LegalizeCommission Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 of 21 April 2004 implementing Council Regulation (EC)No 659/1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 93 of the EC Treaty
CHAPTER I
SUBJECT MATTER AND SCOPE
Article 1
Subject matter and scope
CHAPTER II
NOTIFICATIONS
Article 2
Notification forms
Without prejudice to Member States’ obligations to notify state aids in the coal sector under Commission Decision 2002/871/CE (1), notifications of new aid pursuant to Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) 2015/1589, other than those referred to in Article 4(2), shall be made on the notification form set out in Part I of Annex I to this Regulation.
Supplementary information needed for the assessment of the measure in accordance with regulations, guidelines, frameworks and other texts applicable to State aid shall be provided on the supplementary information sheets set out in Part III of Annex I.
Whenever the relevant guidelines or frameworks are modified or replaced, the Commission shall adapt the corresponding forms and information sheets.
Article 3
Transmission of notifications
All correspondence in connection with a notification shall be sent electronically via the secured electronic system designated by the Commission.
In exceptional circumstances and upon the agreement of the Commission and the Member State concerned, an agreed communication channel other than those referred to in paragraph 3 may be used for submission of a notification or any correspondence in connection with a notification.
In the absence of such an agreement, any notification or correspondence in connection with a notification sent to the Commission by a Member State through a communication channel other than those referred to in paragraph 3 shall not be considered as submitted to the Commission.
The Member States shall refer to the State aid identification number allocated to an aid scheme by the Commission in each grant of aid to a final beneficiary.
The first subparagraph shall not apply to aid granted through fiscal measures.
Article 4
Simplified notification procedure for certain alterations to existing aid
The following alterations to existing aid shall be notified on the simplified notification form set out in Annex II:
(a) increases in the budget of an authorised aid scheme exceeding 20 %;
(b) prolongation of an existing authorised aid scheme by up to six years, with or without an increase in the budget;
(c) tightening of the criteria for the application of an authorised aid scheme, a reduction of aid intensity or a reduction of eligible expenses;
The Commission shall use its best endeavours to take a decision on any aid notified on the simplified notification form within a period of one month.
CHAPTER III
ANNUAL REPORTS
Article 5
Form and content of annual reports
Article 6
Transmission and publication of annual reports
In justified cases Member States may submit estimates, provided that the actual figures are transmitted at the very latest with the following year’s data.
Article 7
Status of annual reports
The transmission of annual reports shall not be considered to constitute compliance with the obligation to notify aid measures before they are put into effect pursuant to Article 108(3) of the Treaty, nor shall such transmission in any way prejudice the outcome of an investigation into allegedly unlawful aid in accordance with the procedure laid down in Chapter III of Regulation (EU) 2015/1589.
CHAPTER IV
TIME-LIMITS
Article 8
Calculation of time-limits
CHAPTER V
INTEREST RATE FOR THE RECOVERY OF UNLAWFUL AID
Article 9
Method for fixing the interest rate
Article 10
Publication
The Commission shall publish current and relevant historical State aid recovery interest rates in the Official Journal of the European Union and for information on the Internet.
Article 11
Method for applying interest
CHAPTER Va
HANDLING OF COMPLAINTS
Article 11a
Admissibility of complaints
CHAPTER Vb
IDENTIFICATION AND PROTECTION OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
Article 11b
Protection of business secrets and other confidential information
Any person submitting information pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/1589 shall clearly indicate which information it considers to be confidential, stating the reasons for such confidentiality, and provide the Commission with a separate non-confidential version of the submission. When information must be provided by a certain deadline, the same deadline shall apply for providing the non-confidential version.
CHAPTER VI
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 12
Review
The Commission shall in consultation with the Member States, review the application of this Regulation within four years after its entry into force.
Article 13
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Chapter II shall apply only to those notifications transmitted to the Commission more than five months after the entry into force of this Regulation.
Chapter III shall apply to annual reports covering aid granted from 1 January 2003 onwards.
Chapter IV shall apply to any time limit, which has been fixed but which has not yet expired on the date of entry into force of this Regulation.
Articles 9 and 11 shall apply in relation to any recovery decision notified after the date of entry into force of this Regulation.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and be directly applicable in all Member States.
