Aid scheme of EUR 450 million for private companies, approved by the Government

Private companies that make large investments in Romania will be able to obtain new state aid, through a financing scheme in the total amount of 450 million euros, from the state budget, approved on Thursday by the Government.

The new state aid scheme provides non-refundable financing for investments with a major impact on the Romanian economy, whose eligible costs exceed 50 million lei.

The stated purpose of the scheme is “to stimulate economic growth by supporting investments in new and sustainable technologies and, at the same time, to encourage entrepreneurial development”, claims the Ministry of Finance, the initiator of the project, in a statement sent to StartupCafe.ro.

From a social point of view, the financing scheme favors investments made in less developed regions.

The total budget of the scheme is 2.25 billion lei, respectively the equivalent of approximately 450 million euros, money from the state budget. The financing agreements will be issued until December 31, 2026, and the payment of the state aid will be made in the period 2025-2032.

The governors initiated the new scheme after the validity of the two previously existing state aid schemes established under the regional regulation expired on December 31.

Eligibility conditions: Who can apply for the state aid scheme

Beneficiaries eligible for funding must meet a number of eligibility conditions:

I. General criteria

• To be registered according to the Companies Law no. 31/1990, republished, with subsequent amendments and additions;
• To make an initial investment in Romania, within a maximum of 3 years from the date of its start, in one of the eligible sectors provided by the state aid scheme in annex no. 1;
• Not to fall into the category of “enterprises in difficulty”;
• Not to be in enforcement proceedings, insolvency, bankruptcy, judicial reorganization, dissolution, operational closure, liquidation or temporary suspension of activity and not to be the subject of decisions to recover state aid;
• Not to benefit from other regional state aid for eligible costs of the nature of salary costs within the same single investment project;
• Not to carry out a relocation to the unit where the initial investment is to take place.

Additionally, for businesses with at least one completed financial year, in order to access state aid, they must have a turnover rate greater than zero in one of the last three completed financial years and positive equity in the last completed financial year.

At the same time, in order to be eligible, in addition to the general criteria, newly established companies must have paid-up subscribed capital of at least 100,000 lei and not have shareholders who own or have owned in Romania in the last 2 years prior to the date of registration to the request an enterprise with the same object of activity for which it requests financing.

II. Cumulative investment eligibility criteria:

• a) to be considered initial investments (new unit/expansion/diversification/fundamental change) or initial investments that create a new economic activity (new unit/diversification in the case of Ilfov county);
• b) have a total value, without VAT, of the eligible costs associated with the initial investment, of at least 50 million lei;
• c) to demonstrate its economic efficiency and viability during the investment implementation period and 5 years from the date of its completion;
• d) to fulfill the condition regarding the stimulating effect;
• e) to meet the quantitative and qualitative indicators provided by the scheme;
• f) generate a quantifiable multiplier effect in the economy.

Registration session of 30 working days

The registration of requests for approval for financing is carried out in annual sessions announced at least 60 working days before, the duration of each session being 30 working days, stated the Ministry of Finance.

Grant requests for funding submitted in the session are ranked in descending order based on a calculated score and are reviewed within the session budget. The analysis of requests for approval for financing is completed with an approval for financing (if all conditions and eligibility criteria are cumulatively met) or a letter of rejection. The payment of the state aid is made after the partial or total completion of the eligible expenses incurred according to the financing agreement, within the limit of the approved annual budget credits.

State aid will be granted on the basis of eligible expenses such as construction, purchase of equipment and intangible assets, and the assets related to the investment must be new.

The new state aid scheme has as its legal basis the European regulatory framework in force until December 31, 2026.