SCHEME COMPONENTS:

a) ROMANIA PLUS SME – to support small and medium-sized enterprises and small enterprises with medium market capitalization, including startups, aiming to provide transparent and nondiscriminatory state guarantee facilities for loans granted to small and medium-sized enterprises and small enterprises with medium market capitalization by credit institutions, excluding activities covered by other components, namely AGRO PLUS, SME PROD PLUS, CONSTRUCT PLUS, RURAL PLUS, INNOVATION PLUS;

b) AGRO PLUS – to support small and medium-sized enterprises and small enterprises with medium market capitalization in the agriculture sector, including startups, fishing, aquaculture, and the food sector, aiming to provide transparent and nondiscriminatory state guarantee facilities for loans granted to small and medium-sized enterprises and small enterprises with medium market capitalization;

c) SME PROD PLUS – to ensure liquidity and finance investments made by small and medium-sized enterprises, hereinafter referred to as SMEs, including startups, as well as small enterprises with medium market capitalization, for the following objectives:
– encouraging domestic production of consumer goods, increasing production capacity;
– conversion from intermediation to production;
– digitization of activities;
– aligning/improving environmental standards, including improving energy efficiency in production processes;

d) CONSTRUCT PLUS – aimed at projects to improve energy efficiency, investments in the green energy sector, and alignment with environmental objectives implemented by SMEs and small enterprises with medium market capitalization in the construction sector and local administrative units, with two subcomponents:
– support for investment projects for SMEs and small enterprises with medium market capitalization in the construction sector, including startups;
– support for small-scale investment projects for local administrative units, involving financing activities in the construction sector;

e) INNOVATION PLUS – to support small and medium-sized enterprises and small enterprises with medium market capitalization that have an innovation component, those that create inventions and innovations, and support activities promoting the export of SMEs and small enterprises with medium market capitalization consisting of activities leading to stimulating Romanian exports, supporting international transactions and Romanian investments abroad, stimulating online trade and digitization, re-technologizing local companies, innovation patents for products, strategies, environment, digitization, and operating in the non-polluting export industry;

f) RURAL PLUS – to support small and medium-sized enterprises, small enterprises with medium market capitalization, and large enterprises in the agriculture, fishing, aquaculture, food sector, and trade with agricultural, fishery, and food products, excluding tobacco and alcoholic beverages, by providing transparent and nondiscriminatory state guarantee facilities for loans granted by credit institutions.

FUNDING

The maximum value of financing granted to a beneficiary cannot exceed 5,000,000 lei for working capital financing, respectively 10,000,000 lei for investment loans.

The maximum cumulative value of state-guaranteed financing that can be granted to a beneficiary under the state aid scheme cannot exceed 10,000,000 lei. For primary agriculture, fishing, and aquaculture sectors, the maximum cumulative value of state-guaranteed financing that can be granted to a beneficiary under the state aid scheme cannot exceed 5,000,000 lei.

Under this state aid scheme, state aid is granted in the form of state guarantees, up to a maximum of 90% of the financing value, exclusive of interest, commissions, and bank charges related to the guaranteed loan, in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.1 of the Temporary Framework for Crisis and Transition, for one or more investment loans and/or one or more credit/credit lines for working capital.

ELIGIBLE BENEFICIARIES

(1) 1. For the ROMANIA PLUS SME component, the beneficiary of the state aid scheme is the economic operator active in eligible fields of activity, meeting the conditions provided by Law no. 31/1990 on companies, as republished, with subsequent amendments and completions, Government Emergency Ordinance no. 44/2008 on the conduct of economic activities by individual entrepreneurs, sole proprietorships, and family businesses, approved with amendments and completions by Law no. 182/2016, with subsequent amendments, Law no. 1/2005 on the organization and functioning of cooperatives, republished, with subsequent amendments, or Government Emergency Ordinance no. 6/2011 for the stimulation of establishment and development of micro-enterprises by business debutants, approved with amendments by Law no. 301/2011, with subsequent amendments and completions, as appropriate, and meets the criteria for classification as small and medium-sized enterprises provided by Law no. 346/2004 on the stimulation of establishment and development of small and medium-sized enterprises, with subsequent amendments and completions, or, as appropriate, meets the criteria for classification as small enterprises with medium market capitalization, including professionals, as regulated in Article 3 paragraph (2) of Law no. 287/2009 on the Civil Code, republished, with subsequent amendments, and forms of organization of liberal professions.

