Aid for the internationalisation of businesses – Provincial Law 6/1999

Non-repayable grant awarded under the ‘Exemption Scheme’ Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of 17 June 2014, for first-time participation in an international trade fair, including within the European Union, as referred to in Article 7 ‘Aid for the internationalisation of enterprises’ of Provincial Law 6/1999.

Types of expenditure eligible for the grant

The enterprise may apply for the grant, under the exemption scheme, for expenses relating to:

• rental of the exhibition space;  
• registration fee as a direct exhibitor;  
• the cost of including the business in the trade fair catalogue; 
• costs of booking exhibition spaces;
• design, hire, assembly and fitting-out of the stand;  
• utility connections (including consumption);
• stand cleaning; 
• hire of computers and equipment;
• insurance, including non-compulsory cover;
• expenses for stand staff or translators present at the stand.

Eligible expenditure limits

For each grant application, the minimum eligible expenditure must be more than €40,000.00 and less than or equal to €150,000.00.

Grant scheme

Without prejudice to the principle of the incentive effect, the subsidies are granted as a lump sum and on an exemption basis, based on a percentage contribution towards eligible expenditure and the size of the enterprise, as follows:

1. small enterprise: 50%;
2. medium-sized enterprise: 40%.

Costs

There are no application fees, apart from the stamp duty.

Obligations

Businesses benefiting from the subsidies must maintain the operational unit to which the subsidised services relate within the province for a period of at least 3 years from the date the grant is paid, and must comply with the obligations set out in Article 16(6) of Provincial Law 6/99. 

Cumulation

Subject to the possibilities for cumulation provided for in point 5 of the general provisions of Provincial Law 6/1999 and, in any event, in compliance with European legislation on State aid, the submission of an application under these criteria entails the obligation not to benefit from other subsidies for the same initiative, and, where applicable, to waive any subsidies already obtained prior to the granting of the incentives under the provincial law. However, it is permitted to benefit from tax or social security relief measures that do not constitute State aid.

Small and medium-sized enterprises, and specifically the beneficiaries identified in point 2, paragraphs 1 and 2, sub-paragraph (a), of the general provisions of the provincial law, which, at the date of submission of the application, carry out or intend to carry out activities falling within the codes set out in Table A annexed to those general provisions.

In any event, entities carrying out financial, credit or insurance activities are excluded.

Eligibility criteria

In order to be eligible for the aid provided for under these criteria, the applicant must meet the requirements set out in point 3, paragraph 1, of the general provisions of the provincial law:

• have an operational unit within the province (an operational unit is defined as a business structure capable of producing goods and services, from both a technological and an administrative perspective);
• not be subject to any ongoing insolvency proceedings;
• not be considered to be in difficulty within the meaning of European Union rules on state aid, unless otherwise provided for in the sector-specific criteria;
• be in good standing with the tax authorities;
• not be subject to a recovery order from the European Commission for aid declared unlawful and incompatible.

The application may be submitted by:

• The company’s legal representative
• An authorised representative

Submission of applications

Applicants must submit their grant application to the assessing body exclusively via certified email (PEC); failure to do so will result in the application being deemed inadmissible. The application must include all the required documentation.

The documentation must be signed in one of the following ways:

• with a digital signature
• by handwritten signature, scanned and attached to the email message together with a copy of the signatory’s identity document. 

Application deadlines

Applications may be submitted from 1 January 2023

To be eligible for the grant, applicants must submit the following documentation:

• grant application
• information sheet
• power of attorney (if applicable)
• privacy notice

It is no longer possible to apply.

Once the grant has been awarded, the funding is paid in a single instalment following the submission of the documentation set out in Annex 1, point 2 of the criteria, and once it has been verified that the subsidised initiatives have been carried out in accordance with the rules.