TRADE AND SERVICES
OLD VERSION
FINANCING
VALUE
max. 500.000 lei/beneficiary
The non-reimbursable financial allocation is up to a maximum of 50% of the eligible expenses, but not exceeding 500,000 lei from the value of an investment credit contracted with the partnering credit institution. The value of the investment credit requested through the program for eligible expenses is a minimum of 250,000 lei.
Net profit company and operation on the latest financial statements;
Minimum 2 employees on the previous balance sheet;
At least 2 calendar years old.
Creating 2 jobs;
Acquired assets must be new;
Nothing is sold for 3 years.
ELIGIBLE EXPENSES
Workspaces;
Commercial vehicles;
Equipment;
Machinery;
Computers;
Furniture;
Website;
Software licenses;
Consultancy;
Promotion.
MORE DETAILS
FUNDING
Non-reimbursable financial allocation is up to 50% of the eligible expenses, but not exceeding 500,000 lei of the value of an investment loan contracted with the partnering credit institution. The requested investment loan through the program for eligible expenses is at least 250,000 lei.
ELIGIBLE BENEFICIARIES
(1) Companies (micro-enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises) that meet cumulatively, at the program registration date, the following eligibility criteria may benefit from the Program:
a) are registered according to Law no. 31/1990 on companies, republished, with subsequent modifications and completions, or based on Law no. 1/2005 on the organization and functioning of cooperatives or based on Emergency Ordinance of the Government of Romania no. 6/2011 for stimulating the establishment and development of micro-enterprises by business beginners, with subsequent modifications and completions;
b) are micro-enterprises, small or medium-sized enterprises, according to the provisions of Law no. 346/2004 on the stimulation of the establishment and development of small and medium-sized enterprises, with subsequent modifications and completions, which transpose into national legislation European Commission Recommendation no. 361 of May 6, 2003, published in the Official Journal of the EU no. L124 of May 20, 2003 (have up to 249 employees and achieve an annual net turnover of up to 50 million euros or have total assets of up to 43 million euros, equivalent in lei).
c) were established no later than December 31, 2019, inclusive;
d) natural or legal persons who are associates or shareholders and who own multiple companies can apply under this program with only one company;
e) have entirely private equity, are tax registered in Romania, carry out their activity on the territory of Romania, and have headquarters/branch in Romania;
f) are considered autonomous, related, or partner enterprises;
g) The activity for which funding is requested is authorized at the National Trade Register Office at least 12 months before the program registration date, according to art. 15 of Law no. 359/2004 on the simplification of formalities in the registration with the Trade Register of natural persons, family associations, and legal persons, their fiscal registration, as well as the authorization of legal persons, with subsequent modifications and completions. The funding request is made under a single CAEN Rev. 2 code;
h) do not have debts to the consolidated general budget according to the fiscal attestation certificate issued through the Patrimven information system, or requested through clarifications, at the time of signing the financing agreement. Applicants with staggered debts are not eligible under the program;
i) (1) Have not exceeded the de minimis threshold of 200,000.00 euros over three consecutive financial years for a single enterprise, as defined by Commission Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013 of December 18, 2013, on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid, with subsequent modifications and completions, and 100,000 euros over three financial years for beneficiaries engaged in road freight transport activities on behalf of third parties or for hire. The thresholds apply regardless of the form of de minimis aid or the objective pursued and regardless of whether the aid is granted from the state budget or from European funds.
2) In case, by granting new de minimis aid, the maximum threshold mentioned in letter i paragraph (1) would be exceeded, the enterprise may benefit, if requested, from the provisions of this de minimis aid scheme only for that fraction of the aid which, together with the rest of the de minimis aid received previously, does not exceed this threshold. In addition, until this aid is granted, it may opt to reduce the requested funding or to partially or fully return aid already received, which shall be evidenced by appropriate documents.
3) In mergers or acquisitions, when determining whether new de minimis aid granted to a new enterprise or the acquiring enterprise exceeds the relevant threshold, all previous de minimis aid granted to all merging enterprises shall be taken into account. De minimis aid legally granted before the merger or acquisition remains legally granted.
4) If an enterprise divides into two or more separate enterprises, the de minimis aid granted before the separation shall be allocated to the enterprise that benefited from it, namely, in principle, the enterprise that takes over the activities for which the de minimis aid was used. If such allocation is not possible, the de minimis aids shall be allocated proportionally based on the book value of the share capital of the new enterprises as of the date of the separation takes effect.
5) De minimis aid granted under this measure may be cumulated with de minimis aid granted in accordance with Commission Regulation (EU) No 360/2012, as amended, up to the ceiling established in that regulation.
6) De minimis aids may be cumulated with de minimis aid granted in accordance with other de minimis regulations up to the threshold of 200,000 euros over three consecutive fiscal years (100,000 euros for enterprises engaged in road freight transport on behalf of third parties or for hire), equivalent in lei.
7) For mergers and/or acquisitions that change the control status, if the value thresholds provided by art. 12 of Competition Law no. 21/1996 republished, with subsequent modifications and completions, are exceeded, they shall be notified to the Competition Council, and the implementation of the transaction of economic concentration shall be possible only after obtaining an authorization decision from the competition authority.
