Subsidy of interest on existing business loans

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), regardless of their legal form, which meet the following basic conditions:

• They must operate in any sector of activity (NACE code) except for those excluded as defined in Annex V of the call.
  For businesses that started operations before 01.01.2020, the NACE code check is based on the code generating the highest revenue. For businesses that started during 2020, the check is based on the main NACE code of activity.

• They must be classified as Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as defined in Annex I of Commission Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014 of 17 June 2014, concerning the definition of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.
• There must be no grounds for exclusion as specified in paragraph 1 of article 40 of Law 4488/2017 (Government Gazette A’137).
• They must demonstrate a reduction of at least 20% in their turnover for the year 2020 compared to the turnover of 2019. The 2019 turnover is derived from the E3 tax form or the income statement of the same year. For 2020, the turnover is calculated from the sum of turnovers declared in the periodic VAT returns of that year. Businesses not required to submit periodic VAT returns must declare their 2020 turnover through a relevant sworn statement and by completing the corresponding field in the electronic application, and are obliged to submit the E3 form or income statement by 31.12.2021 for verification. For businesses that started operations in 2019, the 2019 turnover is compared to the turnover corresponding to an equal number of days in 2020 (total 2020 turnover divided by 365, multiplied by the number of operating days in 2019). The percentage reduction is rounded to the second decimal place.

• There must be no grounds for exclusion as per paragraph 1 of article 40 of Law 4488/2017 (Government Gazette A’ 137).
• They must not be classified as distressed enterprises as of December 31, 2019. It is clarified that funding can be granted to businesses that were not distressed and/or were not distressed as of December 31, 2019, but which subsequently faced difficulties or became distressed due to the surge of the COVID-19 disease. By way of exception, aid can also be granted to micro or small enterprises (as defined in Annex I of the General Block Exemption Regulation) that were already distressed as of 31.12.2019, provided that they are not subject to collective insolvency proceedings and have not received rescue aid (or have received such aid but repaid the loan or terminated the guarantee agreement) or restructuring aid (or have received restructuring aid but are no longer subject to a restructuring plan).

• If they operate in the processing and marketing of agricultural products, they must commit not to pass on the received aid, in whole or in part, to primary producers, and they must comply with the obligation that this aid cannot be determined based on the price or quantity of products purchased from primary producers or marketed by the beneficiary businesses.
• There must be no outstanding recovery order against them for previous illegal and incompatible state aid based on a decision of the EU or the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

• The total amount of public funding that each enterprise (at the “undertaking” level as defined by Community legislation and case law) can receive from this specific action, taking into account any other direct aid it has received under the Announcement, cannot exceed €1,800,000.
• It is clarified that businesses granted the option to defer loan principal repayments for the eligible period may still receive the current aid for the interest corresponding to the same period.

Financial institutions, public law entities, and offshore companies are not eligible to submit proposals.

• Covered are the contractual interest and the contribution under Law 128/75 on business term loans, bond loans, and credit agreements (including open revolving credit accounts). These loans must have been current as of 30.09.2020 (i.e., not exceeding 90 days past due with reference to 30/09/2020). Loans that were not current on 30.09.2020 but became current before the submission of the funding application are also eligible. The status of being current is assessed with reference to the subsidized debt.Default interest, other expenses, and the 15% withholding tax on bond loans are not covered.
• Loan agreements must have been concluded before 01.01.2021.
• Interest on loans granted with the participation of the Entrepreneurship Fund II and the COVID-19 Business Guarantee Fund of the Hellenic Development Bank is not covered.
• Contractual interest for three (3) months is covered, according to the respective loan agreements.For open revolving credit accounts (ORCA), interest on the debit balance is covered based on the latest provisional closing of the account before or on 31.12.2020, as well as interest arising from the use of the existing credit limit as of 01.01.2021.Payments made after 01.01.2021 that relate to installments due before the approval of the application are also covered. In this case, the payment of the subsidy is considered to cover that period, and amounts already paid are offset against other liabilities of the recipient.

