Who it concerns
The submitted investment plans indicatively concern the following strategic priority areas of the Regional Operational Programme "SOUTH AEGEAN":
Agri-Nutrition
Tourism of experience
Technologies and applications for the Environment
Information and Communication Technologies ICT
Beneficiaries eligible for public funding under this Action are the following categories of bodies:
New and Existing Businesses without profit distribution:
Any unit, regardless of its legal form, engaged in an economic activity.
The basic conditions for the participation of the companies that will submit a proposal are the following:
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Not be listed on the stock exchange
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Be small or micro enterprises
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Five years have not elapsed since their registration at the time the aid was granted;
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Not have been formed by merger
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Not have taken over the activity of another business
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Be incorporated after 1/1/2018
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Have not made any distribution of profits in accordance with Article 22 of Art. 651/2014
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Have the declared Nace Code(s) available before submitting the investment proposal
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They must not be bankrupt, wound up or administered by the court or have their administration pending recovery of aid following a previous Commission decision declaring aid illegal and incompatible with the internal market
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Not to have imposed fines that have acquired final & binding force, for violations of labor legislation and in particular:
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Violation of "high" or "very high" severity (3 fines/ 3 checks),
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Undeclared work (2 fines/ 2 checks), for the reasons set out in Art. 39, par. 1, of L. 4488/2017
This category will be financed in accordance with Art. 22 of Rule EU 651/2014with a minimum limit of 25.000€ for the total expenditure budget.
Existing Businesses:
Any unit, regardless of its legal form, engaged in an economic activity.
The basic conditions for the participation of the companies that will submit a proposal are the following:
This category will be funded in accordance with Reg. EU 1407/2013 (de minimis) with a minimum public expenditure threshold of 50.000€.
Businesses in the process of being set up:
Any unit, regardless of its legal form, that will carry out an economic activity.
The basic conditions for the participation of the companies that will submit a proposal are the following:
- allocate the Nace Code of the investment for installation within the South Aegean Region before the first disbursement including the advance payment
- By recommending them to meet the conditions of Ar. 22 of Rule ΕΕ 651/2014 i.e.
- Not be listed on the stock exchange
- Be small or micro enterprises
- Not have been formed by merger
- Not have taken over the activity of another business
This category will be financed in accordance with Art. 22 of Rule EU 651/2014 with a minimum limit of 25.000€ for the total expenditure budget.
The above potential beneficiaries should comply with the following general conditions:
- be active or active (in accordance with the above) in the eligible sectors of activity (Nace Codes)
- be active orto activate and implement the investment plan in the South Aegean Region
- operate or operate exclusively in one of the following forms: enterprises of corporate / commercial nature (Société Anonyme, Limited Liability Company, General Partnership, Limited Partnership, P.C.) and sole proprietorships
- be included in small or micro enterprises
- not be a member of a franchised network
- keep B' or C' category books
- not be liable for recovery following a prior decision of the European Commission or the CJEU declaring an aid illegal and incompatible with the internal market.
- commit that their investment project or part of it as well as the costs it includes have not been financed, integrated and will not be submitted for funding approval in another programme financed by national or Community resources;
- submit up to one investment proposal per VAT number.
- submit an investment plan, including all the necessary information, supporting documents and forms, as specified in this notice
The following shall not be entitled to submit a proposal:
- public enterprises,
- public bodies or public organisations and/or their subsidiaries, as well as undertakings assimilated to them.
Budget
The total Public Expenditure of the actions of this call amounts to € 4,000,000.
The call budget is broken down by business category as follows:
- 50% for start-ups and start-ups without profit distribution
- 50% for existing businesses
If the allocated budget is not absorbed by one category, there will be a proportional transfer to the other.
The Action is part of the Regional Operational Program "SOUTH AEGEAN" of the NSRF 2014 - 2020 and in particular from Axis 04, "Human Resources Development, Promotion of Social Inclusion and Combating Poverty and Discrimination". Its main objective is to promote investment to support self-employment, entrepreneurship and the creation of new businesses or business initiatives in new markets/sectors, in particular micro, small and micro enterprises, through the improvement of corporate structures and capacities.
