The Development Agency of Serbia (hereinafter: the Agency) through the implementation of a multi-year program of support for companies to enter the supply chains of multinational companies (hereinafter: the Program) aims to increase the capacity of companies for the purpose of inclusion in the international value chains of multinational companies (hereinafter: MNC).
The public call was published 05. December 2023 and will last 90 days, i.e. until 04. March 2024.
CONDITIONS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM
The right to participate in the Program and use grants is granted to the Applicant who cumulatively meets the following general and special conditions:
General Conditions:
- that the Applicant was registered in the appropriate register of business companies at the time of submitting the application, as well as being registered in the APR no later than January 1, 2020;
- that the Applicant's share of capital in the public property of the Applicant is below the prescribed threshold of significant participation in terms of the law governing companies;
- that the Applicant has settled due obligations on the basis of taxes and contributions;
- yes the Applicant application is not in difficulty in accordance with the rules for the award of the state help;
- that the Applicant is not related to a buyer or potential buyer;
- that the Applicant does not meet the requirements for acquiring MNC status or is not affiliated with a group that meets the requirements for acquiring MNC status, in the sense of the law regulating business companies, unless the effect of participation in the Program results in the introduction of an innovative product;
- that the previously concluded Grant Agreement with the Applicant has not been terminated due to failure to fulfill contractual obligations.
Special conditions:
Technical capacity:
- yes, the applicant has an implemented ISO 9001 quality system.
Business capacities:
- yes the Applicant has established cooperation with the MNC or MNC Supplier or that the Applicant is in the evaluation process for the selection of a qualified supplier by the MNC;
- that the Applicant is engaged in the production of direct or indirect materials, components, systems and subsystems for products that belong to the Supported Value Chains, or that it has production capacities with which it can perform the production of direct or indirect materials, components, systems and subsystems for products that belong to the Supported Value Chains.
Personnel capacity:
- yes, the Applicant has a minimum of 15 employed persons, on the day of publication of the Public Call, according to CROSO records.
Financial capacities:
- yes, during the 2022 business year, the Applicant generated income from the sale of products in an amount not less than 35,000,000.00 dinars;
- that the share of the Applicant's income from the sale of products in Business income from sales (which is considered for the purpose of this Program as the sum of positions AOP 1002 - Income from the sale of goods and AOP 1005 Income from the sale of products and services) is greater than or equal to 50% in year 2022;
- that the value of fixed assets, obtained as the difference between positions AOP 0009 (Property, plant and equipment) and AOP 0012 (Investment real estate) of the individual or consolidated balance sheet as of 12/31/2022. business year of the Applicant, is not less than 35,000,000.00 dinars;
- that no previous bankruptcy proceedings have been initiated against the Applicant, no bankruptcy proceedings have been opened, no reorganization proceedings have been initiated or no liquidation proceedings have been initiated.
PURPOSE OF GRANT FUNDS
Grant funds can be allocated for realization intervention measures, which include support for investing in tangible assets, support for investing in intangible assets and consulting support for improving business performance.
The user can exercise the right to one or more intervention measures in accordance with the needs of the business, provided by the Letter of Recommendation of the MNC/Letter of Recommendation of the MNC Supplier, as well as the points achieved after completing the business performance diagnostic procedure.
Investment in Tangible Assets
Under the support of investing in tangible property means the following activities:
- Purchase and installation of high-performance production and process equipment (including but not limited to industrial robots, production lines, CNC machines, packaging machines and the like) in the function of manufacturing parts and semi-finished products that will be delivered to the MNC or the MNC Supplier, up to three years old counting from the time of publication of the Public Call.
Refund up to 60% from the value of the justified costs for the activity in question, in an amount that cannot exceed 14,000,000.00 RSD.
- Purchase of equipment for the incoming control of raw materials, intermediate control of the quality of production in progress and the quality of finished products delivered to the MNC or the Supplier of the MNC, up to three years old counting from the time of publication of the Public Call.
Refund to 60% of the value of justified costs for the activity in question, in an amount that cannot exceed 12,000,000.00 RSD.
- Purchase of necessary specific new tools or accessories in accordance with the request of the MNC that will be in the function of manufacturing parts and semi-finished products for the MNC or the Supplier MNK.
Refund up to 50% of the value of justified expenses for the activity in question, in an amount that cannot exceed 5,000,000.00 RSD.