2. For the AGRO PLUS component, the beneficiaries of the state aid scheme are economic operators who meet the conditions provided by Law no. 31/1990, republished, with subsequent amendments and completions, Emergency Ordinance of the Government no. 44/2008, approved with amendments and completions by Law no. 182/2016, with subsequent amendments and completions, Law no. 1/2005, republished, with subsequent amendments, or Emergency Ordinance of the Government no. 6/2011, approved with amendments by Law no. 301/2011, with subsequent amendments, farmers defined according to art. 4 of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing rules on direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 637/2008 and Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 whose farms are located in Romania, carrying out economic and/or agricultural activities and meeting the conditions for classification as small and medium-sized enterprises provided by Law no. 346/2004, with subsequent amendments and completions, or, where appropriate, meet the conditions for classification as small enterprises with medium market capitalization, including professionals, as regulated by art. 3 para. (2) of Law no. 287/2009 on the Civil Code, republished, with subsequent amendments and completions, and forms of organization of liberal professions, agricultural associations established in accordance with Law no. 36/1991 on agricultural companies and other forms of association in agriculture, with subsequent amendments and completions, and Law no. 566/2004 on agricultural cooperation, with subsequent amendments and completions, recognized producer groups in accordance with the provisions of Government Ordinance no. 37/2005 on the recognition and functioning of producer groups and organizations for the marketing of agricultural and forestry products, approved with amendments and completions by Law no. 338/2005, with subsequent amendments, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Minister of Environment, Waters and Forests Order no. 358/763/2016 for the approval of the Methodological Norms for the implementation of Government Ordinance no. 37/2005, with subsequent amendments and completions, producer organizations in the fruit and vegetable sector recognized in accordance with the provisions of art. 154 of Regulation (EU) No 1308 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organization of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007, as well as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Order no. 406/2017 for the approval of the Rules on the recognition of producer organizations and other forms of association in the fruit and vegetable sector and the access mode to financial support by them, with subsequent amendments and completions, from the field of agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture and the food sector, as well as from the field of trade in agricultural, fisheries and food products, excluding alcoholic beverages and tobacco.

3. For the IMM PROD PLUS component, the beneficiary of the state aid scheme is the economic operator who meets the conditions provided by Law no. 31/1990, republished, with subsequent amendments and completions, Emergency Ordinance of the Government no. 44/2008, approved with amendments and completions by Law no. 182/2016, with subsequent completions, Law no. 1/2005, republished, with subsequent amendments, or Emergency Ordinance of the Government no. 6/2011, approved with amendments by Law no. 301/2011, with subsequent amendments, and meets the conditions for classification as small and medium-sized enterprises provided by Law no. 346/2004, with subsequent amendments and completions, hereinafter referred to as SMEs, including startups.

4. For the support sub-component of investment projects for SMEs and small and medium-sized enterprises in the construction sector within the CONSTRUCT PLUS component, the beneficiary is the economic operator who meets the conditions provided by Law no. 31/1990, republished, with subsequent amendments and completions, Emergency Ordinance of the Government no. 44/2008, approved with amendments and completions by Law no. 182/2016, with subsequent amendments and completions, Law no. 1/2005, republished, with subsequent amendments, or Emergency Ordinance of the Government no. 6/2011, approved with amendments by Law no. 301/2011, with subsequent amendments, and meets the conditions for classification as small and medium-sized enterprises provided by Law no. 346/2004, with subsequent amendments and completions, including startups, or, where appropriate, meets the conditions for classification as small enterprises with medium market capitalization, as well as architects, as regulated by Law no. 184/2001 on the organization and exercise of the architect profession, republished, with subsequent amendments and completions, respectively individual architectural offices.

5. For the support sub-component of small-scale investment projects for local administrative units, which involve financing activities in the construction sector, within the CONSTRUCT PLUS component, the beneficiary of the support sub-program for small-scale investment projects for local administrative units is the municipality, town, or commune, which has projects involving the financing of economic activities in the construction sector.

6. For the INNOVATION PLUS component, the beneficiary of the state aid scheme is the economic operator who meets the conditions provided by Law no. 31/1990, republished, with subsequent amendments and completions, Emergency Ordinance of the Government no. 44/2008, approved with amendments and completions by Law no. 182/2016, with subsequent amendments and completions, Law no. 1/2005, republished, with subsequent amendments, or Emergency Ordinance of the Government no. 6/2011, approved with amendments by Law no. 301/2011, with subsequent amendments, and meets the conditions for classification as small and medium-sized enterprises provided by Law no. 346/2004, with subsequent amendments and completions, including startups, or, where appropriate, meets the conditions for classification as small enterprises with medium market capitalization and which have in the expenses related to the innovative activity of an enterprise. An innovative expense is any expense that contributes to the re-engineering of a process, an activity, the increase in the productivity of fixed assets, purchased and/or developed within the company regardless of the field of activity, as well as the expenses related to the acquisition or incorporation of new products/solutions from the technological progress point of view, validated by patents, trademarks, and operational expenses related to the financing of the object of activity through the INNOVATION program.

