Financing application period for companies making large investments in Romania. The official guide

Between July 29 and September 9, 2024, companies that will make large investments in Romania will be able to submit financing applications to the Ministry of Finance in order to have a chance at the first edition of state aid within the financing scheme of EUR 450 million in total, established through GD 300/2024, informed the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday, which also published the Applicant’s Guide.

The state aid scheme for stimulating regional development finances private investments whose eligible costs exceed 50 million lei. The maximum aid intensity varies between 30% and 60% of the value of eligible expenses, depending on the county where the investment is implemented. Thus, business people must ensure from their own resources at least 40%-70% of eligible expenses plus all non-eligible expenses.

Bucharest is excluded from funding.

The total budget of the scheme is 2.25 billion lei, respectively the equivalent of approximately 450 million euros.

30 working day sessions

Requests for approval for financing accompanied by supporting documents can be submitted online, until the date of 09.09.2024. The registration of requests for approval for financing is carried out in annual sessions announced at least 60 working days in advance, the duration of each session being 30 working days. 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.

“Entrepreneurs interested in large-scale investments, with important effects on the economy, oriented towards top activity sectors, now have at their disposal the Applicant’s Guide on the basis of which they can prepare their projects. On July 29, we officially open the first registration session. The business environment has this two-month respite in which to prepare their documentation, during which they will receive assistance whenever they need it from the Ministry of Finance. We are counting not only on the modernization of the private sector, but also on the revitalization of traditional Romanian industries”, claimed the Minister of Finance, Marcel Boloș, in a statement sent to StartupCafe.ro.

Businessmen interested in applying are invited to go through the Applicant’s Guide, which includes information on how to grant funding, the list of activity sectors for which state aid is granted, as well as the criteria on the basis of which the score is calculated.

Who will be able to apply for the state aid scheme? List of eligible domains

The enterprises that can apply for state aid under this scheme are newly established enterprises or enterprises in activity, both SMEs and large enterprises, with legal personality, established according to the Companies Law no. 31/1990, republished, with subsequent amendments and additions.

Investments made in one of the following sectors are eligible:

Manufacture of preparations for animal feed;
Manufacture of beverages;
Woodworking;
Manufacture of paper and paper products;
Manufacture of chemical substances and products;
Manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations;
Manufacture of other products from non-metallic minerals;
The industry of metal constructions and metal products, excluding machinery, equipment and installations;
Manufacture of computers and electronic and optical products;
Manufacture of electrical equipment;
Manufacture of road vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers;
Manufacture of other means of transport;
Furniture manufacturing;
Collection, treatment and disposal of waste; activities for the recovery of recyclable materials;
Other industries.

The cumulative eligibility criteria that an enterprise must meet are the following:

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 enterprises 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.

Stages of the selection process

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

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.

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