Commission Regulation (EU) No 1408/2013 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 in the agriculture sector

Article 1

Scope

This Regulation applies to aid granted to undertakings active in the primary production of agricultural products, with the exception of:

(a) aid the amount of which is fixed on the basis of the price or quantity of products put on the market;

(b) aid to export-related activities towards third countries or Member States  (¹), namely aid directly linked to the quantities exported, to the establishment and operation of a distribution network or to other current expenditure linked to the export activity;

(c) aid contingent upon the use of domestic over imported goods.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions apply:

(a) ‘agricultural products’ means products listed in Annex I to the Treaty, with the exception of fishery and aquaculture products covered by Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (³);

(b) ‘primary production of fishery and aquaculture products’ means all operations relating to the fishing, rearing or cultivation of aquatic organisms, as well as on-farm or on-board activities necessary for preparing an animal or plant for the first sale, including cutting, filleting or freezing, and the first sale to resellers or processors.

‘Single undertaking’ includes, for the purposes of this Regulation, all enterprises having at least one of the following relationships with each other:

(a) one enterprise has a majority of the shareholders’ or members’ voting rights in another enterprise;

(b) one enterprise has the right to appoint or remove a majority of the members of the administrative, management or supervisory body of another enterprise;

(c) one enterprise has the right to exercise a dominant influence over another enterprise pursuant to a contract entered into with that enterprise or to a provision in its memorandum or articles of association;

(d) one enterprise, which is a shareholder in or member of another enterprise, controls alone, pursuant to an agreement with other shareholders in or members of that enterprise, a majority of shareholders’ or members’ voting rights in that enterprise.

Enterprises having any of the relationships referred to in points (a) to (d) of the first subparagraph through one or more other enterprises shall also be considered to be a single undertaking.

Article 3

De minimis aid

Article 4

Calculation of gross grant equivalent

Aid comprised in loans shall be considered as transparent de minimis aid if:

(a) the beneficiary is not subject to collective insolvency proceedings nor fulfils the criteria under its domestic law for being placed in collective insolvency proceedings at the request of its creditors. In case of large undertakings, the beneficiary shall be in a situation comparable to a credit rating of at least B-; and

(b) the loan is secured by collateral covering at least 50 % of the loan and the loan amounts to either EUR 250 000 over 5 years or EUR 125 000 over 10 years; if a loan is for less than those amounts and/or if it is granted for a period of less than 5 or 10 years respectively, the gross grant equivalent of that loan shall be calculated as a corresponding proportion of the de minimis ceiling laid down in Article 3(2); or

(c) the gross grant equivalent has been calculated on the basis of the reference rate applicable at the time of the grant.

Aid comprised in guarantees shall be treated as transparent de minimis aid if:

(a) the beneficiary is not subject to collective insolvency proceedings nor fulfils the criteria under its domestic law for being placed in collective insolvency proceedings at the request of its creditors. In case of large undertakings, the beneficiary shall be in a situation comparable to a credit rating of at least B-; and

(b) the guarantee does not exceed 80 % of the underlying loan and either the amount guaranteed is EUR 375 000 and the duration of the guarantee is 5 years or the amount guaranteed is EUR 187 500 and the duration of the guarantee is 10 years; if the amount guaranteed is lower than these amounts and/or if the guarantee is for a period of less than 5 or 10 years respectively, the gross grant equivalent of that guarantee shall be calculated as a corresponding proportion of the de minimis ceilings laid down in Article 3(2); or

(c) the gross grant equivalent has been calculated on the basis of safe-harbour premiums laid down in a Commission notice; or

(d) before implementation, (i) the methodology used to calculate the gross grant equivalent of the guarantee has been notified to the Commission under another Commission Regulation in the State aid area applicable at that time and accepted by the Commission as being in line with the Guarantee Notice, or any successor Notice; and (ii) that methodology explicitly addresses the type of guarantee and the type of underlying transaction at stake in the context of the application of this Regulation.

Article 5

Cumulation

Article 6

Monitoring and reporting

Article 7

Transitional provisions

Article 8

Entry into force and period of application

This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 2014.

It shall apply until 31 December 2032.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

ANNEX