Eligible businesses

The aid is aimed at small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs):

• that have a business permit; and
• whose activities are not on the list of precluded activities, in accordance with the general terms and conditions applicable to all aid measures for SMEs.

This aid is intended to pay for the occasional services provided by external consultants for one-off projects.

The services concerned:

• must not be permanent or recurrent in nature; and
• must not form part of the business's normal operating expenses (in particular regular tax or legal advisory services, or advertising).

Eligible costs

Admissible costs are costs for consultancy services provided by external consultants to the company receiving aid, with the exception of costs in relation with training. These services may not be in relation with permanent or periodical activities of the business, nor may they be in relation with expenses concerning the normal operation of the business.

In order to receive aid for consultancy services for SMEs, businesses must observe and fulfil the general terms and conditions applicable to all aid for SMEs.

Submitting the application

The application for investment aid is to be submitted using the online assistant available on MyGuichet.lu.

The person filing the application (the applicant themselves or their representative) must have a LuxTrust product or an electronic identity card (eID).

The application must be submitted before the commencement of the work.

Supporting documents

Applications for aid must include the following information and documents:

• the name and description of the business;
• the current legal organisation chart, dated and signed by the legal representatives, showing the structure and size of the company and the company's shareholder structure up to its beneficial owner(s);
• the annual financial statements for the last 2 financial years of the applicant company and, where applicable, of the single economic entity it belongs to;
• the bank account identification document of the applicant company;
• a description of the investment project, including its start and end dates;
• a description of the operating conditions of the investment project and the economic potential;
• the location of the project;
• the total project cost;
• a list of the project's eligible costs depending on the type of aid requested;
• the operating costs and profits, if any;
• a financing plan, which demonstrates that the applicant business has the necessary equity capital to co-finance the project in view of its financial scale;
• the form and the amount of public financial aid required for the project;
• any other relevant information which would help the minister in charge to assess the qualities or the specific features of the project or programme and its incentive effect;
• in the event of aid in the form of a loan: proof that the loan application has been approved by the credit institution, including the eligible costs, the financing plan, the amount, the interest rate, the term and the gross grant equivalent of the loan granted; failure to provide this will result in the application being deemed inadmissible;
• invoices, proofs of payment (e.g. bank statements), the file, report or results of the consultancy services provided by the third-party service provider.

Maximum amount of financial aid

The amount of aid cannot be higher than 50% of the eligible cost.

For each project, the amount of aid will not be less than:

• EUR 1,000 for micro and small enterprises; and
• EUR 5,000 for medium-sized enterprises.

Payment of the aid

The capital grant and repayable advance are paid out after the completion of the project, programme or activity.

However, one or more instalments may be paid out as and when the investments for which the aid was granted are made.

The person filing the application for payment (the applicant themselves or their representative) must have a LuxTrust product or an electronic identity card (eID).

The request for payment must be submitted within 12 months of the project end date specified in the grant decision, failing which it will be time-barred. The deadline, before it expires, can be extended by 12 months upon duly justified and substantiated written request to the minister, if reasons beyond the company's control will make it miss the initial deadline.

Procedures

Links