Increase of the de-minimis ceilings and further developments as of 2024

The European Commission has adopted new de-minimis regulations on 13 December 2023. A significant amendment is the increase of the de-minimis ceilings, in order to cater for rising inflation.

Background

State aid or aid of any kind granted from state funds are subject to EU State aid law. In case such State aid limits or distorts competition, it is incompatible with the internal market and therefore generally prohibited pursuant to Article 107 (1) TFEU (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). However, an exception is made among others for so-called de-minimis State aid since it is deemed to have no impact on competition or intra-Community trade.

The “General De-minimis Regulation” and the “De-minimis Regulation on Services of General Economic Interest (SGEI)” expired on 31 December 2023; the corresponding new regulations entered into force as of 1 January 2024 and will apply until 31 December 2030.

The amendments and especially the new ceilings already apply to applications under the guideline on processing late applications by COFAG (“late application guideline”) for reclassification applications as well as for supplementary applications regarding the revenue shortfall bonus III and the compensation for losses III. For further details we refer to our newsletter on this topic.

There are specific de-minimis regulations for the agriculture sector and the fisheries and aquaculture sector. Both regulations from 2013 and 2014, respectively, are still in force and have not been amended.

Significant amendments

• The general de-minimis aid ceiling that a “single company” may receive per Member State over a three-year period was increased from EUR 200,000 (or EUR 100,000 in the road freight transport sector) to EUR 300,000.
• The SGEI de-minimis aid ceiling was increased from EUR 500,000 to EUR 750,000 for a “single company” over a three-year period.
• The period of three years is no longer defined as the last three fiscal years, but for each new grant of de-minimis aid, the total amount of aid granted in the previous three years needs to be taken into account, i.e. the period of three years should be assessed on a rolling basis. De-minimis aid shall be deemed granted at the moment that the legal right to receive the aid is conferred to the company under the applicable national legal regime, irrespective of the date of payment of the aid to the company.
• Member States must ensure that, latest from 1 January 2026, information on de-minimis aid granted is registered in a central register (at national or Union level) and enable easy public access to the information whilst ensuring compliance with the Union rules on data protection.

Special attention is to be paid to the fact that the ceilings still apply to a “single company”. Companies which are directly or over several levels linked to each other are considered a “single company”. Therefore, in a group all de-minimis aids are to be taken into account.

Conclusion

The de-minimis ceilings have been unchanged since 2006. In light of the rising inflation of the last years and the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, representatives of the economy in the EU area criticise that the increases of the ceilings were not sufficiently high, nevertheless the increases are very welcome.

Authors: Phillip Bucher, Margarete Kinz