The third (3rd) amendment of the Call for Applications for Funding of the Action "Interest subsidy on existing loans of Small and Medium Enterprises affected by the measures for the response to the pandemic of COVID-19" (B cycle) of EPANEK has been published. The amendment includes changes to the budget of the Action, which is formed at EUR 64 million. euro. The deadline for submitting the supporting document proving the 2020 turnover is also changing. Specifically, the turnover of the year 2020 is declared by the companies with the solemn declaration A of Annex VII and by completing the corresponding field of the electronic application for funding. The application is then confirmed by E3 or the 2020 profit and loss statement. Documents that businesses are required to submit until 30/06/2022.

Budget of the Action

The Action's budget amounts to 64 million. euro and is funded as part of the Union's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beneficiaries of the Action

Small and medium enterprises, regardless of their legal form, operating legally in the country.

Investment Plans & Subsidy

The total amount of public funding that each business can receive (at the level of a "given business" as defined by European legislation and jurisprudence) from the specific Action, may not in total nominal value exceed the limit of 1,800,000 euros .

Basic Conditions for Participation in the interest subsidy

Businesses must satisfy, among others, the following conditions:

- To be active in any NACE code except those excluded in Appendix V of the Invitation. For businesses starting operations before 01/01/2020, the audit is based on the NACE code with the highest revenue. For companies starting operations within 2020, the control is based on the main NACE activity code.

- To show a decrease in the turnover of the year 2020 of at least 20% compared to the turnover of 2019.

The turnover of the year 2019 results from the E3 or the income statement of the same year. The turnover of the year 2020 is declared by the companies with the responsible declaration A of Annex VII and by filling in the corresponding field of the electronic financing application and is confirmed by the E3 or the statement of results for the year 2020 which the companies are obliged to present until 30.06.2022 . The declared amount includes all invoiced revenue even if the company falls under the "Special tax payment regime at the time of collection of the consideration - article 226.7.a. Directive 2006/112/EC - article 39.b VAT Code" and does not include:

a) income from rents that do not come from the normal business activity of the company
b) subsidies, grants, special purpose compensation and/or amounts paid by virtue of state participation in salary obligations

Turnover for the interest subsidy

For businesses that started operations in 2019, the turnover of the year 2019 is compared to the turnover corresponding to an equal number of days in 2020 (total turnover of 2020 divided by 365 X number of days of operation in the year 2019). The reduction percentage that results rounded to the second decimal place. The participation condition of the first paragraph of this paragraph is presumed to be met in the case of businesses with the start of operations within the year 2020, as well as in the case of businesses that in the year 2019 they were in a construction period and proved to have no income from business activity of any kind during the above year. For the businesses they have administrative use from July 1 to June 30, the turnovers of the years 1.1.2019 - 31.12.2019 and 1.1.2020 - 31.12.2020 are declared and compared, as they result from the periodic VAT declarations of these periods".

Eligible expenditure

Public funding covers the contractual interest as well as the proportional contribution of n. 128/75 of eligible business loans, and in particular regular business loans (as reflected in the relevant signed loan agreement), including syndicated loans and credit agreements (open mutual accounts), as well as:

(a) securitized loans and credits (Article 10 of Law 3156/2003),

(b) loans and credits that have been transferred due to sale (articles 1 - 3 of Law 4354/2015)

(c) loans whose management has been undertaken by a Special Liquidator in accordance with what is defined in the Detailed Call for Action.

You can find more information about the action here.