ANNEX I
PART I.
GENERAL INFORMATION
1.STATUS OF THE NOTIFICATION
Does the information transmitted on this form concern:
(a) □a pre-notification? If so, you may not need to complete the entire form at this stage but to agree with the Commission services which information is required for a preliminary assessment of the proposed measure.
(b) □a notification pursuant to Article 108(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘the Treaty’)?
(c) □a simplified notification under Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 (2)? If so, please complete only the Simplified Notification Form in Annex II.
(d) □a measure which does not constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) of the Treaty but is notified to the Commission for reasons of legal certainty?
If you have selected point (d) above, please indicate below why the notifying Member State considers that the measure does not constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) of the Treaty. Please provide a full assessment of the measure in light of each of following four criteria, stressing in particular the criteria that you consider not to be met in the planned measure:
Does the notified measure imply a transfer of public resources or is it imputable to the State?
…
Does the notified measure confer an advantage upon undertakings?
…
Is the measure discretionary, available only to a limited number of undertakings, in a limited number of sectors of the economy or does it entail any territorial restrictions?
…
Does the measure affect competition on the internal market or threaten to distort intra-Union trade?
…
2.IDENTIFICATION OF THE AID GRANTOR
Member State concerned:
…
Region(s) of the Member State concerned (at NUTS level 2); include information on their regional aid status:
…
Contact person(s):
Name: …
E-mail(s): …
Please indicate the name, the address (including web address) and the e-mail contact of the granting authority:
Name: …
Address: …
Web address: …
E-mail: …
Contact person at the Permanent Representation
Name: …
Phone(s): …
E-mail: …
If you would like a copy of the official correspondence sent by the Commission to the Member State to be forwarded to other national authorities, please indicate here their name, address (including their web address) and e-mail contact:
Name: …
Address: …
Web address: …
E-mail: …
3.BENEFICIARIES
3.1. Location of the beneficiary(ies)
(a) □in (an) unassisted region(s): …
(b) □in region(s) eligible for assistance under Article 107(3), point (a), of the Treaty (specify the region(s) at NUTS level 2): …
(c) □in region(s) eligible for assistance under Article 107(3), point (c), of the Treaty (specify the region(s) at NUTS level 3 or lower): …
3.2. If applicable, location of the project(s)
(a) □in (an) unassisted region(s): …
(b) □in region(s) eligible for assistance under Article 107(3), point (a), of the Treaty (specify the region(s) at NUTS level 2): …
(c) □in region(s) eligible for assistance under Article 107(3), point (c), of the Treaty (specify the region(s) at NUTS level 3 or lower): …
3.3. Sector(s) affected by the aid measure (i.e. in which the aid beneficiaries are active):
(a) □Open to all sectors
(b) □Sector specific. If so, please specify the sector(s) at NACE group level (3): …
3.4. In the case of an aid scheme, please specify:
3.4.1. Type of beneficiaries:
(a) □large enterprises
(b) □small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
(c) □medium-sized enterprises
(d) □small enterprises
(e) □micro enterprises
3.4.2. Estimated number of beneficiaries:
(a) □under 10
(b) □from 11 to 50
(c) □from 51 to 100
(d) □from 101 to 500
(e) □from 501 to 1 000
(f) □over 1 000
3.5. In the case of individual aid, either granted within the scope of a scheme or as ad hoc aid, please specify:
3.5.1. Name of the beneficiary(ies):
…
3.5.2. Type of beneficiary(ies):
…
□ SME
Number of employees: …
Annual turnover (full amount in national currency, in the last financial year): …
Annual balance-sheet total (full amount in national currency, in the last financial year): …
Existence of linked enterprise or partner enterprises (please attach a declaration referred to in Article 3(5) of the Annex to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC (4) attesting to either the autonomous, linked or partner status of the beneficiary undertaking (5)):
…
□ Large enterprise
3.6. Is the beneficiary(ies) an undertaking in difficulty (6)?
□yes □no
3.7. Outstanding recovery orders
3.7.1. In the case of individual aid:
The authorities of the Member State commit to suspend the award and/or payment of the notified aid if the beneficiary still has at its disposal earlier unlawful aid that was declared incompatible by a Commission Decision (either as individual aid or aid under an aid scheme being declared incompatible), until that beneficiary has reimbursed or paid into a blocked account the total amount of unlawful and incompatible aid and the corresponding recovery interest.
