Payment of State aid:
Enterprises are obliged to start the investment for which they have applied for funding within 6 months from the date of issuance of the funding agreement, in accordance with the timetable assumed in the documentation attached to the application, under penalty of revocation of the funding agreement.
Enterprises are required to provide proof of the existence of a source of funding from their own resources, at least 25% of the eligible costs of the investment project, in a form that is not subject to any other public aid, within 6 months from the date of issue of the financing agreement.
State aid can be paid until 2031 on the basis of financing agreements issued and is paid from the state budget, through the AFIR budget, within the annual budget allocated to the Programme.
In order to pay the state aid, the enterprise shall submit to AFIR the request for payment of the state aid and the claim form, accompanied by supporting documents, according to the payment guidelines for the Programme, approved by order of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development within 30 days from the date of publication of this decision in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I.
AFIR verifies the conformity of the documents submitted and the fulfilment of the conditions laid down by the State aid scheme in order to make the payment.
In case of missing documents or inconsistencies between the data and information submitted, AFIR may request additional documents and information, which will be submitted by the enterprise within 30 working days from the date of communication by AFIR of the request.
If the undertaking does not comply with the deadline referred to in paragraph (2), the AFIR shall notify the undertaking of the rejection of the application for payment of state aid within 5 working days, informing the beneficiary of the possibility of re-submission of the application for payment and its re-submission.
In the event that AFIR comes into possession of new data/information in relation to the data and information that were the basis for the conclusion of the financing agreement, determining their verification from the point of view of their correctness and/or completeness, AFIR suspends payment during the period of re-examination of the new data/information.
AFIR settles the request for payment of state aid:
– after analysis of the supporting documents attached to the payment request and of the eligibility of the assets for which State aid is requested;
– after on-the-spot verification of the existence of the assets and the conformity of the declarations/documents relating to the expenditure incurred by the enterprise.
AFIR checks and analyses the application for payment of state aid, accompanied by the supporting documents presented in the payment guide provided for in Article 10, within 60 working days from the date of its registration with AFIR.
During the on-the-spot verification, the enterprise is obliged to allow the control team access, in accordance with the law, to the assets related to the initial investment and to all original documents attesting to the fulfilment of the conditions required by Government Emergency Ordinance no. 65/2023.
AFIR does not pay state aid if the enterprise has outstanding debts to the component budgets of the general consolidated budget.
The actual disbursement of state aid shall be made by AFIR within 30 working days from the date on which the application for payment of state aid is considered complete within the meaning of the provisions of this procedure relating to the INVESTALIM scheme and on-site verification has been carried out.
Enterprises are obliged to verify the amount of state aid paid by the AFIR and, in the event that an undue amount is found to exist, enterprises are obliged to inform the AFIR immediately in order to reimburse it.
If the documentation submitted by the beneficiary proves that the documents and information provided are incorrect or false, AFIR reserves the right to stop the granting/payment of aid or/and to request the recovery of aid already paid.
The recovery/stoppage of the aid granted is carried out by AFIR in accordance with the provisions of Article 22 of the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 65/2023.
In the case of issuing an amended financing agreement, the AFIR makes the state aid payment within the limit of the state aid entered in the agreement. For payments already made on the basis of the financing agreement approved prior to the rectification, AFIR rectifies the amount of State aid paid in accordance with the rectified financing agreement. The mechanism for correcting the amount of State aid paid shall be laid down in the payment guidelines provided for in Article 10.
Maintenance of the investment and recovery of State aid:
The verification of the fulfilment of the beneficiary’s obligation to keep the initial investment in working order for a period of at least 5 years from the date of its completion is carried out by AFIR.
The beneficiary enterprise must obtain an average return on turnover estimated over the last 5 years of maintenance of the investment of at least 1%; at the end of the period of maintenance of the investment, the enterprise is obliged to achieve an average return of at least 1% over the last 5 years of maintenance.
By 1 July of the year following the completion of the investment, i.e. by the date of the last payment of the approved state aid, as the case may be, the enterprise shall submit to the AFIR an audited report by an authorised company that is not affiliated with the enterprise receiving state aid, certifying that following the implementation of the investment the enterprise is carrying out the activity that was financed by the project.
The applicant enterprises are obliged to complete the investment for which they have applied for funding within the deadlines laid down in the investment plan on the basis of which the funding agreement was issued.
If the timetable for the implementation of the investment changes, the enterprise is obliged to request, with reasons, the AFIR to approve these changes, during the implementation of the initial investment, within 30 days of becoming aware of the change.
AFIR analyses the documentation received, proceeding as follows:
if it is found that the investment continues to meet all the conditions laid down in this procedure and in OUG 65/2023, including compliance with the annual budgets of the scheme, the financing agreement shall be amended accordingly;
if it is found that the investment no longer meets the conditions laid down in this procedure and in OUG 65/2023, the financing agreement shall be revoked, with the consequence of recovering the state aid granted in accordance with Article 22 of the Emergency Ordinance, in order to ensure compliance with the rules on state aid.
