The law of 15 July 2022 introducing an aid scheme for businesses severely affected by the increase in energy prices arising as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine entered into force.

It provides for 2 types of aid intended to cover:

1. the extra cost of natural gas and electricity for energy-intensive businesses; and
2. the extra cost of diesel fuel for businesses in the road freight transport, building and artisanal food production sectors.

The online aid-application assistant (wizard) is available on MyGuichet.lu.

Who is concerned

Eligible businesses

The first type of aid is intended for energy-intensive businesses – i.e. businesses whose energy costs account for 3 % of their turnover.

The second type of aid is intended for businesses:

• in the road freight transport, building and artisanal food production sectors;
• that are highly dependent on fuels for transport and delivery;
• that have lost business income in the month for which the aid application is made.

Excluded sectors and aid measures

The scheme is not applicable to businesses which:

• do not possess a business permit;
• are the subject of collective insolvency proceedings brought under the national law applicable to them;
• are the subject of an outstanding recovery order further to a previous decision by the European Commission specifying that an aid payment granted by Luxembourg is illegal and incompatible with the internal market;
• are not end users of energy.

Excluded persons

Businesses that are the subject of restrictive measures adopted by the European Union (EU), including:

• the persons, entities or organisations that are specifically mentioned in the legal instruments implementing such restrictive measures;
• businesses that are held or controlled by the persons, entities or organisations to which/whom the EU's restrictive measures apply;
• businesses in the sectors to which the EU's restrictive measures apply, insofar as the aid would defeat the purpose of the restrictive measures.

Employers who have been convicted:

• for violating provisions prohibiting illegal employment, or the employment of illegally residing third-country nationals, on at least 2 occasions; and
• within the 4 years preceding the competent court's decision.

Employers in this case are ineligible for this aid for 3 years from the date of the decision in question.

Eligible costs

First type of aid

The monthly extra costs of natural gas and electricity incurred by the business, when such costs are more than double the average unit costs of natural gas and electricity incurred by the business during the reference period.

The eligible costs are calculated for each month falling within the eligible period for which the aid is being requested, using the following formula:

(p(t) – p(ref) × 2) × q(t)

where:

• p(t) is the unit price of natural gas and electricity, in EUR/MWh, incurred by the business in the month in question falling within the eligible period;
• p(ref) is the average unit price of natural gas and electricity, in EUR/MWh, incurred by the business during the reference period (2021);
• q(t) is the amount of natural gas and electricity used by the business in the month in question falling within the eligible period.

Second type of aid

The monthly extra costs of diesel fuel incurred by the business, when such costs are 25 % higher than the average unit costs of diesel fuel incurred by the business during the reference period.

The eligible costs are calculated for each month falling within the eligible period for which the aid is being requested, using the following formula:

(p(t) – p(ref) × 1.25) × q(t)

where:

• p(t) is the unit price of diesel fuel, in EUR/litre, incurred by the business in the month in question falling within the eligible period;
• p(ref) is the average unit price of diesel fuel, in EUR/litre, incurred by the business during the reference period;
• q(t) is the amount of diesel fuel used by the business in the month in question falling within the eligible period.

Deadlines

The application for aid must be filed for each eligible month by the following deadlines:

• no later than 30 September 2022, for the months of February, March, April, May and June 2022;
• no later than 9 December 2022, for the months of July, August, September, October, November and December 2022.

How to proceed

Submitting the application

The application for aid must be filed for each eligible month using the online assistant available on MyGuichet.lu, and by the following deadlines:

• no later than 30 September 2022, for the months of February, March, April, May and June 2022;
• no later than 9 December 2022, for the months of July, August, September, October, November and December 2022.

The person filing the application (the applicant or their representative) will need:

• a LuxTrust product (e.g. Token, Smartcard or Signing Stick); or
• an electronic identity (eID) card.

How to create a business eSpace on MyGuichet.lu

Two scenarios are possible:

• the person filing the application is a new user on MyGuichet.lu and does not yet have a private eSpace:
  creating the eSpace involves 2 steps:
  1. registering the user;
  2. creating the business eSpace.