The public expenditure is co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) of the European Union using a flexibility clause for ERDF-type expenditure and by National Funds. The
European Social Fund (ESF)
aims to support employment by creating more and better jobs and ensuring fairer employment opportunities for all citizens.
The ERDF contribute to the financing of the support that aims to strengthen economic, social and territorial cohesion by reducing the main regional imbalances in the Union by supporting the sustainable development and structural adjustment of regional economies, including the transformation of declining industrial regions and regions whose development is lagging behind.
Expenses subsidized
Cat. Expenditure 1. BUILDINGS, INSTALLATIONS AND ENVIRONMENTAL SPACE
The investment costs of Category 1 concern the construction, upgrade, configuration of building infrastructure, necessary for the operation of the business
The costs of building facilities include:
1. Constructions, configurations, extensions, layouts to facilitate accessibility for people with disabilities
2. Small-scale interior design
3. Building interventions for Environmental Protection and Energy, Water and Waste Treatment Savings
4. Storage areas if they are part of the investment
5. Special landscaping
The costs of construction, upgrading, remodelling of building facilities must comply with the necessary approvals and authorisations, as required by the legislation in force, otherwise they will be considered ineligible. An indicative table of reasonable costs for these works is set out in the Annex.
The existence of ownership or a concession of use or a lease or a legal usufruct over the property in force at the time the expenditure is incurred is necessary for a period of at least six (6) years. The six-year period shall be calculated from the date of adoption of the decision approving the investment. Ownership, lease, leasing, usufruct or concession of use must be demonstrated with the request for certification and before the payment of the public aid.
Please note that renovation, decoration and other similar design costs are not eligible under this category.
Cat. of Expenditure 2. PURCHASE/LEASING OF MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT EQUIPMENT
Category 2 investment costs relate to the supply or leasing of mechanical and other equipment necessary for the operation of the business
Machinery and equipment costs include:
- Supply of new modern machinery and other equipment
- Financial leasing of equipment
- RES equipment (photovoltaics and wind turbine)
- Equipment for the Protection of the Environment and Energy Saving
- Automation systems and special information systems
- Machinery, their components, scientific instruments and tools used exclusively and permanently to serve research activity
- Means of transport for use within the company
The machinery and equipment must be of modern technology, new and unused.
The procurement costs include the costs of transport and installation, configuration and training for the use of the equipment.
Expenditure on the maintenance, repair and replacement of equipment already in use by the enterprise is not eligible.
The costs of supplying spare parts are eligible if they are accessories to the main components of the equipment supplied, i.e. they form an integral part of it for its smooth operation in accordance with the conditions for the supply of the equipment offered by the supplier. Accessories should not be standard consumables.
Equipment leasing expenditure is considered eligible expenditure only when the lessor may enter into leasing contracts in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 1665/1986 (Government Gazette 194 A'), as in force. The equipment leasing contract should provide for ownership of the items to pass to the operator of the investment at the end of the contract.
If the leasing contract expires after the final date by which payments under the subsidised operation are taken into account, only the expenditure on rent arrears paid by the lessee up to the final date of payments under the subsidised operation shall be considered eligible.
Means of transport refer only to those intended for the movement of goods within the boundaries of the undertaking. The acquisition of road freight transport vehicles is not allowed.
Cat. Expenditure 3. SOFTWARE and SOFTWARE SERVICES
The investment costs of Category 3 concern the supply and installation of software for the needs of the business and specifically may include the following:
- automation of production and business and economic processes
- quality control of the products produced
- interconnection of enterprises with national or international networks
- Development of e-business, e-marketing and e-commerce activities
- Connecting to e-marketplaces
- digital web projection applications (e.g. search engine optimizations, accelerators, etc.)
- development of social networking applications
- development of social networking applications
- development and implementation of INTRANET and EXTRANET support systems;
- development and implementation of specialized customer or personnel management programs of the company (type ERP, CRM, HRMS)
- document management and process support
- Electronic Information Security software (Back – up / Data Recovery, script, encryption software, failure detection and processing software
- Costs of adopting cloud computing services
- Other functions of the enterprise
The cost of installation and any customisation of the software as well as the cost of staff training is eligible. These costs are eligible up to 20% of the purchase cost of the corresponding software.
