|
|
sime
| SIME - Business Modernisation Incentive System |
|
| Supports investment projects designed to reinforce productivity and the competitiveness of companies and their entry in the global market, include tangible and intangible investment in the following functional areas of investment: investment essential to the activity and investment in dynamic factors of competitiveness (internationalisation; energy efficiency; certification of quality, environmental safety and management; qualification of human resources).
|
|
|
|
Promote an integrated investment approach amongst companies, which are aligned with the development strategy and strengthening of competitiveness for the business sector/cluster;
|
|
|
To stimulate intervention on strategic factors that are not directly productive, namely in the fields of international expansion, quality and environment, energy and the qualification of human resources.
|
|
|
| Companies intending to develop projects that come under the ambit of the Measure and are in the business sectors encompassed by the PRIME programme. |
|
|
Industry, construction, commerce, tourism, services and transport, with the following SIC codes (Rev. 2.1):
|
| Sector |
eligible SIC codes |
| Industry |
10 to 37 |
| Construction |
45 |
| Commerce (*) |
50 to 52 (except 5231) |
| Tourism |
551, 552, 553, 554, 633, 711, 9232, 9233, 9234, 9261, 9262, 9272, 93041 and 93042 |
| Services |
72, 73, 7420, 7430, 9211, 01410, 02012 and 02020 |
| Transport |
602, 622, 631, 632 and 634 |
|
(*) - SMEs or legal entities exclusively integrating SMEs. |
The Minister for the Economy and Innovation may, via a duly founded proposal of the manager of PRIME, and according to their strategic size, can consider projects included in other economic areas. |
|
|
| Support applies to investment projects that, according to a strategic analysis of the companies, include all the tangible and intangible investments that are identified as being necessary and are broken down by the following functional areas:
|
| 1. Investment essential to business activity development.
|
| 2. Investment in dynamic factors of competitiveness.
|
|
|
|
Internationalization;
|
|
|
|
Energy efficiency;
|
|
|
|
Quality, safety and environmental management certification;
|
|
|
|
Qualification of human resources.
|
|
|
| The projects can be one of the following types:
|
|
|
|
Projects that include investment essential to business activity.
|
|
|
|
Projects encompassing investment in more than one area of dynamic factors of competitiveness;
|
|
|
|
Projects involving investment essential to business development and investment in dynamic factors of competitiveness;
|
|
|
|
Projects with investment in one of the following areas: internationalization, energy efficiency, quality, safety and environmental management certification.
|
|
|
|
|
Whenever legally required, architectural plans or investment specifications shall be approved beforehand;
|
|
|
To have been declared "of tourism interest", when applicable;
|
|
|
Complies with the conditions required to carry out the respective business activity;
|
|
|
corresponds to a minimum eligible investment of EUR 150,000 and EUR 600 000, respectively for SMEs and non-SMEs, except for projects involving only intangible investments, for which the minimum eligible investment shall be EUR 50 000 and EUR 200 000, respectively, for SMEs and for non-SMEs;
|
|
|
Has a maximum life span of two years, beginning on the investment start-up date, except in duly justified and authorised cases;
|
|
|
To contribute to the economic and financial improvement or to the competitiveness of the promoting company;
|
|
|
Not to include expenses made before the application date, except for advances related to down-payments up to 50% of the cost of each purchase, and for studies carried out less than one year before, or less than two years before in duly justified cases;
|
|
|
demonstrate that the project's sources of finance are guaranteed;
|
|
|
To be adequately financed by own capital;
|
|
|
Whenever it includes vocational training activities, to demonstrate that the training plan is consistent and coherent with the project's objectives and fulfils the rules governing ESF support;
|
|
|
To be based on a strategic analysis of the enterprise, identifying the critical competitiveness areas for the trade it develops, evaluating the company situation in these critical areas and upholding the investment options considered in the application;
|
|
|
To comply with Community regulatory frameworks applicable to State aid and should receive a prior favourable opinion from the European Commission.
|
|
|
| Refundable incentive, except for support related to the vocational training component and to the «environmental value added» top-up, which are considered to be non-refundable incentives. |
The refundable incentive shall respect the following conditions:
|
| |
a)
|
No interest or other charges are paid;
|
| |
b)
|
The financing time period considered is 7 years with a grace period of 3 years; exceptions are construction or start-up projects for new tourist accommodation facilities and new production units, with an eligible investment higher than EUR 2 500 000, for which the financing time period is 12 years with a grace period of 3 years.
|
The incentive base rate to be granted varies between 25% and 30%, depending on the type of expenses; top-ups may be added to the base rate.
|
In terms of Gross Grant Equivalent, the global incentive rate per project cannot exceed 50% - for projects promoted by SMEs – or 45% - for all other projects.
|
As a supplement to the abovementioned incentives, and whenever promoted by SMEs the approved projects may benefit from the following forms of support:
|
| |
|
A guarantee, under the terms and conditions of the Mutual Guarantee System contracted with the financial institutions, of up to 50% of the loans to finance the project;
|
| |
|
Co-intervention of risk capital;
|
| |
|
Inclusion of the bank loan applied to the project financing in a securitisation operation.
|
|
|
| An achievement bonus may also be granted under the form of a non-refundable incentive, according to the evaluation of project performance; this bonus cannot exceed the amount of the refundable incentive.
|
The amount of the Refundable Incentive owed will be fully or partly depreciated by using the achievement bonus on the day of its award.
|
For the purpose of granting the achievement bonus, the performance indicator will be calculated using the following formula:
|
| |
| VEReal
|
| D = ----------------- x 100
|
| VEExpected
|
in which:
|
| VE Real - Corresponds to the EV measured during the «cruise year»;
|
VE Expected - Corresponds to the EV of the «cruise year» established in the contract the promoter signed with PRIME.
|
The achievement bonus will be granted in full, if the value of D is equal to or greater than 100%, and whenever applicable, if the promoter complies with the conditions mentioned in the Ministerial Order launching the different project phases.
|
Whenever the real EV measured during the «cruise year» is higher than the selection limit of the stage during which the project was selected, but lesser then the expected EV contracted by the promoter, the percentage of the achievement bonus to be granted (B) will be calculated as follows:
|
| VEReal - VElsf
|
| P = ------------------------- x 100
|
| VEExpected - VElsf
|
Where:
|
| VElsf - EV of the selection limit of the phase during which the project was selected.
|
|
|
| Mainland Portugal and the Autonomous Regions |
|
|
|
|