A tutorial in the form of a video or a PDF document is available to guide you.

• the person filing the application is a MyGuichet.lu user and already has a private eSpace: they will need to create a new business eSpace.

A tutorial in the form of a video or a PDF document is available to guide you.

You can also consult the help section on MyGuichet.lu.

Supporting documents

The aid application file must include the following information and documents:

• the name of the business undertaking;
• the legal organisation chart and the size of the business, in accordance with Annex I of Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014 of the Commission of 17 June 2014 (GBER);
• when applying for the first time:
  • the annual financial statements for 2021, providing details on income and expenditure; and
  • depending on the case, the invoices for purchases of natural gas and electricity, or diesel fuel, for all months falling within the reference period;
• depending on the case, the invoices for purchases of natural gas and electricity, or diesel fuel, for the month in question falling within the eligible period;
• depending on the case, the monthly amount of the extra costs of natural gas and electricity, or diesel fuel, in the month in question falling within the eligible period;
• the profit-and-loss account providing details of the income and expenditure in the month in question falling within the eligible period;
• the amount of aid being applied for;
• a declaration of honour that the business abides by the restrictive measures.

The application for aid must also include the following information and documents:

• when applying for the first type of aid for the first time:
  • the receipted invoices for purchases of energy products and electricity; or
  • proof of consumption of energy products and electricity in 2021;
• where applicable, the amount in lost business income, and the percentage share of the eligible costs in the lost business income, for each month in question falling within the eligible period;
• where applicable, the sector or sub-sector in which the business operates, along with the relevant NACE code.

Maximum amount of financial aid

First type of aid

The amount of the aid is calculated based on the business's eligible costs. The aid may not exceed:

• 30 % of the eligible costs, or EUR 2,000,000 per group, for the eligible period;
• 50 % of the eligible costs, or EUR 25,000,000 per group, for the eligible period, provided that the eligible costs account for at least 50 % of the monthly loss in business income. The aid may not exceed 80 % of the loss in business income;
• 70 % of the eligible costs, or EUR 50,000,000 per group, for the eligible period, provided that:
  • the eligible costs account for at least 50 % of the monthly loss in business income; and
  • the sector or sub-sector in which the business operates is listed in Annex I of the temporary framework (e.g. iron and steel industry);
    
  • the aid does not exceed 80 % of the loss in business income.

Second type of aid

If the eligible costs represent at least 50 % of the monthly loss in business income, the intensity amounts to a maximum of 50 % of the eligible costs and the amount does not exceed 80 % of the loss in business income. The total amount of aid for the eligible period may not exceed EUR 400,000 per group.

Disclosure of the aid

Any aid grant exceeding EUR 100,000 must be published on the European Commission's transparency website. More specifically, and in this case, the granting authorities are required to publish the following information:

• the beneficiary's name;
• the beneficiary's VAT/business identification number;
• company type (SME/large business) at the time of granting the financial aid (signature of the agreement);
• the beneficiary's region under NUTS 2;
• the group activity sector under NACELUX Rev. 2;
• the aid element, the amount of aid expressed in local currency;
• the aid instrument;
• the date on which the aid is granted;
• the purpose of the aid;
• the granting authority;
• the aid number.

Definition of an SME

Given the difficulties encountered by SMEs, such as access to capital or a lack of human resources, certain categories of aid under the GBER provide for an increase in the intensity of aid available to them.

To ascertain whether an applicant company qualifies for 'SME' status, the following should be checked:

Only one of the two criteria 'Annual turnover' and 'Annual balance sheet' need be satisfied. Consideration should be given to the number of staff and annual turnover/balance sheet not only of the applicant company, but also of any other economic entity with which the applicant company forms a 'single economic entity'.

Checks, sanctions, repayment and criminal law provisions

All aid grants are subject to checks for up to 10 years following their payment. Accordingly, recipient businesses are required to provide the Minster of the Economy's representatives with any documents and information they may need in order to carry out their checks, including the annual financial statements for 2022 providing details of the business's income and expenditure.

The business may be required to repay the aid, plus any applicable legal interest, when the conditions for such repayment are satisfied.

Forms / Online services

Who to contact