7. For the RURAL PLUS component, beneficiaries of the state aid scheme are economic operators established in accordance with Law no. 31/1990, republished, with subsequent amendments and completions, farmers defined in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No. 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013, agricultural associations established in accordance with Law no. 36/1991, with subsequent amendments and completions, Law no. 1/2005, republished, with subsequent amendments, and Law no. 566/2004 on agricultural cooperatives, with subsequent amendments and completions, authorized natural persons, individual and family enterprises, established in accordance with Emergency Government Ordinance no. 44/2008, approved with amendments and completions by Law no. 182/2016, with subsequent completions, and farmers’ associations established in accordance with Government Ordinance no. 26/2000 regarding associations and foundations, approved with amendments and completions by Law no. 246/2005, with subsequent amendments and completions, producer groups recognized in accordance with the provisions of Government Ordinance no. 37/2005 on the recognition and functioning of producer groups and organizations for the marketing of agricultural and forestry products, approved with amendments and completions by Law no. 338/2005, with subsequent amendments and completions, of the Order of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Minister of Environment, Waters and Forests no. 358/763/2016 for the approval of the Methodological Norms for the application of Government Ordinance no. 37/2005, with subsequent amendments and completions, producer organizations in the fruit and vegetable sector recognized in accordance with the provisions of Article 154 of Regulation (EU) No. 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013, as well as of the Order of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development no. 406/2017, with subsequent amendments and completions, and startups, which carry out their activity in the fields of agriculture, fishing, aquaculture, and the food sector, as well as in the field of trade in agricultural, fishery, and food products, excluding alcoholic beverages and tobacco.

(2) Beneficiaries of the components of the state aid scheme IMM ROMANIA PLUS, AGRO PLUS, IMM PROD PLUS, RURAL PLUS in the category of SMEs, respectively in the category of large enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises with medium market capitalization are eligible if they cumulatively meet the following criteria at the time of transmission by the credit institutions of the applications:

a) comply with the financing rules of the lender and the guarantee rules of F.N.G.C.I.M.M., F.R.C. or F.G.C.R., as the case may be;

b) do not have outstanding loans, including for leasing financing, at the time of the request for state guarantee or, if they have outstanding loans, they are classified in categories A, B, C in the Credit Risk Central database, hereinafter referred to as CRC;

c) are not listed in the database of Payment Incidents Central with prohibition to issue checks and with major incidents with bills of exchange in the last 6 months prior to the date of the request for state guarantee;

d) insolvency proceedings have not been opened against them;

e) provide the credit institution with collateral guarantees which, in the case of investment loans, together with the state guarantee and the legal mortgage on the real and/or movable assets financed by the loan, cover at least 100% of the financing value. For investment loans granted for the acquisition of shares or stocks, in addition to the legal movable mortgage on the shares, other collateral guarantees are provided which, together with the state guarantee, cover at least 100% of the financing value. For working capital loans/credit lines, the collateral structure includes the legal movable mortgage on the creditor balances of all accounts opened by the beneficiary at the credit institution, together with the state guarantee. For investment loans granted for the acquisition of software, the beneficiary provides other collateral guarantees (collateral deposits) which, together with the state guarantee, cover at least 100% of the financing value;

f) do not have outstanding tax obligations and other budgetary claims administered by the central fiscal authority, as defined under art. 1 point 31 of Law no. 207/2015 regarding the Fiscal Procedure Code, with subsequent amendments and completions. If they have such outstanding obligations, the beneficiary undertakes to pay them from the working capital loan/credit granted under the state aid scheme.

g) no recovery decisions have been issued against them or, if such decisions have been issued, they have been executed, in accordance with the legal provisions in force;

h) they have not requested other types of state aid for the same eligible costs;

i) the administrators, natural and/or legal persons, resident in Romania, do not have facts recorded in the criminal record and fiscal record. In the case of administrators who are natural and/or legal persons, not resident in Romania, an authentic statement is submitted, on their own responsibility, by the natural person or the representative of the legal person, as the case may be, showing that they have not committed acts and have not been in situations that are recorded in the fiscal record, as well as that they are not registered for tax purposes in Romania. Authenticated statements are issued in Romanian. If they are issued and authenticated in a language other than Romanian, their translation into Romanian by an authorized translator and their authentication is mandatory.