The software supplied must be new and the company must be the legal owner of it.
Software licence or service contract costs are eligible until the end of the implementation period.
The provision of support services is eligible for up to one year from the time of purchase.
In the case of the purchase of application software aimed at a client audience, care must be taken to ensure that it meets the needs of people with disabilities in accordance with the international standard Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), version 2.0 at AA level (modification costs are eligible).
Cat. Expenditure 4. SUPPLY OF A MEANS OF TRANSPORT / COMMERCIAL VEHICLE
It concerns the supply of one (1) small commercial vehicle with a subsidized cost of up to € 15,000, necessary for the operation of the business, which clearly contributes to its goal, according to the submitted business plan. The acquisition of road freight transport vehicles is not permitted
Cat. Expenses 5. DELIVERIES OF OTHER BUSINESS EQUIPMENT (<1500€/Edition)
The investment costs of Category 5 refer to depreciation of fixed equipment (tangible and intangible) that will be used for the needs of the Act.
It should be clarified that eligible expenditure is the full (100%) depreciation of fixed assets which
according to the legislation in force may be fully depreciated within the year in which they were acquired (purchase value per unit below 1.500€ without VAT).
Depreciation costs of fixed assets are considered eligible when the following conditions are cumulatively met:
a) the fixed assets are used for the execution of the operation
b) no public subsidies, Community or national, have been used for their purchase
c) are calculated with the appropriate accounting rules and recorded in the accounting system maintained by the beneficiary
d) the amount of the expenditure is accompanied by invoices or documents of equivalent evidentiary value
e) the depreciation costs relate exclusively to the period of implementation of the transaction and in particular to the time period when the fixed assets are used for the purposes of the transaction.
In order to be eligible for expenditure under the equipment and depreciation category, the subsidised fixed assets (tangible and intangible) must be registered in the company's fixed assets register in accordance with the Greek Accounting Standards and depreciation must be carried out in accordance with national tax legislation (K.F.E.).
Cat. Expenses 6. SALARY COST OF NEWLY RECRUITED STAFF
Investment expenditure on personnel must be relevant to the objectives of the investment project and be incurred within the eligible period of its implementation and in particular the following apply:
- NTHE's wage costs include all legal deductions and employer contributions. This cost cannot exceed €15,000 per EME and the duration of completion of an EME can extend from the start date of eligibility of costs up to the maximum duration of the implementation of the business plans as defined in this Call.
- The completion of an EME can be carried out by one or more employees.
- Salary costs of newly hired staff that concern a fraction of EME, may be subsidized.
- The newly hired worker must be unemployed, registered in the PES unemployment registers on the date of employment.
- The NTHE expense is not eligible if the employee is a spouse or relative up to the 2nd degree of the employer beneficiary of the business plan. In case of setting up a legal entity, this condition applies to all partners.
- The recruitment must represent a net increase in the number of employees of the company concerned, compared to the average of the year preceding the entry into the Action.
- In particular, the annual work units (AMU) of the subsidized period must be additional (i.e. add up) to the AMU of the company in the year 2021. Existing EMEs (EME 2021) cannot be reduced during the subsidized period.
- The company does not undertake to maintain the new position(s) after the date of completion of the investment.
- During the implementation period, the enterprise undertakes to maintain the new job(s) for as long as necessary to meet the score obtained according to criterion "B.1 Creation of new jobs calculated in annual full-time equivalent units (FTE)
Cat. Expenses 7. INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE BENEFICIARY
Subsidy for the costs of the insurance contributions of the partners of start-ups or micro-enterprises, exclusively for the period of eligibility of the business plan.
The cost of previous debts to the insurance institution cannot be covered by the Action.
It is clarified that the insurance contributions that can be certified must be certified and cleared, based on the net taxable results of the previous tax year, in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 4387/2016, as applicable.
Cat. Expenses 8. STAFF/COMPANY TRAINING
Education/training of staff (existing and new) and partners on issues important for the operation of the business as well as the organisation and support of outward-looking actions and activities (coaching - mentoring), which clearly contribute to the objective of the business according to the submitted business plan.