8) The aspect may also concern the aforementioned split transactions, if the assets and/or the fully functioning enterprise resulting exceed the value thresholds provided by the Competition Law.
9) De minimis aids do not cumulate with state aids granted for the same eligible costs or with state aids granted for the same financing measure through risk capital if such cumulation would exceed the intensity or maximum value relevant to the aid conditions set out in a regulation or a Commission exemption decision adopted by the Commission.
10) De minimis aids not granted for or related to specific eligible costs may be cumulated with other state aids granted under a category exemption regulation or a Commission decision.
j) are not in a state of dissolution, judicial reorganization, liquidation, forced execution, operational closure, insolvency, bankruptcy, or temporary suspension of activity at the time of registration and do not fall into any of the states mentioned throughout the program;
k) have not been the subject of a decision of the European Commission / AIMM / Competition Council or another state aid / de minimis provider for the recovery of state aid/de minimis aid, or, if they have been subject to such a decision, it has already been executed, and the entire claim recovered, with interest and penalties;
l) Contract an investment loan with the partner bank, under the conditions of the bank and of this program.
m) Maintain or increase the number of existing employees at the time of submitting the settlement documentation for a minimum period of 6 months from the date of AIMM issuing the payment agreement. The employee register in Revisal to be submitted at the settlement must include active, suspended, and terminated employees and must be issued in the calendar month in which the settlement documentation is submitted. In case, during the mentioned period, these positions become vacant for various reasons, the beneficiary is obliged to fill the vacant position(s) within a maximum of 45 days, maintaining the minimum number for which funding was received.
(2) Companies engaging in the following activities are not eligible for the Program:
a) fishing and aquaculture activities covered by Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013:
031 – Fishing
032 – Aquaculture
b) activities related to the primary production of agricultural products as listed in Annex 1 to the Treaty establishing the European Community, with the exception of products obtained from fishing and aquaculture as provided for in Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013;
c) processing and marketing activities of agricultural products listed in Annex 1 to the Treaty establishing the European Community, in the following cases:
a. when the value of the aid is set on the basis of the price or quantity of such products purchased from primary producers or marketed by the respective economic operators;
b. when the aid is conditioned to be partially or fully transferred to primary producers (farmers);
d) production or marketing of arms, ammunition, explosives, tobacco, alcohol, substances subject to national control, plants, narcotic and psychotropic substances and preparations;
e) production or marketing of energy products defined according to Law no. 227/2015 on the Fiscal Code, with subsequent modifications and completions, leasing activities.
– “Processing of agricultural products” means any operation performed on an agricultural product resulting in a product that is still an agricultural product, except for activities carried out on farms, necessary for the preparation of a product of animal or plant origin for the first sale.
– “Marketing of agricultural products” means holding or displaying an agricultural product for sale, offering for sale, delivery, or any other form of introduction into the market, except for the first sale by a primary producer to wholesalers or processors and any other activities preparing the product for this first sale; a sale made by a primary producer to final consumers is considered marketing if it takes place in separate premises dedicated to this activity.
f) export-related activities, namely, aids directly linked to exported quantities, the establishment and operation of a distribution network, or other current expenses related to export activities.
g) aids conditioned on the preferential use of national products over imported products;
h) aids for the acquisition of freight transport vehicles granted to economic operators whose activity consists of providing freight transport services on behalf of third parties or for hire.
(3) If an enterprise carries out its activities both in one of the exempted sectors (those mentioned above) and in one or more sectors or areas of activity included in the scope of this scheme, its provisions apply to aids granted for the non-exempted sectors.
(4) In order to benefit from the provisions of the scheme, the enterprise concerned must ensure, through appropriate means, such as separating activities or distinguishing between costs, that the activities carried out in the excluded sectors do not benefit from de minimis aids granted in accordance with this scheme.
(5) Economic operators are not eligible for de minimis aid under the Program where there are family ties, including spouse, up to the second degree inclusive, and in-laws up to the second degree inclusive, between the beneficiary’s shareholding structures and its suppliers or when the winning bidder holds the majority stake in two participating companies for the same type of procurement within the procurements made by private applicants for non-repayable funds. The applicant shall submit a declaration to this effect, as part of Annex 5 to this procedure, in accordance with the legislation in force regarding conflicts of interest.
(6) The beneficiaries and/or shareholders/partners/directors of companies that have been convicted by final court decisions of corruption or economic-financial crimes are not eligible.
(7) Identification by other competent authorities or by law enforcement authorities, at any time during the program, of acts incriminated by the Penal Code or other special laws, committed by the enterprise, legal representatives, shareholders/partners/directors in connection with the fraudulent obtaining or use of European and/or public funds, leads to the rejection of the funding application or, as the case may be, the recovery of the aid granted, together with the relevant interest.