(3) Beneficiaries of the components of the state aid scheme CONSTRUCT PLUS and INNOVATION PLUS in the category of SMEs, respectively in the category of small and medium-sized enterprises with medium market capitalization are eligible if they cumulatively meet the following criteria:

a) comply with the financing rules of the lender and the guarantee rules of F.N.G.C.I.M.M., F.R.C., as the case may be;

b) do not have outstanding loans, including for leasing financing, at the time of the request for state guarantee or, if they have outstanding loans, they are classified in categories A, B, C in the CRC database;

c) are not listed in the database of Payment Incidents Central with prohibition to issue checks and with major incidents with bills of exchange in the last 6 months prior to the date of the request for state guarantee;

d) insolvency proceedings have not been opened against them;

e) Presents to the credit institution collateral guarantees which, in the case of investment loans, together with the state guarantee and legal mortgage, both immovable and movable, on the assets financed by the credit, cover at least 100% of the financing amount. For working capital loans/credit lines, the collateral structure includes the legal movable mortgage on the beneficiary’s credit balance at the credit institution, together with the state guarantee. For investment loans, the market value of the assets pledged as collateral must be greater than or at least equal to the financing amount. In the case of investment loans granted for the acquisition of software, the beneficiary presents other collateral guarantees (collateral deposits) which, together with the state guarantee, cover at least 100% of the financing amount;

f) At the time of granting the guarantee, there are no outstanding tax obligations or other budgetary claims administered by the central fiscal authority, as defined by art. 1 para. 31 of Law no. 207/2015 regarding the Fiscal Procedure Code, with subsequent amendments and completions. In case such outstanding obligations exist, the beneficiary undertakes to settle them from the credit/credit line for working capital granted under the state aid scheme.

g) No recovery decisions have been issued against them, or if such decisions have been issued, they have been executed in accordance with the legal provisions in force;

h) They have not requested other types of state aid for the same eligible costs;

i) The administrators, whether individuals or legal entities, residing in Romania, have no offenses recorded in the criminal record or tax record. In the case of administrators who are individuals or legal entities not resident in Romania, an authentic statement is submitted by the individual or the representative of the legal entity, as the case may be, confirming that they have not committed acts and have not been in situations that are recorded in the criminal record and the tax record, and that they are not registered for tax purposes in Romania. Authenticated statements are issued in Romanian, and if issued and authenticated in a language other than Romanian, their translation into Romanian by an authorized translator and their authentication is mandatory.

(4) Beneficiary from the UAT category is eligible under the state aid scheme for the implementation of investment projects in the construction sector targeting economic activities, if they meet cumulatively the following criteria:

a) Presents evidence of financing approval, namely the decision of the local council approving the contracting of the loan with the guarantee of the F.N.G.C.I.M.M. or F.R.C., as the case may be;

b) There are no outstanding loans at credit institutions at the time of applying for the state guarantee;

c) They are not in a financial crisis situation or insolvency proceedings have not been initiated against the beneficiary in accordance with Emergency Ordinance no. 46/2013 regarding the financial crisis and insolvency of local administrative-territorial units, approved with amendments and completions by Law no. 35/2016, at the time of granting the guarantee;

d) Presents the valid fiscal certification at the time of guarantee approval by F.N.G.C.I.M.M. or F.R.C., as the case may be. In case the UAT has outstanding debts, proof of their payment shall be submitted;

e) No recovery decisions have been issued against them, or if such decisions have been issued, they have been executed in accordance with the legal provisions in force;

f) They have not requested other types of state aid for the same eligible costs;

g) Presents the approval of the Local Loans Authorization Commission, provided for in art. 61 para. (3) of Law no. 273/2006 on local public finances, with subsequent amendments and completions. Loans eligible under the state aid scheme do not fall within the limits set out in art. 63 para. (10) of Law no. 273/2006 on local public finances, with subsequent amendments and completions, and in art. 29 para. (1) letter d) of Law no. 69/2010 on fiscal-budgetary responsibility, republished.

