NEWSLETTER nr. 3/2016 25th February 2016 Romania National Program for Rural Development (NPRD) New calls for projects financed by European funds for agriculture Funding Agency for Rural Investment (AFIR) will launch new sessions for the presentation of projects financed by the funds allocated for 2016. In the tables below, you can find the summary related to the most relevant funding program for the investors in the agricultural sector. Sub-measure 4.1: Investments in farms Authorized individuals or legal persons, including start-ups. Beneficiaries of this call The applicant must demonstrate that the average annual profit (the average of the last three fiscal years) does not exceed 4 times the amount of the grant requested. The company must demonstrate that it has recorded a positive operating profit in the last financial year, with the exception of companies that have no revenues from operations. If the fiscal year, previous to the submission of the application form, is the year of foundation, the operating result will not be analyzed because it might be negative. Objectives Improving the farms overall performances by increasing the competitiveness of the agricultural sector, the diversification of the agricultural production and the quality of the products obtained; Renovation of small and medium-sized farms and their transformation into commercial farms; Complying with the Community regulations applicable to all types of investments; Increasing the added value of agricultural products through their transformation at the farm level and their direct sale in order to create and promote integrated food chains.
Eligible expenses The non-reimbursable funds will be assigned to eligible beneficiaries for tangible and/or intangible investments according to the following indicative list of eligible expenses: Construction, expansion, modernization of production sites; entry accesses; agricultural irrigation systems and connections to utilities, related to the production activity; Building and equipping selling and marketing sites and other selling costs as part of an integrated food chain; Acquisition, leasing included, of new machineries/ equipment, at market value of the asset; Acquisition, leasing included, of specialized means of transport and compact freezers; Important: only the costs of financial leasing contracts are considered eligible; acquisition, leasing included, of compact, refrigerated transportation means, including specialized trailers and semitrailers in order to sell agricultural products within an integrated food chain, namely: tanker; van; caravans for food uses. Costs arising from table grape plantations and other permanent crops (seedlings provided to be certified); Creation of plantations of table grapes, including the costs of removal, installation material, support systems, soil preparation, planting works, the protection systems against hail and rain, irrigation systems at company level; Changes related to the plantations of table grapes, including the costs of the installation material, support systems, soil preparation, planting works, the protection systems against hail and rain, irrigation systems at company level; Payments in kind for the construction/replacement of table grape plantations; Costs related to the compliance with EU regulations for young farmers under Article 17 (5) and to the investments due to compliance with the new standards; Acquisition and development of software and acquisition of patents, licenses, copyrights, trademarks. Financing scheme Maximum financing limits:
500.000 EUR for projects that involve purchases of equipment; 1.000.000 EUR for projects that involve masonry works, in the vegetable sector; 1.500.000 EUR for projects that involve masonry works, in the zoo-technical sector or in that of vegetables in protected sites (greenhouses); 2.000.000 euro for projects leading to an integrated food chain. Moreover, the non-repayable grant will not exceed the 50% of the total eligible value of the project, for farms with an economic dimension lower or equal to 500,000 SO (value of standard production). There is the possibility of increasing the percentage to 90%, under some circumstances. For farms that exceed this size, the maximum amount will be the 30% of the total eligible value of the project. There is the possibility of increasing the percentage to 50%, under some circumstances. For what concerns cooperatives and producers groups, the maximum amount of the grant will be equal to 2.000.000 EUR and not more than 50% of eligible expenses, regardless of the type of investment. There is the possibility of increasing the percentage to 90%, for collective investments. Pre-financing It is possible to request a pre-financing of 50% of the total value of the grant. The beneficiary must submit a building permit for projects that include construction (new expansions or improvements), at the time of the first request for payment, including advance payment. Implementation period The maximum duration of the implementation period is 36 months.
Sub-measure 4.2 - "Support for investments in the processing, selling and/or development of agricultural products" Beneficiaries of this call Authorized individuals or legal persons, including start-ups, which fulfill the following conditions: being a Romanian legal entity; act in your own name; ensuring stable and sufficient financial resources for the whole duration of the project. The applicant must demonstrate that the average annual profit (the average of the last three fiscal years) does not exceed 4 times the amount of the grant requested. The operating income for the fiscal year, previous to the submission of the application form, must be positive (including 0). If the fiscal year, previous to the submission of the application form, is the year of foundation, the operating result will not be analyzed because it might be negative. Financing scheme For what concerns the sub-measure 4.2, non-refundable funds are granted for 50% of total eligible costs for SMEs and groups of producers/cooperatives, while for 40% for other businesses. The maximum limits are the following: 1.000.000 EUR/project for SMEs, in order to start investment projects that do not lead to the creation of an integrated food chain; 1.500.000 EUR/project for other businesses, in order to start investment projects that do not lead to the creation of an integrated food chain; 2.500.000 EUR/project in order to start investment projects that lead to the creation of an integrated food chain* (regardless the applicant), as well as for other forms of association (cooperatives and groups of producers) to launch investment projects that do not lead to the creation of an integrated food chain. * The amount is granted only if the applicant implements the investment project on its sites throughout the entire food chain (collection, conditioning, transformation, storage and direct sales; and with regard to the processing of meat: slaughter, processing, storage and direct sales).
Eligible activities The non-reimbursable funds will be assigned to eligible beneficiaries for tangible and/or intangible investments according to the following indicative list of eligible expenses: construction, expansion, modernization and equipment of production facilities; acquisition, leasing included, of new machineries, plants, equipment and special vehicles for the collection of raw materials and/or for the sale of agricultural products, as part of the integrated food chain; costs related to the improvement of the internal quality controls and compliance with the new standards set by the European legislation for the processing and sale of agricultural products; costs related to the sale of the obtained products (for example, labeling or packaging equipment); costs related to the organization and implementation of quality management systems and food security, and tangible investments related to the project; purchases of technologies (know-how), patents and licenses for preparing the implementation of the project; software purchases, identified as necessary for the realization the technical-economic documentation of the project; costs related to the sale of obtained products, up to a maximum of 5% of the eligible value of the project, but not more than 30,000. Ineligible activities For what concerns the sub-measure 4.2, investments that fall into the following categories are not be financed: production of biofuels and wood pellets; investments in animal rendering facilities; production and sale of wine products included in the Romanian National Development Program for the Wine Sector 2014-2018, measure 7: investment - section (A) production or sale of wine products; restructuring or modernization of existing facilities for selling and displaying: cellars;
showrooms, where the beneficiary presents its products. improvements in storage, blending and aging of wine with the purchase of containers made by wood; improvements in the management of the cellar through the acquisition of: specialized computers and software for the improvement of the quality during the transport and during the grape processing, the improvement of the wine production, processing and storage of raw materials and products; IT equipment and specialized programs for the control of technological equipment for the processing, storage and handling of the product; computer programs for the management of the cellar; processing and sale of agricultural products funded within the sub-program related to the fruit growing. Pre-financing It is possible to request a pre-financing of 50% of the total value of the grant. Disclaimer The information presented in this newsletter are intended to provide an overview on the new legislation; The news does not include a complete analysis of each topic. For more information on the topics presented, please contact us. We do not accept any responsibility for decisions or omissions due to the use of the contents of this news. All circular of Boscolo & Partners can be viewed on: http://www.boscoloromania.ro. Boscolo & Partners