Commission Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 of 27 June 2014 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid in the fishery and aquaculture sector

This Regulation applies to aid granted to undertakings active in the primary production of fishery and aquaculture products, with the following exceptions:

Where an undertaking is active in the primary production of fishery and aquaculture products and is also active in one or more of the sectors or has other activities falling within the scope of Commission Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013 ([^E0002]) that Regulation shall apply to aid granted in respect of the latter sector or sectors or activities, provided that the Member State concerned ensures, by appropriate means such as separation of activities or distinction of costs, that the primary production of fishery and aquaculture products does not benefit from the de minimis aid granted in accordance with that Regulation.

Where an undertaking is active in the primary production of fishery and aquaculture products as well as in the primary production of agricultural products falling within the scope of Commission Regulation (EU) No 1408/2013 ([^E0003]), this Regulation shall apply to aid granted in respect of the former sector provided that the Member State concerned ensures, by appropriate means such as separation of activities or distinction of costs, that the primary production of agricultural products does not benefit from de minimis aid granted in accordance with this Regulation.

For the purposes of the application of this Regulation, points (d) to (g) of paragraph 1 shall not apply to undertakings located in the Union’s outermost regions referred to in Article 349 of the Treaty in respect of vessels of an overall length of less than 12 metres.

For the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions shall apply:

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

Aid measures shall be deemed not to meet all the criteria in Article 107(1) of the Treaty, and shall therefore be exempt from the notification requirement in Article 108(3) of the Treaty, if they fulfil the conditions laid down in this Regulation.

The total amount of de minimis aid granted per Member State to a single undertaking shall not exceed EUR 30 000 over any period of three fiscal years.

The cumulative amount of de minimis aid granted per Member State to undertakings active in the primary production of fishery and aquaculture products over any period of three fiscal years shall not exceed the national cap set out in the Annex.

De minimis aid shall be deemed granted at the moment the legal right to receive the aid is conferred on the undertaking under the applicable national legal regime irrespective of the date of payment of the de minimis aid to the undertaking.

The de minimis ceilings laid down in paragraphs 2 and 2a and the national cap set out in the Annex shall apply irrespective of the form of the de minimis aid or the objective pursued by it and irrespective of whether the aid granted by the Member State is financed entirely or partly by resources of Union origin. The period of three fiscal years shall be determined by reference to the fiscal years used by the undertaking in the Member State concerned.

For the purposes of the de minimis ceilings laid down in paragraphs 2 and 2a and the national cap set out in the Annex, aid shall be expressed as a cash grant. All figures used shall be gross, that is to say before any deduction of tax or other charge. Where aid is granted in a form other than a grant, the aid amount shall be the gross grant equivalent of the aid.

Where the de minimis ceilings laid down in paragraphs 2 and 2a or the national cap set out in the Annex would be exceeded by the grant of new de minimis aid, that new aid shall not benefit from this Regulation.

In the case of mergers or acquisitions, all prior de minimis aid granted to any of the merging undertakings shall be taken into account in determining whether any new de minimis aid to the new or the acquiring undertaking exceeds the relevant de minimis ceiling or the national cap. De minimis aid lawfully granted before the merger or acquisition shall remain lawful.

If one undertaking splits into two or more separate undertakings, de minimis aid granted prior to the split shall be allocated to the undertaking that benefited from it, which is in principle the undertaking taking over the activities for which the de minimis aid was used. If such an allocation is not possible, the de minimis aid shall be allocated proportionately on the basis of the book value of the equity capital of the new undertakings at the effective date of the split.

This Regulation shall apply only to aid in respect of which it is possible to calculate precisely the gross grant equivalent of the aid ex ante without any need to undertake a risk assessment (‘transparent aid’).

Aid comprised in grants or interest rate subsidies shall be considered as transparent de minimis aid.

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

Aid comprised of capital injections shall only be considered as transparent de minimis aid if the total amount of the public injection does not exceed the relevant de minimis ceiling.

Aid comprised of risk finance measures taking the form of equity or quasi-equity investments shall only be considered as transparent de minimis aid if the capital provided to a single undertaking does not exceed the relevant de minimis ceiling.

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

Aid comprised in other instruments shall be considered as transparent de minimis aid if the instrument provides for a cap ensuring that the relevant ceiling is not exceeded.