(5) The aid measures provided by this state aid scheme cannot be used in any way to undermine the expected effects of sanctions imposed by the EU or its international partners and must be in full compliance with the rules combating evasion in the applicable regulations. It is prohibited for entities subject to sanctions to directly or indirectly benefit from such measures. Thus, companies subject to EU sanctions cannot benefit from the facilities provided under this state aid scheme, nor can:

a) Individuals, entities, or organizations specifically designated in legal acts imposing the respective sanctions;

b) Companies owned or controlled by individuals, entities, or organizations subject to EU sanctions;

c) Companies operating in industries subject to EU sanctions, to the extent that aid would undermine the objectives of the relevant sanctions, but not limited to them.

(6) The aid granted under this emergency ordinance is not conditioned by the relocation of a production activity or another activity of the beneficiary from another country in the European Economic Area (EEA) to the territory of the member state granting the aid, regardless of the number of jobs actually lost in the beneficiary’s initial unit in the EEA.

(7) Activities financed in the following sectors/fields are not eligible for guarantee: financial intermediation, except for auxiliary activities of financial intermediation, insurance, except for activities of insurance agents and brokers, real estate transactions, except for real estate transaction activities carried out by real estate agencies, gambling and betting activities, production or marketing of weapons, ammunition, explosives, tobacco, alcohol, except for the production of undistilled alcoholic beverages and alcoholic beverages based on CAEN 1102, CAEN 1103, CAEN 1104, CAEN 1105, and CAEN 1106, substances under national control, plants, narcotic and psychotropic substances and preparations, leasing activities, investigation and protection activities, except for protection and guard activities and security system service activities.

(8) Within the IMM ROMANIA PLUS component, activities from all sectors/fields of activity can be financed, except:

a) ineligible sectors/fields provided in paragraph (7);

b) eligible sectors/fields within the AGRO PLUS, RURAL PLUS components and eligible CAEN codes within the IMM PROD PLUS and CONSTRUCT PLUS components.

TYPES OF FINANCIAL AID

(1) The maximum value of funding granted to a beneficiary cannot exceed 5,000,000 lei for working capital financing, respectively 10,000,000 lei for investment loans. The maximum cumulative value of state-guaranteed funding that can be granted to a beneficiary under the state aid scheme cannot exceed 10,000,000 lei. For the primary agriculture, fishing, and aquaculture sectors, the maximum cumulative value of state-guaranteed funding that can be granted to a beneficiary under the state aid scheme cannot exceed 5,000,000 lei.

Under this state aid scheme, state aid is granted in the form of state guarantees, up to a maximum of 90% of the financing value, excluding interest, commissions, and bank charges related to the guaranteed credit, in accordance with the provisions of section 2.1 of the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework, for one or more investment loans and/or one or more credits/credit lines for working capital.

The maximum duration of funding is 72 months for investment loans, without the possibility of extension. In the case of credits/credit lines for working capital, the maximum duration of funding is 36 months, without the possibility of extension. In the case of working capital loans, at least in the last 12 months of validity of the guarantee, the repayment schedule is applied in installments without the possibility for the beneficiary to make draws/use sums from the credit. In the case of investment loans granted to eligible beneficiaries, credit institutions may grant, at the beginning of the credit period, at the request of the beneficiaries, a grace period of up to 18 months for the repayment of the principal.

State aids are cumulative and granted within the limit of the lei equivalent of 2,250,000 euros per enterprise, respectively the lei equivalent of 280,000 euros/enterprise for beneficiaries in the primary agriculture sector and 335,000 euros/enterprise for beneficiaries in the fishing and aquaculture sectors. In the case of UATs (Administrative-Territorial Units), the value of the state aid granted cannot exceed the lei equivalent of 2,250,000 euros/per UAT.

The exchange rate euro/lei used to calculate the maximum threshold is the exchange rate of the National Bank of Romania valid on the date of the financing agreement issuance.

(2) The total budget of the state aid scheme is a maximum of 12,499,375,483.08 lei, the lei equivalent of approximately 2,499,995,096.616 euros.

Within the budget provided in paragraph (2), guarantees can be granted up to the total threshold of 11,100,000,000 lei, the lei equivalent of approximately 2,220,000,000 euros, and grants up to 1,399,375,483.08 lei, the lei equivalent of approximately 279,995,096.62 euros.