• • Beneficiaries must submit by 31.12.2021 to the Financial Institution:
    a) a certificate confirming that they have not been declared bankrupt, nor placed under compulsory management, restructuring, or any other collective creditor satisfaction procedure, and
    b) a certificate confirming that no application has been filed for their bankruptcy declaration, compulsory management, restructuring, suspension of payments, or any other collective creditor satisfaction procedure, issued by the competent local courts or the General Commercial Registry (GEMI), as applicable.If from certificate (a) it is revealed that the business has been placed under restructuring, the beneficiary must also submit from the competent court:a certificate on the progress of the restructuring procedure,a certificate confirming that no legal remedies have been filed, demonstrating that the restructuring agreement has been ratified by a judicial decision against which no appeals or annulment requests are pending, or if such remedies were filed, they have been dismissed,and the general certificate from GEMI showing the legally required publication of all related issued decisions.The issuance of the above certificates may be done on a case-by-case basis either by GEMI or by the competent local courts for the date 31.12.2019 or for the period prior to the granting of the aid.Businesses that have already submitted these certificates for the action under decision 37674/10.04.2020 (B’ 1291) of the Deputy Minister of Development and Investments titled “Call for the Subsidy of Interest on Existing Loans of Small and Medium Enterprises affected by COVID-19 measures” and that have been registered/confirmed by financial institutions do not need to submit them again. The financial institutions will upload the valid pre-existing certificates on the PSKE system.

   

  • In cases where businesses are not required to submit periodic VAT returns and have declared their 2020 turnover through the sworn statement B’ of Annex VII and the electronic application, they must submit by 31.12.2021 the E3 form or the income statement for 2020. Businesses that started operations in 2020 are exempt.These documents are uploaded to the PSKE system by the financial institution.If the required turnover reduction is not submitted or confirmed, a decision for full recovery of the subsidy is issued.
  • The recipient is obligated to send to the Managing Authority for Development Programs (ΕΥΔΕ-ΒΕΚ) all requested documents and to provide data and information related to the project even after the completion of the Action, to ensure the possibility of evaluation.All supporting documents and evidence of the project expenses must be kept by the business throughout the duration of the project and for 10 years from the date of the final payment. These must be made available to the competent public authorities, ΕΥΔΕ ΒΕΚ, the Audit Authority (ΕΔΕΛ), or other competent European Union bodies if an audit is requested, regardless of whether other national legislation provisions exempt the business from keeping documentation related to the investment.The above documents and evidence must be retained either as originals or in commonly accepted data carriers, including electronic versions of original documents or documents existing only in electronic form.

  -During the implementation of the project, the recipient of the aid must inform the public about the support received from the Funds by:
  o Providing on their website, if available, a brief description of the project proportional to the level of support, including its objectives and results, and highlighting the financial contribution from the Union.
  o Placing at least one poster (minimum size A3) with information about the project, including the financial contribution from the Union, in a location easily visible to the public, such as the entrance of a building.

• Applications for the program are submitted EXCLUSIVELY ONLINE by interested parties through the State Aid Information System (ΠΣΚΕ) of the Ministry of Development and Investments, at www.ependyseis.gr, under the heading “SECOND CYCLE OF INTEREST SUBSIDY FOR EXISTING LOANS AFFECTED BY MEASURES TO COMBAT THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.” Interested parties submit one application per financial institution, covering all their eligible obligations to that institution.
• The application dates are from 01.03.2021 at 12:00 PM until 07.05.2021 at 3:00 PM. Submissions are made gradually based on the last digit of the VAT number, one digit per day. They start with the first digit ONE (1) on the first day, and reach the tenth day with the digit ZERO (0). From the 11th day until 30/06/2021, all applicants can submit regardless of their VAT number.

At the time of submitting the application, applicants are required to attach the following supporting documents:

Status of active business activities (KAD) of the company via the website gsis.gr, with the printing date clearly visible, which must be later than the date of the invitation, i.e., 25.02.2021.
A) For Medium-sized enterprises:
	To verify the non-problematic status of the company as of 31-12-2019:
	A responsible declaration from the company’s accountant certifying that as of 31.12.2019 (depending on the legal form and the type of company books), according to the details stated in point A of the Annex “Definition of Problematic Enterprises”: • either it had not lost more than half of its registered capital due to accumulated losses, • or it had not lost more than half of its capital, as shown in the company’s accounts, due to accumulated losses.
	A responsible declaration from the company’s legal representative stating that: • As of 31-12-2019, the company was not subject to a collective bankruptcy procedure, nor did it meet the conditions under national law for being subjected to such a procedure following a creditors’ request, and • It has not received rescue or restructuring aid, or the company has received rescue aid but has repaid the loan and terminated the guarantee agreement, or the company has received restructuring aid which has been completed.
B) For small and very small enterprises
	A responsible declaration from the legal representative stating that: • The company is not subject to a collective bankruptcy procedure • The company has not received rescue or restructuring aid, or the company has received rescue aid but has repaid the loan or terminated the guarantee agreement, or the company has received restructuring aid which has been completed.
SME Responsible Declaration
Responsible Declarations of Annex VII
For documenting the reduction in turnover:
	VAT periodic returns for the year 2020 (except for businesses not required to submit VAT returns) E3 form for the year 2019 Financial results for the year 2019 (optional)

For more information, interested parties may visit any branch of the Cooperative Bank of Chania.