In application of Article 22 of OUG 65/2023, AFIR can order the recovery/stop the granting of state aid, respectively can revoke the financing agreement in the following situations:
a) the enterprise has not started the investment within the period provided for in Article 8;
b) the enterprise does not comply with the condition of maintaining the initial investment provided for in Article 14 of Government Emergency Ordinance No 65/2023;
c) the enterprise does not comply with Article 16 of this procedure;
d) the enterprise does not comply with the provisions of Article 17 paragraph (1) and (2) of this procedure;
e) the total value of the investment does not comply with the provisions of Article 9(b) of Government Emergency Ordinance No 65/2023;
f) non-fulfilment of the conditions laid down in the financing agreement, for which the revocation of the agreement is specified;
g) the enterprise informs AFIR that it is unable to carry out the investment and requests the revocation of the financing agreement;
h) AFIR establishes, subsequent to the issuance of the financing agreement, that the investment started before the application for the financing agreement was submitted;
i) the enterprise does not provide proof of the existence of a source of financing from its own resources of at least 25% of the eligible costs of the investment project, in a form that is not subject to any other public aid, within 6 months of the issue of the agreement for financing;
j) the enterprise does not submit the documents referred to in Article 3(1)(b) proving the existence of a real right to the building/lease or a claim conferring the right to execute/realize the investment, within 6 months of the issue of the financing agreement.
In the situations mentioned above, AFIR sends the enterprise a letter revoking the agreement for financing.
Revocation of the financing agreement in the situations referred to in paragraph 1 shall result in the application of the measures necessary for the full recovery of the State aid paid.
State aid paid shall be recovered in proportion to the degree of non-realisation in the following situations:
the enterprise does not make a contribution to regional development equivalent to the total State aid paid;
the enterprise does not fulfil other conditions laid down under special mentions in the agreement for financing.
The State aid to be recovered includes interest due from the date of payment to the date of recovery. Interest is calculated from the date on which the State aid was made available to the beneficiary until the date of actual recovery, the capitalisation principle being applicable.
The recovery decision is transmitted to the competent tax authorities in order to apply the provisions of Law no. 207/2015 on the Tax Procedure Code, as amended and supplemented. AFIR calculates and informs the competent tax authorities about the amount of interest for the period between the date of payment of the state or de minimis aid and the date of issue of the recovery decision inclusive, and the competent tax authorities will calculate the amount of interest for the period between the date of issue of the recovery decision and the date of recovery or full reimbursement.
In the event of changes in the general legislation governing the organisation and operation of companies after the grant agreement has been issued, the amount of the contribution to regional development provided for in the documentation attached to the grant application shall be recalculated at the end of the investment maintenance period in accordance with these changes.
Criteria on the basis of which the score of the applicant enterprises is calculated (extract from Annex no.2 of HG 844/2023):
Evaluation criteria | Method of determination | Score |
Investment value | (Investment value in lei/2.500.000 lei) x 10 | Rezultatul obtinut se transforma in numar de points . |
Initial investment | – fundamental change in the overall production process of the product(s) targeted by the investment in the unit | 20 points |
– expansion of the capacity of an existing unit | ||
– diversification of an establishment’s production into products not previously manufactured in the establishment | ||
– establishment of a new unit by a newly established enterprise | 10 points | |
– setting up of a new unit by an operating enterprise | ||
Sectors of activity concerned by the investment | CAEN 1011 – Production and preserving of meat; CAEN 1012 – Processing and preserving of poultrymeat; CAEN 1013 – Manufacture of meat products (including poultry meat); CAEN 1039 – Processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables; CAEN 1081 – Manufacture of sugar | 50 points |
CAEN 1020 – Processing and preserving of fish, crustaceans and molluscs; CAEN 1031 – Processing and preserving of potatoes; CAEN 1032 – Manufacture of fruit and vegetable juices; CAEN 1041 – Manufacture of oils and fats; CAEN 1051 – Manufacture of dairy products and cheese; CAEN 1061 – Manufacture of mill products; CAEN 1071 – Manufacture of bread; manufacture of cakes, biscuits and other bakers’ wares | 30 points | |
Location of the investment | – county with 70% intensity | 100 points |
– county with intensity 60% | 80 points | |
– county with intensity 50% | 60 points | |
– county with 45% intensity | 40 points | |
– county with intensity 40% | 20 points | |
– county with intensity 35% | 10 points | |
– county with intensity 30% | 5 points | |
Profitability of turnover in one of the last three completed financial years for enterprises in activity | Rca = (net profit/turnover) x 100 | Rca > 1% 5 points |
Value of subscribed and paid-up share capital, in the case of newly established enterprises | Social capital > 500.000 lei 5 points |
Legal basis:
– HG 844/2023 on the approval of the Procedure for the implementation of the National Programme for the development and support of the food industry INVESTALIM for the period 2023-2026, the modalities of granting, the quantitative and qualitative indicators of the investment, as well as the criteria for establishing the score for the applicant enterprises;
– Emergency Ordinance 65/2023 for the approval of the National Programme for the Development and Support of the Food Industry INVESTALIM for the period 2023-2026;
– Fiscal Procedure Code (approved by Law no.207/2015, published in MO no.547 of 23.07.2015), as amended and supplemented.