TYPES OF FINANCIAL AID
(1) The purpose of the financing must fall within one or more of the following eligible categories:
a) technological equipment in the form of tangible assets from the category of fixed assets described in groups 2.1 technological equipment (machinery, equipment, and working installations), 2.2. measurement, control, and regulation devices and installations, and 2.3. means of transport from Government Decision No. 2139/2004 approving the Catalog regarding the classification and normal operating periods of fixed assets; Fixed assets for playgrounds, sports halls, fitness, drones, x-body, and strength are assimilated in the category of eligible technological equipment. Depending on the type of beneficiary, the minimum entry value of fixed assets is 2,500 lei with VAT (for non-VAT payers) and 2,500 lei without VAT (for VAT payers);
b) equipment/technologies/solutions/systems specific to energy efficiency for the activity for which financing is sought; Examples of specific equipment for energy efficiency: power generators, high-efficiency industrial boilers, pumps, ventilation systems, heating/cooling systems, industrial burners, industrial heat exchangers, uninterruptible power sources (UPS), gas condensing boilers/central heating systems, cogeneration and trigeneration systems, utility measurement and monitoring systems, photovoltaic panel systems, mini-wind turbines.
c) technologies/equipment/systems/solutions/services, etc., for the collection, recycling, reuse of industrial waste;
d) Purchase of furniture, office equipment, and human and material value protection systems, according to group no. 3 of Government Decision No. 2139/2004;
e) Presentation website, online store, domain registration expenses without hosting, website/online store promotion expenses, necessary software/softwares for carrying out the activity, electronic signature, IT equipment, PC-type computing equipment, central unit, server, monitor, printer/copier/multifunctional, including portable systems, licenses necessary for carrying out the activity, smartphones, tablets.
f) utility vehicles and special-purpose vehicles, except for all G symbol vehicles, according to the Order of the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure and Communications no. 2224/2020 approving the Regulations on type approval and issuance of the vehicle registration certificate, as well as the type approval of the products used therein – RNTR 2;
g) 1) Purchase of commercial premises and service provision spaces. The value of the asset to be purchased under the Program will be based on an assessment by an ANEVAR expert evaluator, with the exception of mobile commercial/service spaces.
2) The assets in this category must not have residential destinations both at the time of acquisition and throughout the duration of the Program.
3) Tents for event organization and pressurized balloons are included in the category of mobile commercial/service spaces. For mobile commercial/service spaces, an ANEVAR report is not necessary.
h) Guarantees and commissions granted by non-banking financial institutions for investment loans contracted under the program;
i) Two mandatory informative plaques, under the penalty of not granting AFN, with a minimum value of 10 lei, but not more than 500 lei of eligible expenses, which will be placed as follows:
– one inside the space at the project implementation location (indoor), in the place with the best visibility for visitors (reception, secretariat, waiting area, etc.);
– one outside the space at the project implementation location (outdoor), in the place with the best visibility for clients, next to the space where the activity takes place (street facade, building entrance, etc.).
(2) Each expenditure must be related to the flow of activities/sub-activities necessary for the implementation of the CAEN Rev 2 code activity for which funding is sought.
(3) Expenses for permits or other fees, including VAT, packaging, equipment/machinery transport, and equipment/machinery commissioning, are not eligible.
(4) The purchased assets must be new and put into operation at the implementation location at the time of their certification, and for all assets purchased under the program, accelerated depreciation provided for in Law no. 227/2015 on the Fiscal Code, with subsequent modifications and completions, does not apply.
(5) No financial aid is granted for assets acquired under leasing, second-hand, or subject to double funding.
(6) Applicants (enterprises) can benefit from the non-repayable financing obtained under the Program only once during the period 2023-2027.
(7) Beneficiaries are required to ensure the tangible assets purchased through the Program with the most complete and comprehensive insurance policy in favor of AIMM/credit institution, for a period of 4 years (implementation year + 3 monitoring years), and to assign all rights acquired under the insurance to AIMM/credit institution, as appropriate. This insurance can also be made annually, with the obligation to send a copy of it to AIMM/credit institution, as appropriate, at the time of renewal.
(8) A natural person cannot be a shareholder/partner/legal representative in a supplying company to companies benefiting from AFN in which they hold the status of associate/shareholder/legal representative.
(9) The budget allocated by Law no. 368/2022 approving the state budget for the implementation of the measure in 2023 is 74,500,000 lei, and the estimated number of beneficiaries for 2023 is 149.
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TRADE AND SERVICES CONSULTANCY
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
- for accessing financial allocations through various programs;;
- road and bridge technician;
- civil construction technician;
- water management technique;
- technical construction works;;
- procurement file or estimates needed to access non-refundable funds through special programs that are ongoing.
CONSULTANCY
Our consulting services give you the chance to implement your construction, production or service projects with your own funds or with the help of non-reimbursable financial allocations.
We offer you the necessary advice to access the non-reimbursable funds through the special programs that are in progress.
We are ready to guide and support you so that your ideas come true!
PROJECTION
Our field of activity refers to Engineering and Technical Consulting services related to them
This class includes:
Design engineering as well as consulting activities for:
- projects involving civil engineering, hydraulic engineering, traffic engineering;
- water management projects;
- geophysical, geological and seismic, topography;
- geodetic and topographic activities.