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Attachment 1.2. Factsheet
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Factsheet1
De minimis support
Interreg VI-A IPA Bulgaria North Macedonia
Version 1.0 of May 2023
Introduction
An undertaking that receives support from public funding sources, such as Interreg VI-A
IPA Bulgaria North Macedonia, may gain an advantage over its competitors through this
support. Furthermore, the support can distort competition and affect trade between
Member States. If this is the case, State aid is present.
The EU Treaty wants to prevent such effects on the market and therefore generally
prohibits State aid. However, in some circumstances such support is necessary for a well-
functioning and equitable economy. Therefore, the Treaty leaves room for a number of
measures through which State aid can be made compatible with the rules. The Programme
uses one of these measures, namely the de minimis. The Programme Manual lays down the
State approach and procedures of the Programme.
This factsheet aims to provide additional information about the de minimis Regulation.
The annexes to this factsheet support State aid relevant partners of approved projects in
deciding whether de minimis is relevant for them and whether they are able to use de
minimis.
Summary
The de minimis principle allows project partners to receive comparatively small amounts
of support without being caught by the State aid rules. This is because the European.
Commission assumes that small amounts of support do not have a significant impact on
competition and trade in the European Economic Area (EEA). In general, a
singleundertaking can receive de minimis support of up to EUR 200,000 per Member State
in a three-year period.
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Please note
This factsheet is a summary of the key points of Regulation 1407/2013 and hereinafter referred to as "the
Regulation" but is not a substitute for the full text of the Regulation, to which reference should be made.
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Attachment 1.2. Factsheet
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Legal Basis
COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 1407/2013 of 18 December 2013 on the application
of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de
minimis aid:
http://ec.europa.eu/competition/state_aid/legislation/de_minimis_regulation_en.pdf
Geographical coverage
The provisions of this document are applicable to the partner/s legally established on the
territory of the Republic of Bulgaria. The applicants from the Republic of North
Macedonia should follow the applicable national regulations and regulations regarding
State aid outside EU.
Amounts of support
The total amount of de minimis aid to a single undertaking is:
EUR 200,000 over a period of three fiscal years
EUR 100,000 over a period of three fiscal years for single undertakings performing
road freight transport for hire or reward (as noted above, the aid must not be used to
acquire road freight transport vehicles)
The undertakings active in the fishery and aquaculture sector covered by Council
Regulation (EC) No 104/2000 and in the primary production of agricultural products, are
not eligible for financing under current Call for investment projects for Priority 1”Greener
border region”.
De minimis aid is deemed to be granted when the legal right to receive the aid is
conferred, irrespective of the date of payment. In as Interreg VI-A IPA Bulgaria North
Macedonia this is understood as the date when the last contracting party signs the subsidy
contract. The period of three fiscal years is determined with reference to the fiscal year of
the undertaking.
Where the relevant ceiling would be exceeded by the grant of new de minimis aid, none
of the new aid may benefit from the de minimis Regulation. This means that if an
application is received which would result in the ceiling being exceeded, de minimis
support cannot be awarded in whole or in part, even if a partial award would not result
in the ceiling being exceeded.
Single Undertakings
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The ceiling on de minimis aid is calculated per single undertaking per Member State. Conversely,
subsidiaries of the same enterprises could not each receive de minimis support from the same
Member State.
The de minimis threshold counts per “single undertaking”. In case a project partner is part
of a group, the entire group is considered as one single undertaking and the de minimis
threshold applies to the entire group.
The notion of single undertaking includes all enterprises having at least one of the
following relationships with each other, as provided for in Article 2(2) of Regulation (EU)
No 1407/2013 on de minimis aid:
a. One enterprise has a majority of the shareholders’ or members’ voting rights in
another enterprise;
b. One enterprise has the right to appoint or remove a majority of the members of
the administrative, management or supervisory body of another enterprise;
c. One enterprise has the right to exercise a dominant influence over another
enterprise pursuant to a contract entered into with that enterprise or to a provision in its
memorandum or articles of association;
d. One enterprise, which is a shareholder in or member of another enterprise,
controls alone, pursuant to an agreement with other shareholders in or members of that
enterprise, a majority of shareholders’ or members’ voting rights in that enterprise.
Enterprises having any of the relationships referred to in the above points through one or
more other enterprises shall also be considered to be a single undertaking.
It is to be noted that in the framework of State aid, an “enterprise” is to be understood as
any entity engaged in an economic activity irrespective to its legal status
Although the Regulation refers to 'enterprises', in practice, this encompasses any entity
engaged in an economic activity. The above criteria are intended to ensure that a group of
linked entities is treated as a single undertaking for the purposes of the de minimis rule.
On the other hand, it is intended to ensure that entities which have no relationship with
each other except for the fact that each of them has a direct link to the same public body or
bodies are not treated as being linked to each other.
In calculating the amount of aid, special care must be taken where the recipient has been
the subject of a merger or a split from another organization. In the case of mergers and
acquisitions, all prior de minimis aid is considered in determining whether new de
minimis support can be paid. De minimis aid lawfully granted before a merger or
acquisition shall remain lawful.
