Businesses in activity may benefit from state aid under the scheme if they cumulatively meet, at the date of registration of the application for funding, the criteria set out in Article 11, as well as the following eligibility criteria:
a) have a return on turnover greater than zero in one of the last three completed financial years;
b) have positive equity capital in their last completed financial year;
c) have a minimum of 100 thousand lei of subscribed share capital paid up in accordance with the law;
d) they do not belong to shareholders/associates who own or have owned in the last 2 years prior to the date of registration of the application for financing agreement another enterprise registered under the provisions of Law no. 31/1990, republished, with subsequent amendments and additions, which carries out or has carried out the activity for which the financing is requested.
Newly established enterprises may benefit from state aid under the scheme if they cumulatively fulfil, at the date of registration of the application for funding, the criteria set out in Article 11, as well as the following eligibility criteria:
a) have a minimum subscribed share capital of 100 thousand lei;
b) they do not belong to shareholders/associates who own or have owned in the last 2 years prior to the date of registration of the application for financing agreement another enterprise registered in accordance with the provisions of Law no. 31/1990, republished, with subsequent amendments and additions, which carries out or has carried out the activity for which the financing is requested.
State aid intensity:
The amount of state aid can be increased by 5-10 percent if the investment is located in rural areas or in one of the last 10 counties by PIB/inhabitant, in compliance with the Regional Map for Romania.
State aid is granted under this scheme within the maximum intensities provided for in Annex no. 2, in relation to the total amount of eligible expenditure related to the investment project.
The increased maximum aid intensities for small and medium-sized enterprises do not apply to aid granted for large investment projects.
The increases provided for in the previous paragraph shall not apply to aid granted for large investment projects.
The amount of State aid for large investment projects is calculated according to the formula for the adjusted amount of aid below:
Maximum allowable aid amount for a large investment project calculated according to the formula:
adjusted aid amount = R x (A + 0,50 x B + 0 x C),
where: R is the maximum aid intensity applicable in the area concerned, except for the increased aid intensity for SMEs;
A is the part of the eligible costs amounting to EUR 55 million;
B is the part of eligible costs between EUR 55 million and EUR 110 million, and
C is the part of eligible costs above EUR 110 million.
Granting of State aid and maintenance of the investment:
State aid shall be granted for an initial investment or an initial investment for a new economic activity, as the case may be, in connection with economic activities carried out in the sectors of activity listed in Annex 1, under the conditions laid down in the following paragraphs.
In the case of IMMs, State aid is granted for an initial investment, as defined in Article 3, point 13, in all regions of Romania, with the exception of the municipality of Bucharest and the localities in Ilfov county which are not listed in Annex No 2.
In the case of large enterprises, state aid is granted:
a) for an initial investment, as defined in Article 3(13), in all regions of Romania, with the exception of Bucharest and Ilfov County, namely
b) only for an initial investment for a new economic activity, as defined in Article 3, point 14, in the localities of Ilfov County as provided for in Annex No 2.
List of eligible sectors of activity
CAEN | Name |
1623 | Manufacture of other joinery and carpentry for buildings; |
2223 | Manufacture of plastic building products; |
2312 | Processing and shaping of flat glass; |
2331 | Manufacture of ceramic tiles and flags; |
2332 | Manufacture of bricks, tiles and other building products, of fired clay; |
2342 | Manufacture of ceramic sanitary ware; |
2351 | Manufacture of cement; |
2352 | Manufacture of lime and plaster; |
2361 | Manufacture of concrete products for construction purposes; |
2362 | Manufacture of plaster products for construction purposes; |
2363 | Manufacture of concrete; |
2364 | Manufacture of mortar; |
2369 | Manufacture of other articles of concrete, cement and plaster; |
2370 | Cutting, shaping and finishing of stone; |
2399 | Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products, n.e.c.; |
2511 | Manufacture of metal structures and parts of metal structures; |
2512 | Manufacture of doors and windows of metal; |
2732 | Manufacture of other electrical and electronic wiring and cables |
In order to benefit from state aid, the applicant company must obtain an agreement for funding from the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism.
If the applicant enterprise starts the investment before submitting the application for funding, the entire investment is not eligible for state aid under this scheme.
The mechanism for obtaining the financing agreement is approved by the Applicant’s Guide.
The financing agreement will expressly indicate the beneficiary of the aid, the amount and the type of aid granted under this scheme.
It is important to specify that the enterprise has the obligation to maintain the initial investment or the initial investment for a new economic activity, as the case may be, carried out through financing granted under this scheme, for a period of 5 years from the date of its completion, in the case of large enterprises, and 3 years in the case of IMMs.
During the implementation of the investment and for a period of 5 years from the date of its completion, any change of address of the location where the investment is carried out is allowed only within the same region. The Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism shall be notified of the change by an address accompanied by the certificate issued by the Trade Register Office, mentioning the new location, the deed of ownership of the location and its validity.
Attention! Relocation of the location to another region, different from the region in which the enterprise has received State aid, entails the revocation of the financing agreement and full recovery of the State aid granted.
Agreements may be issued for financing under this scheme until 31 December 2026, in compliance with the State aid legislation and the Regional Map for Romania, within the annual budget allocated to the scheme.
State aid will be paid during the period 2024-2029, on the basis of the financing agreements issued, within the budget allocated to the scheme.
The State aid payment mechanism is established by the Applicant’s Guide.
Revocation of the financing agreement and/or recovery of the state aid paid is carried out by the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism (MEAT).
Beneficiaries of state aid are obliged to provide the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, in the format and within the deadline requested by the Ministry, with all the data and information necessary for the fulfilment of the reporting and monitoring procedures that are the responsibility of the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism.
The Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism shall keep detailed records of aid granted under the State aid scheme for all investment projects under the Programme. These records, which contain all the information necessary to establish whether the criteria in the Regulation are met, must be kept for 10 years from the date of the last state aid granted under the scheme.
The beneficiary of state aid must keep for 10 years from the date of signing the agreement for financing all documents relating to the state aid received under the state aid scheme.
The provider of the state aid scheme is obliged to register the scheme in the State Aid Register, hereinafter referred to as RegAS, within a maximum of 5 working days from the date of its entry into force.
The provider of the state aid scheme is obliged to register in RegAS the financing agreements, the payments made under them, any reimbursement obligations and actual reimbursements related to them, within a maximum of 7 working days from the date of signing the acts or making payments, as appropriate.
Legal basis:
– Emergency Ordinance (“OUG”) No 68/2023 for the approval and financing of the National Programme for the development of domestic production of construction products and materials.