□yes □no
Please provide the reference to the national legal basis concerning this point:
…
3.7.2. In the case of aid schemes:
The authorities of the Member State commit to suspend the award and/or payment of any aid under the notified aid scheme to any undertaking that has benefited from earlier unlawful aid declared incompatible by a Commission Decision (either as an individual aid or an aid under an aid scheme being declared incompatible), until that undertaking has reimbursed or paid into a blocked account the total amount of unlawful and incompatible aid and the corresponding recovery interest.
□yes □no
Please provide the reference to the national legal basis concerning this point:
…
4.NATIONAL LEGAL BASIS
4.1.Please provide the national legal basis of the aid measure including the implementing provisions and their respective sources:
National legal basis: …
Implementing provisions (where applicable): …
References (where applicable): …
4.2.Please enclose with this notification one of the following:
(a) □a copy of the relevant extracts of the final text(s) of the legal basis (together with a web address which provides direct access to it, if available)
(b) □a copy of the relevant extracts of the draft text(s) of the legal basis (together with a web address which provides direct access, if available)
4.3.In case of a final text, does the final text contain a stand-still clause whereby the aid granting body can only grant the aid after the Commission has authorised the aid?
□ Yes
□ No: has a provision been included to that effect in the draft text? □ Yes □ No: please explain why such a provision was not included in the text of the legal basis. …
4.4.Where the text of the legal basis contains a stand-still clause, please indicate whether the date of granting of the aid will be:
□ the date of the approval by the Commission
□ the date of the commitment of the national authorities to grant the aid, subject to the approval of the Commission …
5.IDENTIFICATION OF THE AID, OBJECTIVE AND DURATION
5.1. Title of the aid measure (or name of the beneficiary of the individual aid)
…
5.2. Brief description of the objective of the aid:
…
5.3. Type of aid
5.3.1. Does the notification relate to an aid scheme?
□ No
□ Yes: Does the scheme amend an existing aid scheme? □ No □ Yes: Are the conditions laid down for the simplified notification procedure pursuant to Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 fulfilled? □ Yes: Please use and complete the Simplified Notification Form (see Annex II). □ No: Continue with this form, and specify whether the original scheme which is being amended was notified to the Commission □ Yes: please specify: — Aid number (7): … — Date of Commission approval (reference of the letter of the Commission) if relevant or exemption number: … — Duration of the original scheme: … — Please specify which conditions are being amended in relation to the original scheme and why: … □ No: please specify when the scheme was implemented: …
5.3.2. Does the notification relate to individual aid (8)?
□ No
□ Yes: please indicate whether: □ the aid is based on an approved / block-exempted scheme which should be individually notified. Please provide the reference to the approved scheme or to the exempted scheme: Title: … Aid number (9): … Letter of Commission approval (where applicable): … □ individual aid is not based on a scheme
5.3.3. Does the system of financing form an integral part of the aid measure (for example, by applying parafiscal levies in order to raise the necessary funds to allow for the aid to be granted)?
□ No
□ Yes: if yes, the system of financing should be notified as well.
5.4. Duration
□ Scheme
Indicate the planned last date until which individual aid may be granted under the scheme. If the duration exceeds 6 years please indicate why a longer period is indispensable to achieve the objectives of the aid scheme.
…
□ Individual aid
Indicate the planned date when the aid will be granted (10): …
If the aid will be paid out in instalments, indicate the planned date(s) of each instalment …
5.5. Is the notified measure a reform and/or investment financed under the Recovery and Resilience Facility?
□yes □no
5.6. Does the notified measure concern an investment financed under the scope of the Just Transition Fund?
□yes □noezen nincs mit
6.COMPATIBILITY OF THE AID
COMMON ASSESSMENT PRINCIPLES
(Sub-sections 6.2 to 6.7 do not apply to aid to the agriculture, fishery and aquaculture sectors (11))
6.1.Please indicate the primary objective and, where applicable, the secondary objective(s), of common interest to which the aid contributes:
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