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If un undertaking splits into two or more separate undertakings, de minimis support
granted before the split shall be allocated to the undertaking that benefitted from it. This
is in principle the undertaking taking on the activities for which de minimis support was
used. If this split is not possible, de minimis support will be allocated proportionately on
the basis of the book value of the equity capital of the new undertaking at the date of the
split.
De minimis aid granted under Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013 may be cumulated with de
minimis aid granted under Commission Regulation (EU) No 360/2012 up to the ceiling set
in Article 2 (2) of Commission Regulation (EU) No 360/2012.
In addition, art. 5, para 2 of the Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013 indicates that De minimis
aid shall not be cumulated with State aid in relation to the same eligible costs or with State
aid for the same risk finance measure, if such cumulation would exceed the highest
relevant aid intensity or aid amount fixed in the specific circumstances of each case by a
block exemption regulation or a decision adopted by the Commission. De minimis aid
which is not granted for or attributable to specific eligible costs may be cumulated with
other State aid granted under a block exemption regulation or a decision adopted by the
Commission.
Exclusions
Interreg VI-A IPA Bulgaria North Macedonia is not allowed to grant the following types
of aid under the de minimis Regulation:
Aid to undertakings active in the fishery and aquaculture sector, as covered by
Council Regulation (EC) No 104/2000 ;
Aid to undertakings active in the primary agricultural production ;
Aid granted to undertakings active in the sector of processing and marketing of
agricultural products in the following cases:
- where the amount of the aid is fixed on the basis of the price or quantity
of such products purchased from primary producers or put on the market
by the undertakings concerned;
- where the aid is conditional on being partly or entirely passed on to
primary producers.
Support for acquiring road freight transport vehicles by undertakings in the road
haulage business;
Aid to export-related activities and aid contingent upon the use of domestic over
imported good cannot be granted under the de minimis rule.
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For the purposes of De minimis Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:
Agricultural products2 mean products listed in Annex I to the Treaty, with the exception
of fishery and aquaculture products covered by Regulation (EC) No 104/20003.
Processing of agricultural products means any operation on an agricultural product
resulting in a product, which is also an agricultural product, except on-farm activities
necessary for preparing an animal or plant product for the first sale.
Marketing of agricultural products means holding or display with a view to sale, offering
for sale, delivery or any other manner of placing on the market, except the first sale by a
primary producer to resellers or processors and any activity preparing a product for such
first sale; a sale by a primary producer to final consumers shall be considered as marketing
if it takes place in separate premises reserved for that purpose.
Additionally, the Programme ensures that partners do not receive the other types of aid
that are excluded by the de minimis Regulation in addition to the ones listed above.
Ensuring Compliance
In order to ensure strict observation of the set maximum thresholds, in accordance to Art.
6(1) of Regulation (ЕU) 1407/2013 the Managing Authority shall request from the Bulgarian
partners to declare any de minimis aid received in the fiscal year in progress and in the
two previous fiscal years. The provided information shall be verified through the public
Register of the de minimis aids, available on the webpage of the Bulgarian Ministry of
Finance (http://minimis.minfin.bg/).
In case with planned project activities a Bulgarian partner exceed the maximum
thresholds, the Managing Authority has the right to reduce the requested grant amount
before signature of the subsidy contract.
The Programme bodies at all levels (first level controllers, JS and MA) will closely monitor
the adherence of the state aid rules not only during the pre-contracting phase, but also
during the whole implementation period of the project.
In case with already implemented project activities a Bulgarian partner exceed the
maximum thresholds, the Managing Authority has the right to terminate the subsidy
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'agricultural products' means products listed in Annex I to the Treaty, with the exception of fishery and aquaculture
products covered by Regulation (EC) No 104/2000 (e.g. animals, vegetables, fruits)
3
Council Regulation (EC) No 104/2000 of 17 December 1999 on the common organisation of the markets in fishery
and aquaculture products (OJ L 17, 21.1.2000, p. 22).
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contract and to demand repayment of the amounts already paid in accordance with the
provisions of the subsidy contract and the applicable state/de minimis aid regime.
Administrative Arrangements
In case of a positive plausibility check, the Programme can grant de minimis support.
The Managing Authority ensures compliance with the monitoring and administrative
arrangements of the de minimis Regulation. Project partners receiving de minimis aid
have to maintain relevant documentation as outlined in the Programme Guidelines. The
Lead partner and the project partners have to ensure that all planned activities are set up
and implemented in compliance with the national legislation related to competition and
state aid. In addition to this they shall ensure publicity and transparency of these activities
and project outputs and results, which can create an economic advantage to an economic
operator.
In case the Programme bodies find out that the Lead partner or any project partner made
false declarations regarding state aid, the MА is entitled to terminate the subsidy contract
and to demand repayment of the amounts already paid in accordance with the provisions
of the subsidy contract and the applicable state/de minimis aid regime.
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Attachment 1.2. Factsheet
proposals
Am I able to use de minimis?
Disclaimer: This simplified flowchart shall provide a first overview of the possible use
of de minimis. In case of questions, please contact the MA/JS. Further information on
definitions and limitations is available in the de minimis factsheet and the de minimis
declaration.
