Communication to the Member States on the accelerated clearance of aid schemes for SMEs and of amendments of existing schemes (92/C 213/03)

(adopted by the Commission on 2 July 1992)

The Commission has amended its earlier Decision (1) on the notification of aid schemes of minor importance as follows:

in principle the Commission will not object to new or modified existing aid schemes notified pursuant to Article 93 (3) of the EEC Treaty meeting the following criteria:

1. new aid schemes, excluding those supporting industrial sectors covered by specific Community policy statements (2) as well as aids in the agricultural, fisheries, transport and coal sectors.

The schemes must be limited to small and medium-sized enterprises, defined as any firm which

- has no more than 250 employees, and

- either

- an annual turnover not exceeding ECU 20 million, or

- a balance sheet total not exceeding ECU 10 million, and

- is not more than 25 % owned by one or more companies not falling within this definition, except public investment corporations, venture capital companies or, provided no control is exercised, institutional investors.

The schemes must also satisfy one of the following criteria:

- where the scheme has specific investment objectives, the aid intensity must not exceed 7,5 % of the investment cost, or

- where the scheme is designed to lead to job creation, the aid must not amount to more than ECU 3 000 per job created, or

- in the absence of specific investment or job creation objectives the total volume of aid a beneficiary may receive must not be more than ECU 200 000.

All the above figures are before any calculation for tax effects, i.e. gross.

Member States must ensure that the beneficiary does not receive more aid than allowed by the above criteria for the same project through repeated notification of aid schemes meeting these criteria or such schemes being added to any other aids under general, regional or sectoral aid schemes.

Such aids may be paid on a national, regional or local basis.

All aids to exports in intra-Community trade or operating aids are excluded from the procedure;

2. modifications of existing aid schemes which the Commission has previously approved, except in specific cases where the Commission strictly limited its authorization to the period, budget and conditions then notified.

The amendment may involve any of the following:

- prolongation over time without increase in budgetary resources,

- increase in budget available up to 20 % of original sum but no prolongation,

- prolongation over time with budget increases up to 20 % of original sum,

- tightening the criteria of application of the scheme.

A simplified form for notification to be used for both new and existing schemes is set out below.

The Commission will decide on notifications within 20 working days.

(1) OJ No C 40, 20. 2. 1990, p. 2.

(2) Presently steel, shipbuilding, synthetic fibres and motor vehicles.

ANNEX

1. Member State: ...........

2. Title of scheme: ...........

3. Is it a new scheme? ...........

3.1. Level of government responsible for scheme:

- central government: ...........

- region: ...........

- local authority: ...........

- other: ...........

3.2. Is it:

- a general scheme?

- for what purpose(s)? (e. g., R & D, innovation, environment, energy conservation, etc):

...........

...........

- a regional scheme?

- for which area(s)?: ...........

...........

- a sectoral (industry-specific) scheme?

- for which sector(s)?: ...........

...........

3.3. Form of aid (specify conditions):

- grant: ...........

- soft loan: ...........

- interest subsidy: ...........

- tax relief: ...........

- loan guarantee: ...........

- other: ...........

3.4. Budget: ...........

...........

3.5. Duration: ...........

3.6. Beneficiaries of aid:

- firms employing up to ....... persons (maximum 250) and having an annual turnover of up to ............. (maximum ECU 20 million) or a balance sheet total of up to ............... (maximum ECU 10 million) and not more than ................ (maximum 25 %) owned by one or more companies not falling within this definition, except public investment corporations, venture capital companies or, provided no control is exercised, institutional investors.

3.7. Scale of aid:

3.7.1. if the scheme is for investment, what is the intensity of the aid? ........... (maximum 7,5 % of the investment cost):...........

...........

...........

3.7.2. if the scheme is to stimulate employment, what is the maximum amount of aid per job created? (maximum ECU 3 000): ....................................

3.7.3. in other cases what is the maximum aid per firm? ........... (maximum ECU 200 000): .....

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4. In the case of an existing scheme:

- when was the scheme notified to the Commission?: ....................................

- when was it approved by the Commission? (date and reference of letter, aid case number),

........................................................................

- how is the scheme to be amended? (duration, budget, conditions, etc.).

........................................................................

5. Remarks: ...................................

...............................................

...............................................

6. Action proposed by DG IV (to be left blank):

...............................................

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