(3) ELIGIBLE EXPENSES

Under this state aid scheme, the following expenses related to investments and working capital are eligible for each component of the state aid scheme:

(1) For the IMM ROMANIA PLUS component, the eligible expenses under the state aid scheme are as follows:

a) for investment loans: purchase of equipment/machinery/vehicles/other fixed assets including VAT; acquisition of intangible assets related to software investments/program licenses/patents including VAT; acquisition of production/services/commercial/land space for construction/agriculture including VAT: construction of production/service/commercial spaces; major repairs expenses, workspace/offices/branch upgrades; other expenses related to the investment plan including VAT;

b) for working capital loans/credit lines: procurement/production/distribution expenses; expenses for works execution and/or service provision; expenses for inventory creation/processing/sale; maintenance expenses, current repairs of workspace/offices/branches; other types of expenses necessary for ongoing activities; salaries and related expenses; rent/utility expenses; payment of taxes/fees/contributions/other amounts due to the consolidated general budget; other operating costs. The beneficiary can make expenses from the credit on other eligible CAEN codes, provided that they are authorized by Law no. 265/2022 on the trade register and for the amendment and completion of other normative acts with an impact on registration in the trade register. In this case, the credit institution will transmit a copy of the certificate provided by the beneficiary, in which, in the “authorized headquarters/activities” section, these eligible CAEN codes are included;

c) refinancing expenses of other loans for working capital and investment financing, expenses related to the acquisition of shares and stocks.

(2) For the AGROPLUS component, the eligible expenses under the state aid scheme are those provided in paragraph (1), which are applicable to beneficiaries operating in the primary agriculture, fishing, aquaculture, and food sectors. The beneficiary can make expenses from the credit on other eligible CAEN codes, provided that they are authorized according to Law no. 265/2022 on the trade register and for the amendment and completion of other normative acts with an impact on registration in the trade register. In this case, the credit institution will transmit a copy of the certificate provided by the beneficiary, in which, in the “authorized headquarters/activities” section, these eligible CAEN codes for the AGRO PLUS component are included.

(3) For the IMM PROD PLUS component, the following categories of expenses can be financed:

a) purchase of equipment and machinery including VAT, including for conversion from intermediation to production or starting new production activities;

b) purchase, development of land, and purchase/construction of production halls including VAT;

c) purchase of equipment including VAT, software including VAT, consultancy for digital transformation of SMEs including VAT, including retooling projects for SMEs operating and developing projects in the manufacturing industry;

d) purchase of equipment including VAT for alignment with environmental objectives generating energy efficiency of own consumption, including solar panels with VAT, biogas stations with VAT, recycling stations with VAT;

e) working capital financing for raw materials, materials, and goods stocks, operating expenses, expenses for taxes, fees, contributions, other amounts due to the consolidated general budget, for manufacturing companies that own/do not own their own distribution chains and for companies intending to open/develop/diversify production activities, including internationalization, or to convert from intermediation to production;

f) refinancing expenses of other loans for working capital and for investments, expenses related to the acquisition of shares and stocks.

(4) For the CONSTRUCT PLUS component, the following destinations of financing related to investment loans and working capital, including VAT, are eligible:

1. purchase of construction equipment and machinery, industrial logistics, including for starting new activities in the construction sector necessary for construction projects, namely:

a) equipment provision, technological and functional equipment with and without assembly, equipment acquisition expenses, including for the purchase of technological equipment and machinery, as well as those included in functional installations, expenses related to the assembly of technological equipment and machinery included in functional installations, including the necessary associated networks for their operation;

b) expenses for the acquisition of technological equipment, machinery, working installations, furniture, IT equipment, office supplies, fixed assets, which are included in subgroup 2.1 “Technological equipment machines, machinery, and working installations”, subgroup 2.2 “Measuring, control, and regulation devices and installations”, class 2.3.6 “Transport and lifting equipment and installations”, or group 3 “Furniture, office equipment, systems for protecting human and material values, and other tangible assets” listed in the annex to Government Decision no. 2.139/2004 for the approval of the Catalog regarding the classification and normal operating periods of fixed assets, with subsequent modifications, and which fall within the value limit for fixed assets determined by the legal regulations in force at the date of funding application submission;

c) expenses for the acquisition of specific installations/equipment for achieving energy savings, as well as systems using renewable/alternative energy sources to streamline the activities for which funding was requested;

2. construction, acquisition, arrangement of halls for own use, social headquarters, workplaces, including for starting new activities in the construction sector:

a) constructions and installations – expenses related to construction/extension of production/service spaces of the enterprise, respectively expenses related to the execution of all items included in the investment objective: buildings, special constructions, installations related to constructions, such as electrical installations, sanitary installations, internal installations for natural gas supply, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, fire safety, telecommunications, and other types of installations required by the destination of the objective;

b) expenses for ensuring utilities necessary for the objective: water supply, sewage, natural gas supply, thermal agent, electricity, telecommunications executed on the delimited site, legally considered belonging to the investment objective, as well as expenses related to connections to utility networks;

c) environmental protection arrangements and restoration to the initial state – expenses incurred for environmental protection works and actions, including for restoring the natural environment after the completion of works, such as tree planting, landscaping;