The training should be carried out by certified education / training institutions and accompanied by the corresponding certificates.
The maximum eligible cost per hour of training is 20€.
Cat. Expenses 9. PUBLICITY - PROMOTION - NETWORKING COSTS
The investment costs of Category 9 concern the promotion of the business and its products/services as well as its networking, which clearly contribute to its goal according to the submitted business plan and in particular the following apply:
- Expenses for participation in Commercial or Professional Exhibitions at home or abroad
- Eligible costs are the costs of renting, installing and managing a stand for the participation of a company in a trade fair.
- Travel, accommodation and food expenses of the participants (partners/shareholders or employees of the company) are eligible up to the amount of 3.000 € per exhibition.
- Product / service promotion expenses
- Design and production of printed information material
- Design and production of printed information material The cost of using Mass Media (e.g. buying time on radio/television media) is not an eligible expenditure.
- Advertising expenses on online social / professional networking and other modern media
- Short-term events (up to 3 days) held in its stores
- Creation-construction of a new website (website) OR upgrade of an existing website and adaptation to serve people with disabilities, up to the amount of €1,500
- Logo and corporate identity design
Cat. Expenses 10. EXPENDITURE ON CONSULTANCY SUPPORT FOR AN INVESTMENT PROJECT
The investment costs of Category 10 concern the support of the business, to receive services that clearly contribute to its goal according to the submitted business plan and in particular include the costs for:
- the drafting of the funding application
- the provision of investment monitoring and management services
The cost of providing services for the drafting, monitoring and administration of the investment project is eligible for up to €3,000.
Expenditure that does not contribute to the basic objectives of the proposed project such as fire protection studies, environmental impact studies, obtaining a business licence or a legal exemption from it, as well as occupational risk studies and similar studies are not eligible.
Cat. Expenses 11. OPERATING COSTS OF THE UNDERTAKING
The investment costs of Category 11 concern costs of electricity, fixed and mobile business telephony, internet, water supply, heating, as well as other common costs (excluding those borne by the owner) that are exclusively in the business area.
Eligible accounts are those issued in the name of the company.
Please note that the cost of connection to electricity, water, sewerage, telephone, etc., is not eligible.
Expenditure on the rental of business premises owned by up to second-degree relatives (by blood and marriage) of partners or associated or cooperating enterprises is not eligible.
Please note that the subletting of the business space subsidised under this Action to third parties is expressly prohibited.
Cat. Expenses 12. SUPPLY OF CONSUMABLES & SUPPLIES MATERIALS
The investment costs listed briefly in Table 1 refer to the costs incurred by the undertaking for the supply of consumables, raw materials and intermediate products related to the production process, which clearly contribute to its objective in accordance with the submitted business plan.
Expenditure on consumables for which the need to purchase consumables is not consistent with the level of the beneficiary's logistical infrastructure and the nature of the business plan (e.g. expenditure on the purchase of toner when the enterprise does not have a printer) is not eligible.
Cat. Expenses 13. COSTS OF DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND/OR CERTIFICATION OF AN ORIGINAL PRODUCT/SERVICE, QUALITY ASSURANCE
This includes the costs for the design and development and implementation of the prototype of new products/services to be sampled and demonstrated as well as the acquisition of the necessary certifications and/or the installation of certified quality assurance systems in accordance with the submitted business plan:
- Kertifica Ofa Qualiti Asurans ed Environmental Managimen Systems
- Costs of obtaining validation and protection of intellectual property
- Product/service development services
- Other costs for product/service certification and testing services
- Cost of materials, supplies and related products for prototype development
Intangible assets, such as software or patents, rights, etc., are eligible for the calculation of investment costs if they meet the following conditions:
a) must be used exclusively in the business establishment that receives the aid,
b) must be depreciable,
c) must be purchased in accordance with the terms of the purchase from third parties unrelated to the buyer,
d) must be included in the assets of the company to which the aid is granted and remain connected to the project for which the aid is granted for at least three (3) years from the end date of the investment project.
