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.

Eligible costs

Eligible costs under the present regime are considered to be investments in:

• tangible and/or intangible assets relating to:
  • the creation of a new establishment;
  • the expansion of an existing establishment;
  • the diversification of the production in an existing establishment towards new or additional products;
  • a fundamental transformation of an existing establishment's entire production process;
• the acquisition of assets of another establishment when the following conditions are met:
  • the other establishment has gone out of business or would have gone out of business had such acquisition not taken place;
  • the assets are purchased from a third party who is not connected to the buyer; and
  • the whole process is carried out in accordance with market conditions.

• for investment projects benefiting an operator of an accommodation establishment, the estimated payroll costs of the jobs directly created by the project, calculated over a 2-year period, on the condition that:
  • the jobs are created within 3 years of the completion of the investment;
  • a clear increase is observed in the number of employees in the establishment compared with the average over the previous 12 months; and
  • the jobs created are maintained for at least 3 years from the date on which the positions were filled for the first time.

In order to receive investment aid for SMEs, companies 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.

Form of aid

The aid may take the form of a capital grant, a recoverable advance payment, a guarantee, an interest relief or a loan.

The loan is paid out through a credit institution, as and when the investments for which the aid has been granted are made. The gross grant equivalent of the loan is deducted from the maximum aid amount.

Maximum amount of financial aid

The amount of aid cannot exceed:

• 20% of eligible costs for small enterprises;
• 10% of eligible costs for medium-sized enterprises;
• for any investment project, the amount of aid may not be less than:
  • EUR 1,000 for micro and small enterprises; and
  • EUR 5,000 for medium-sized enterprises.

Payment of the aid

Capital subsidies and recoverable advances are paid out after completion of the investment project. However, one or more instalments may be paid as the investments are made.

The business and the Ministry of the Economy agree together, at the time the aid is granted, on the repayment terms of the recoverable advance payment if the project is successful.

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

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