3. acquisition of equipment, software, consultancy for digital transformation of beneficiaries conducting contracts in the construction sector:

a) intangible assets – expenses for the acquisition of patents, licenses, trademarks, software, other rights, and similar assets; expenses for developing online marketing tools for the applicant’s own services/products;

b) obtaining permits, agreements, authorizations – expenses for obtaining/extending the validity of the urban planning certificate, obtaining/extending the validity of the construction/demolition permit, obtaining approvals and agreements for connections to public water, sewage, gas, district heating, electricity, telephone networks, obtaining the street nomenclature and address certificate, documentation preparation, obtaining the provisional cadastral number and registering the land in the land book; obtaining the environmental agreement; obtaining the fire safety approval; commissions, rates, and fees, including the rate related to the State Inspectorate in Construction for quality control of construction works, the rate for state control in land planning, urbanism, and for authorizing construction works, the rate related to the Social House of Constructors, fees for agreements, approvals, and construction/demolition permit; acquisition of electronic signature; other permits, agreements, and authorizations;

c) design and engineering, respectively expenses for developing the documentation necessary for obtaining the approvals, agreements, and authorizations related to the investment objective, documentation that forms the basis for issuing approvals and agreements required by the urban planning certificate, urban planning documentation, impact studies, site studies/expertises, traffic studies. For works to increase the energy performance of buildings as a result of modernizations/rehabilitations, expenses for energy audit are included;

d) consultancy – expenses incurred, as applicable, for paying consultancy services for drafting the funding application/business plan, paying consultancy services in project execution management or contract administration (project management), paying consultancy services for organizing and conducting procurement procedures;

e) technical assistance – expenses incurred, as applicable, for technical assistance from the designer during the execution period of works if it is not included in the project’s pricing, payment for site supervisors designated by the contracting authority, authorized in accordance with legal provisions for verifying the execution of construction and installation works;

f) expenses for mandatory project publicity and information activities are eligible in accordance with the provisions of the funding contract, up to 5,000 lei, without VAT, except for expenses related to marketing and promotion activities that are not eligible;

4. acquisition of equipment for alignment with environmental objectives generating own consumption efficiency, solar panels, biogas stations, recycling stations:

a) acquisition of equipment and installation of photovoltaic solar panels, photovoltaic panels, inverters, batteries, charging regulators, mounting systems;

b) expenses for design ensuring technical support – technical approval for connection from the existing prosumer grid to the prosumer grid – maximum 10% of eligible expenses;

c) expenses for maintenance and servicing of photovoltaic systems;

d) consultancy and project management – maximum 5% of the total eligible project value;

e) communication module; smart meters measuring the amount of energy produced by the installed photovoltaic panel system and allowing collection and transmission of relevant data remotely, in electronic format;

f) investments in production/purchase of biodigesters and biogas stations;

g) investments in production/purchase of recycling stations;

h) investments in the production of integrated components/systems of photovoltaic panels;

5. working capital financing for the purchase of construction materials and expenses for construction work related to construction activities, fuel, energy, and other types of expenses necessary for the conduct of current activities for SMEs and small enterprises with medium market capitalization conducting contracts in the construction sector;

6. payment of salaries, taxes, fees, contributions, other amounts due to the consolidated general budget, for SMEs and small enterprises with medium market capitalization conducting contracts in the construction sector;

7. acquisition of shares and social parts.

(5) For the INNOVATION PLUS component, eligible expenses, including VAT, are as follows:

a) expenses incurred for participation in international trade fairs to promote company products on international markets:

– transportation, insurance, and handling of exhibits, samples, and advertising materials, related customs formalities;