Where an undertaking is active in the primary production of fishery and aquaculture products and is also active in one or more of the sectors or has other activities falling within the scope of Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013, de minimis aid granted for activities in the primary production of fishery and aquaculture products in accordance with this Regulation may be cumulated with de minimis aid granted in respect of the latter sector or sectors or activities up to the relevant ceiling laid down in Article 3(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013, provided that the Member State concerned ensures, by appropriate means such as separation of activities or distinction of costs, that the primary production of fishery and aquaculture products does not benefit from de minimis aid granted in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013.

Where an undertaking is active in the primary production of fishery and aquaculture products as well as in the primary production of agricultural products, de minimis aid granted in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1408/2013 may be cumulated with de minimis aid in the primary production of fishery and aquaculture products in accordance with this Regulation up to the relevant ceiling laid down in this Regulation, provided that the Member State concerned ensures, by appropriate means such as separation of activities or distinction of costs, that the primary production of agricultural products does not benefit from de minimis aid granted in accordance with this Regulation.

De minimis aid shall not be cumulated with State aid in relation to the same eligible costs or with State aid for the same risk finance measure, if such cumulation would exceed the highest relevant aid intensity or aid amount fixed in the specific circumstances of each case by a block exemption regulation or a decision adopted by the Commission. De minimis aid which is not granted for or attributable to specific eligible costs may be cumulated with other State aid granted under a block exemption regulation or a decision adopted by the Commission.

Where a Member State intends to grant de minimis aid in accordance with this Regulation to an undertaking, it shall inform that undertaking, in written or electronic form, of the prospective amount of the aid expressed as a gross grant equivalent and of its de minimis character, making express reference to this Regulation and citing its title and publication reference in the Official Journal of the European Union. Where de minimis aid is granted in accordance with this Regulation to different undertakings on the basis of a scheme and different amounts of individual aid are granted to those undertakings under that scheme, the Member State concerned may choose to fulfil that obligation by informing the undertakings of a fixed sum corresponding to the maximum aid amount to be granted under that scheme. The fixed sum shall be used for determining whether the relevant de minimis ceiling is reached and the national cap set out in the Annex is not exceeded. Before granting the aid, the Member State shall obtain a declaration from the undertaking concerned, in written or electronic form, about any other de minimis aid received to which this Regulation or other de minimis regulations apply during the previous two fiscal years and the current fiscal year.

Where a Member State has set up a central register of de minimis aid containing complete information on all de minimis aid granted by any authority within that Member State, paragraph 1 shall cease to apply from the moment the register covers a period of three fiscal years.

A Member State shall grant new de minimis aid in accordance with this Regulation only after having checked that this will not raise the total amount of de minimis aid granted to the undertaking concerned to a level above the relevant de minimis ceilings laid down in Article 3(2) and (2a) and the national cap set out in the Annex and that all the conditions laid down in this Regulation are complied with.

Member States shall record and compile all the information regarding the application of this Regulation. Such records shall contain all information necessary to demonstrate that the conditions of this Regulation have been complied with. Records regarding individual de minimis aid shall be maintained for 10 fiscal years from the date on which the aid was granted. Records regarding a de minimis aid scheme shall be maintained for 10 fiscal years from the date on which the last individual aid was granted under such a scheme.

On written request, the Member State concerned shall provide the Commission, within a period of 20 working days or such longer period as may be fixed in the request, with all the information that the Commission considers necessary for assessing whether the conditions of this Regulation have been complied with, and in particular the total amount of de minimis aid within the meaning of this Regulation and of other de minimis regulations received by any undertaking.

This Regulation shall apply to aid granted before its entry into force if the aid fulfils all the conditions laid down in this Regulation. Any aid which does not fulfil those conditions will be assessed by the Commission in accordance with the relevant frameworks, guidelines, communications and notices.

Any individual de minimis aid which was granted between 1 January 2005 and 30 June 2008, and which fulfils the conditions of Regulation (EC) No 1860/2004 shall be deemed not to meet all the criteria in Article 107(1) of the Treaty and shall therefore be exempt from the notification requirement in Article 108(3) of the Treaty.

Any individual de minimis aid granted between 31 July 2007 and 30 June 2014 and which fulfils the conditions of Regulation (EC) No 875/2007 shall be deemed not to meet all the criteria in Article 107(1) of the Treaty and shall therefore be exempt from the notification requirement in Article 108(3) of the Treaty.

At the end of the period of validity of this Regulation, any de minimis aid scheme which fulfils the conditions of this Regulation shall remain covered by this Regulation for a further period of six months.