Emergency Ordinance no. 130/2020
on some measures for granting financial support from non-reimbursable external funds, related to the Competitiveness Operational Program 2014-2020, in the context of the crisis caused by COVID-19, as well as other measures in the field of European funds, published in the OFFICIAL GAZETTE no. 705 of August 6, 2020.
On September 2, 2020, the Senate adopted a series of amendments regarding GEO no. 130/2020 for SMEs, in the context of the crisis caused by COVID-19. The amendments entered the second stage of parliamentary approval on September 8, the Chamber of Deputies, which further distributed the draft law approving the ordinance to the committees of the Chamber. Thus, until September 15, 2020, the parliamentarians can submit proposals to amend GEO no. 130/2020.
The main amendments adopted by the Senate:
1. Micro-grants of 2000 euros, lump sum, for SMEs without employees, PFAs, individual medical practices (CMI) and NGOs: among the eligible areas, fitness rooms, sports clubs, fairs, fun activities are introduced.
2. Working capital grants of up to EUR 150,000 for SMEs: viticulture, grape cultivation, cultivation of permanent crops, production of grape wine and cider and other fruit wines are included among the eligible fields. Several NACE codes for wholesale trade are also introduced, including tobacco, retail, real estate, construction, hairdressing and beauty.
3. Investment grants of up to EUR 200,000 for SMEs: agricultural activities are introduced as eligible areas: cultivation of permanent crops, cultivation of grapes. Instead, GEO 130/2020 further provides that the investments included in the financing may be complementary to the investments financed from the European Fund for Agriculture and Rural Development. Thus, the ordinance provided for the possibility of complementarity of investments, precisely because the activities that can be financed from PNDR could not be financed from the POC.
At the same time, the Senate also modified the scoring grid for grants of up to 200,000 euros, eliminating the criterion of the internal rate of return (IRR). Instead, other criteria are introduced, such as the number of employees at the time of applying for funding, investments to facilitate access for people with disabilities, investments for waste management, etc.
Information regarding the Emergency Ordinance no. 130 of July 31, 2020
GEO 130/2020 provides for the opening of 3 financing schemes for SMEs, PFA and other economic operators severely affected by the pandemic and aims to support from European non-reimbursable funds, related to the Competitiveness Operational Program 2014 – 2020, in the amount of 1 billion euros, through providing micro-grants, working capital grants and investment grants. The grants will provide small and medium-sized enterprises with the necessary liquidity to continue working, keep jobs and encourage future investment.
The forms of support from non-reimbursable external funds provided by GEO no. 130/2020 are:
1. Micro-grants awarded from non-reimbursable external funds in the form of a lump sum up to 2000 euros;
Beneficiaries:
a) small and medium-sized enterprises that prove through their financial statements that they do not have employees with an individual employment contract as of December 31, 2019;
b) PFAs, NGOs with economic activity in one of the fields of activity provided in annex no. 1 of GEO no. 130/2020;
c) PFAs/CMI, if they were involved in the transport, equipment, evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of patients diagnosed with COVID-19, who did not benefit from the medical incentive granted based on Government Emergency Ordinance no. 43/2020 for the approval of some support measures settled from European funds, as a result of the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19, during the state of emergency, approved with modifications and completions by Law no. 82/2020.
Applicants must meet the following cumulative conditions:
a) have carried out current / operational activity for a period of at least one calendar year before the date of submission of the funding application, except for PFA / individual medical offices for which the start of the activity may take place until 01.02.2020;
b) have obtained a turnover in the financial year prior to the submission of the financing application of at least the equivalent in lei of 5,000 euros at the date of submission of the financing application, except for the beneficiaries of the state aid mentioned in art. 5 lit. b) and c);
c) maintain their activity for a period of at least 6 months from the granting of the form of support in the form of a micro-grant.
2. Grants for working capital granted in the form of a lump sum and as a percentage of turnover, with a value between EUR 2,000 and EUR 150,000, with the funds allocated amounting to EUR 350 million;
The allocation of working capital grants will be made as a percentage of turnover, being intended for SMEs whose activity has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic or whose activity has been banned or reduced by military ordinances during the state of emergency and / or during the alert state.
The amount of support from external non-reimbursable for working capital is determined as follows:
a) for SMEs with a turnover for 2019 between 5,000 and 13,500 euros, the value of the grant is 2,000 euros;
b) for SMEs with a turnover for 2019 between 13,501 and 1,000,000 euros, the value of the grant is set at 15% of turnover and may not exceed the amount of 150,000 euros. For SMEs with a turnover equivalent to more than EUR 1 million, the maximum amount of aid is EUR 150,000.
Working capital grants will be awarded to beneficiaries who cumulatively meet the following conditions:
a) they obtained a certificate of emergency situations based on the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 29/2020 on some economic and fiscal-budgetary measures, with subsequent amendments;
b) have registered an operating profit from the current activity (from the operating activity), in one of the last two financial years before submitting the financing application for obtaining the grant, according to the submitted financial statements;
c) have co-participation in the establishment of the working capital in a percentage of at least 15% of the grant value at the date of using the working capital grant;
d) maintain or, as the case may be, supplement the number of employees, compared to the date of submission of the application, for a period of at least 6 months, on the date of granting grants, except in situations where individual employment contracts are concluded for seasonal and / or day laborers.
3. Grants for productive investments granted from non-reimbursable external funds based on the evaluation of the submitted investment project, with a value between 50,000 euros and 200,000 euros.
Investment grants do not include the co-financing of the beneficiaries set at a percentage of at least 15% of the value of the grant requested by the beneficiaries from the less developed regions and 30% of the value of the grant requested by the beneficiaries from the Bucharest-Ilfov region.
The total funds allocated for investment grants amount to 550,000,000 euros, of which 415,870,000 euros are allocated from the 2014-2020 POC budget and 62,380,500 co-financed from the state budget and 71,749,500 euros own contribution.
Grants are awarded to SMEs that implement investments needed to:
a) the extension of the existing production capacities, as well as for the extension of the service provision capacities;
b) the realization of new units of the existing production capacities, as well as for the realization of new units for the provision of services;
c) rehabilitation / modernization of existing production units as well as for the rehabilitation / modernization of new service units.
Investment grants are awarded to beneficiaries who cumulatively meet the following conditions:
a) had current / operational activity carried out for at least one year before submitting the financing application;
b) have registered operational profit from the current activity, respectively from the exploitation activity in one of the financial years from the last 2 years before the submission of the financing application;
c) undertakes to ensure the sustainability of the project, respectively to ensure the development of the operational / current activity for a period of at least 3 years after the expiration of the project implementation period;
d) achieves at least 50% of the value of the planned revenues within the business plan annexed to the financing application in the first 2 years of sustainability, and the difference until the end of the sustainability period, respectively the third year;
e) have their own co-financing of the project in a percentage of at least 15% of the value of the investment project requested for financing for the less developed regions, and for the Bucharest-Ilfov region, of at least 30% of the value of the project requested for financing;
f) undertakes to provide evidence of the reasonableness of the costs for investments for which State aid is requested.
The implementation of the state aid scheme will be ensured by the Ministry of European Funds, as Managing Authority for the Competitiveness Operational Program and by the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Business Environment (MEEMA), in partnership with the Agencies for SMEs, Investment Attraction and Export Promotion (AIMMAIPE) and Special Telecommunications Service.