Below are the answers to some common questions about
de minimis aid.
More details about this regulation can be found on the
de minimis page
Should all funding under Euros 200,000 be awarded as de minimis ?
Not necessarily. Where an approved State aid scheme exists, we
recommend that it is used to award funding. For example, funding
for a small scale R&D project might be provided under an approved
R&D scheme, or funding for training provided under the Training
Block Exemption Regulation.
We recommend that de minimis funding is kept as a last option –
to provide support where no approved scheme or suitable block
exemption regulation exists; or possibly to supplement aid given
under an approved scheme.
Note, however, that de minimis funding cannot be used to circumvent
the maximum aid intensities allowable under approved schemes and
block exemption regulations. For example, if a company is receiving
support for certain eligible costs up to the maximum possible aid
intensities for an R&D project, de minimis cannot also be awarded
to ‘double fund’ those project costs. De minimis can, however, be
awarded to support other costs associated with the project, or
other aspects of the company’s operations.
How does the 3 fiscal year period work ?
Euros 200,000 can be awarded, from all public sources, to any single
recipient undertaking over any period of 3 fiscal years. If, say, a public
authority is looking to award de minimis funding it must first check the
amount of de minimis, if any, that the intended recipient has received
in the fiscal year concerned, plus the previous two fiscal years.
Any previous de minimis received during this period must be deducted
from the Euros 200,000 total, where Euros 200,000 is converted at the
current European Commission exchange rate to provide the new
maximum de minimis funding ceiling e.g. company K has received
previous de minimis within the qualifying period - £26,000 in
November 2005. This is taken into account on 3 February 2007
and deducted from Euros 200,000, converting on that date at £130, 066.
Therefore the maximum de minimis that may be awarded on
3 February 2007 is £104.066.
Is each branch or subsidiary of a company entitled to the full allocation of de minimis aid?
The de minimis regulation applies to each legally separate
organisation. This means that each company in a group holding
separate company registration numbers and separate accounts is
entitled to the full de minimis limit - but not each branch or division
of a company as they do not have separate legal status.