– storage of packaging related to exhibits during the promotional activity, preparation of stand execution project, rental, construction, and/or arrangement of exhibition space, transportation of related materials, general expenses during the promotional activities, representation and protocol expenses, travel expenses for persons organizing and coordinating the activities, including a representative from the branch employers’ association or professional association contributing to the implementation of the respective action, expenses for advertising, presentation, and promotion materials with general economic character and for promoting Romania’s presence at promotional activities, expenses related to the commission provided for in the contract with the organizing company of national pavilions, specialized product stands, and mini-exhibitions, as well as other expenses justified for the realization of international trade fairs and exhibitions;

b) Expenses related to the purchase of transportation means for distribution services for export activity;
c) Expenses related to the acquisition of patents, licenses, trademarks;
d) Expenses related to obtaining permits, agreements, and authorizations;
e) Expenses regarding the acquisition of equipment, machinery, installations, technologies, independent facilities necessary for conducting activities;
f) Expenses related to the acquisition of ICT hardware equipment and related devices and equipment, including installation, configuration, and commissioning expenses;
g) Expenses related to the construction, acquisition, arrangement of halls for own use, social headquarters, work points;
h) Expenses related to the development of online marketing tools for the company’s own services/products; software solutions for management, evaluation, and monitoring: expenses for purchasing a company presentation website, purchasing a domain and hosting on a server; expenses related to purchasing cloud and SaaS (Software as a Service) services, including hosting services of all types, except reseller packages, expenses related to purchasing services to enhance cybersecurity applicable for software/hosting/networks, lead generation sales activities, lead management, active customer portfolio management, customer relationship management (CRM) software solutions; managing customer issues submitted through ticketing systems; financial activities – invoices, accounting, document management – contracts, offers, industry-specific documents; analysis and proper management of business processes through Business Process Management (BPM) software solutions; collecting data specific to the objectives and profile of each company/industry; internal and external communication activities and reports;
i) Expenses for salary payments, rent for premises where the activity is carried out, and other types of expenses necessary for conducting current activities. The beneficiary can incur expenses using credit for other eligible CAEN codes, provided they are authorized according to Law No. 265/2022. In this case, the credit institution will transmit a copy of the certificate provided by the beneficiary, in which at the section “authorized headquarters/activities,” these eligible CAEN codes should be included;
j) Expenses related to the innovation and invention activity of the enterprise. All activities incorporating innovation and invention are eligible within the INNOVATION PLUS component, i.e., any activity incorporating technological progress can be financed within the component; also, any product incorporated or developed by a beneficiary that is assimilated to an invention (new products/services) validated through patents, licenses, trademarks. All accessory expenses to achieving objectives, such as salaries, rent, stocks, energy, fuel, taxes, fees, can be financed through INNOVATION PLUS.
(6) For the RURAL PLUS component, the funding destinations are: acquisition of equipment/machinery/vehicles/other fixed assets, including VAT; acquisition of intangible assets: software/licenses/programs/patents, including VAT; acquisition of production/service/commercial/storage/agricultural land and land for construction, including VAT; acquisition of shares and stocks; construction of production/service/commercial/storage spaces, including VAT; capital repairs, modernizations of workspaces/offices/work points, including VAT; other expenses related to the investment plan, including VAT; productive biological assets, including VAT; expenses for procurement/production/sale; expenses for carrying out works and/or providing services; expenses for the formation/processing/utilization of stocks; maintenance expenses, current repairs of workspaces/offices/work points for all activities carried out by the beneficiary at these locations; other types of expenses necessary for conducting current activities; expenses for salaries and similar payments for all activities carried out by the beneficiary; expenses for rent/utilities; taxes/fees/contributions/other amounts owed to the consolidated general budget, whose payment obligation rests with the beneficiary for all activities carried out by them; other operating costs; biological assets of the nature of stocks and agricultural products, as well as expenses related to biological assets; refinancing expenses of other loans for working capital and investment. The beneficiary can incur expenses using credit for other eligible CAEN codes, provided they are authorized according to Law No. 265/2022. In this case, the credit institution will transmit a copy of the certificate provided by the beneficiary, in which at the section “authorized headquarters/activities,” these eligible CAEN codes should be included.

(7) Within the state aid scheme, credits granted for refinancing investment loans and/or loans/credit lines for working capital guaranteed under government guarantee programs approved by Emergency Ordinance of the Government No. 110/2017 regarding the Support Program for Small and Medium Enterprises and Small Enterprises with Medium Market Capitalization – IMM INVEST ROMANIA, approved with amendments and completions by Law No. 209/2018, with subsequent amendments and completions, Emergency Ordinance of the Government No. 24/2022 regarding the approval and funding of guarantee programs in priority areas for the Romanian economy, approved with amendments by Law No. 152/2023, and by Emergency Ordinance of the Government No. 99/2022 regarding the approval of the state aid scheme IMM INVEST PLUS and its components – IMM INVEST ROMANIA, AGRO IMM INVEST, IMM PROD, GARANT CONSTRUCT, INNOVATION and RURAL INVEST, with subsequent amendments and completions, are not eligible.