG 959/2022.