17.10.2022
TO THE ATTENTION OF BUSINESSES: A PROCEDURE HAS BEEN LAUNCHED TO HELP SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES
The procedure under the National Plan for Recovery and Resilience, which is for obtaining grants through the selection of proposals for the implementation of investments from final recipients "Solutions in the field of information and communication technologies and cyber security in small and medium-sized enterprises", has been announced today, 17.10.2022, at the following link: https://eumis2020.government.bg/.
The current procedure is in implementation of the "Economic Transformation Program" investment to the "Intelligent Industry" component of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and aims to contribute to accelerating the transition to digitalization of the economy by providing grants for implementation of information and communication technologies and solutions ensuring an increase in the level of digitization of small and medium-sized enterprises.
The aid under this procedure is granted under the terms of the "de minimis" regime, according to Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1407/2013 of 18 December 2013, on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European union to de minimis aid.
The maximum amount of aid for the same enterprise in the "de minimis" regime applied for, together with the other minimum aid received by the applicant, cannot exceed the BGN equivalent of EUR 200,000 (BGN 391,166) and, accordingly, the BGN equivalent of 100,000 euros (195,583 BGN).
Minimum amount of grant funding for an enterprise - BGN 3,000.
Maximum amount of grant funding for an enterprise - BGN 20,000.
The maximum intensity of grant funding for each individual investment proposal under the procedure for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises is up to 100%. According to the current procedure, the maximum aid intensity can be up to 100%, and there is no requirement for the co-financing of the costs for the implementation of the investments by the applicants.
Eligible candidates:
Only candidates who meet the following criteria are eligible under this procedure through the selection of proposals for the implementation of investments from final recipients:
1) To be merchants within the meaning of the Trade Act or the Cooperatives Act.
2) Be registered no later than 31.12.2019.
3) To be micro, small and medium-sized enterprises within the meaning of Art. 3 and Art. 4 of the Law on small and medium-sized enterprises and the Commission's Recommendation of 6 May 2003, regarding the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (OJ L 124, 20.5.2003, p. 36).
4) To have realized net revenue from sales for the 2021 financial year depending on the category of the applicant enterprise, as follows:
Micro enterprise ≥ BGN 41,000
Small enterprise ≥ BGN 82,000
Medium enterprise ≥ BGN 123,000
5) To have an average staff number for 2021 that is ≥ 1 employed person. When determining compliance with the requirements under item 4) and item 5), only the data on net sales revenue and the average number of personnel of the applicant enterprise will be taken into account, without taking into account the data of related enterprises and/or enterprises - partners (if applicable), which served to determine the category of the applicant (micro, small or medium enterprise) in accordance with art. 3 and Art. 4 of the Law on Small and Medium Enterprises.
6) Have requested support for their main economic activity according to the Classification of economic activities - CEA-2008, described in Appendix 8. Under the current procedure, applicants can only request support for the code of their main economic activity according to KID-2008.
7) Applicants can participate in the procedure through project selection and receive free funding if their main economic activity is not one of the following sectors:
- sector A "Agriculture, forestry and fisheries";
- sector C "Mining Industry";
- sector F "Construction";
- sector R "Education";
- sector Q "Human health and social work": section 87 "Medical-social care with accommodation" and section 88 "Social work without accommodation".
Eligible Activities:
According to the procedure, services and solutions from the following three groups are eligible according to the "List of eligible services and solutions in the field of ICT":
- Group I. ICT services/solutions for digital marketing, platforms, websites and mobile applications;
- Group II. ICT services/solutions for optimization of management, production and logistics processes;
- Group III. ICT services/solutions to ensure cyber security in enterprises.
Proposals for the implementation of investments may include one or more of the services/solutions according to the "List of eligible ICT services and solutions" of Appendix 12. Applicants must include the selected services/solutions in Appendix 13 "Requested services and solutions according to the List of eligible ICT services and solutions'.
A mandatory element of all ICT services and solutions is the provision of training for the employees of the candidate enterprise to work with the implemented ICT solutions.
In the event that proposals for the implementation of investments include the implementation of a Resource Management System (ERP system), specified in item 4 of the List of eligible services and solutions in the field of ICT, it is not permissible to include implementation services/solutions of the individual modules specified in items 6, 7 and 8 of the List. Proposals may include either a service/solution for the implementation of a complete ERP system (Item 4 of the List) or services/solutions for the implementation of the individual modules specified in Item 6, Item 7 and Item 8 of the List.
The services and solutions according to the "List of eligible ICT services and solutions" included in the proposals can be introduced/used as:
- ready-made solutions corresponding to the needs of the enterprise;
- personalized services/solutions developed in accordance with the needs of the enterprise;
- SaaS (Software as a service) when applicable.
In the event that proposals for the implementation of investments include a service for the introduction and certification of an information security management system, according to the requirements of the international standard BDS ISO/IEC 27001, the mandatory final result is the acquisition of a certificate for the introduced management system (IS ). If the corresponding certificate for SU is not received within the project implementation period, the costs incurred for its introduction and certification will not be recognized. The certificate should be issued by a certification body accredited according to ISO/IEC/17021 or subsequent versions of:
and/or
The ICT services/solutions included in the proposals for the implementation of investments should be used/maintained in the enterprise - the final recipient for at least 1 (one) year from the final payment.
The ICT services/solutions should be purchased on market terms from third parties unrelated to the buyer and should be accounted for by the entity receiving the aid according to the applicable accounting standards, and should remain linked to the investment implementation proposal, for which the aid was granted, for a period of at least 1 (one) year after the final payment.
The following types of expenses are eligible under this procedure:
1) Costs for services and solutions according to the "List of eligible ICT services and solutions" of Appendix 12.
The costs for the requested services/solutions should be set by the applicants in Appendix 13 "Requested services and solutions according to the List of eligible ICT services and solutions"
The duration of each proposal for the implementation of an investment should not exceed 12 (twelve) months, counted from the date of entry into force of the financing contract with the final recipient.
Application deadline: 12/19/2022 4:30 p.m.
The submission of proposals for the implementation of an investment under this procedure is carried out entirely electronically by filling in a web-based Application Form and submitting the Form and the accompanying documents through ISM-ISUN 2020, section NPVU only with the use of a valid Qualified Electronic Signature (QES), issued by a provider of qualified electronic authentication services within the meaning of Art. 3, paragraph 20) of Regulation (EU) No. 910/2014, through the "E-candidacy" module at the following Internet address: https://eumis2020.government.bg/.
Applicants may ask additional questions and request clarifications regarding the Application Conditions up to 21 days before the application deadline. Additional questions can be asked in the ISM-ISUN 2020, National Plan for Recovery and Resilience section through the "Electronic application" module, in the section of the procedure "Decisions in the field of information and communication technologies and cyber security in small and medium-sized enterprises", section "Explanations on the procedure".
The answers to the candidates' questions are published in ISM-ISUN 2020, section NPVU and on the website of the CIS of PIT (https://mig.gov.bg) within 10 days of receiving them, but no later than 14 days before the application deadline.