- Purchase and installation of autonomous robots with the ability to learn and cobots, up to three years of age counting up to of the moment of publication of the Public Call.
Refund up to 70% of the value of justified costs for the activity in question, in an amount that cannot exceed 15,000,000.00 RSD.
- Improvement of spatial capacity, which means the adaptation and construction of production halls in order to meet industrial standards specific to Supported Value Chains in terms of this Program, or requests whose goal is to increase productivity and energy efficiency.
Refund up to 40% of the value of the justified costs for the activity in question, in an amount that cannot exceed 10,000,000.00 RSD.
Investment in intangible assets
Under support for investment in Intangible assets mean the implementation of the following activities:
- Quality System Certification according to the requirements of industry standards specific to the Supported Value Chains (such as IATF16949/IRIS/CE-3A/CEN, VDA 6.3 and other individual specific standards in the group of CEN standards), as well as certification of the quality system management system (ISO 14001, ISO 50001, ISO 18001, ISO 45001, ISO 27001 etc.).
Refund up to 50% of the value of justified costs for the activity in question, in an amount that cannot exceed 2,500,000.00 RSD.
- Introduction of software solutions in order to optimize existing production processes, i.e. purchase of software and implementations.
Refund up to 70% from the value of justified costs for the activity in question, in an amount that cannot exceed 7,000,000.00 RSD.
- Costs of making a prototype or trial series of products delivered to MNK, which includes the costs of product construction and design, testing and testing of the trial model, i.e. the product.
Refund up to 50% of the value of the justified costs for the activity in question, in an amount that cannot exceed 1,500,000 RSD.
- Covering the costs of field insight into the business performance of the applicant by a representative of the MNC (diagnostics).
Refund up to 80% of the value of the justified costs for the subject activity, in an amount that cannot be greater than 1,500,000.00 RSD per one performed diagnosis.
- Covering the costs of annual listing on reference interactive platforms intended to connect suppliers from targeted sectors.
Refund up to 80% of the value of justified expenses for the activity in question, in an amount that cannot exceed 300,000.00 RSD.
- Reimbursement of insurance premium payment costs, with insurance companies that are in the Register of Joint Stock Companies for Insurance and Reinsurance at the NBS, in accordance with the requirements of the MNC with which the first cooperation was established.
Refund up to 80% of the value of justified expenses for the activity in question, in the amount which cannot be greater than 2,500,000.00 RSD.
Consulting support for the improvement of business performance
Under this intervention measure, the implementation of the following activities is understood:
- Consulting support for the optimization of production and business processes which are needed to fulfill the requirements of the MNC, and in accordance with the expected standards of management of production processes in the Supported Value chains, especially the optimization of existing production lines, the establishment of serial production and the implementation of quality control.
Refund up to 70% of the value of justified costs for the activity in question, in an amount that cannot exceed 3,000,000.00 RSD.
- Consulting support for the introduction or improvement of corporate governance, which includes but not limited to: corporate governance, strategic and operational planning, familiarization with the principles of business in international value chains in order to increase the volume of product placement and find new clients.
Refund up to 70% of the value of justified costs for the activity in question, in an amount that cannot exceed 2,500,000.00 RSD.
- Consulting support for the improvement and optimization of personnel management processes through defining the organizational profile of companies and corporate culture and the use of automated tools for employee career guidance and selection during employment.
Refund up to 70% of the value of justified expenses for the activity in question, in an amount that cannot exceed 1,000,000.00 RSD.
- Consultant support for inclusion i.e. introduction of rules, procedures and reporting related to ESG factors, which may include: environmental protection, workers' rights, health and safety at work, respect for human rights, corporate governance (structures and processes by which companies are directed and controlled) and related to the role, composition and diversity of governing bodies, ethical behavior (e.g. fight against corruption and bribery), risk management, transparency and disclosure (e.g. disclosure of non-financial information).
Refund up to 70% of the value of the justified costs for the activity in question, in an amount that cannot exceed 1,500,000.00 RSD.
- Consultant support for the preparation that precedes the implementation of field insight into business performance by MNCs or the introduction of quality systems according to the requirements of standards specific to value chains in the sense of this Program (including but not limited to the following standards: IATF16949/IRIS/CE-3A/CEN/VDA 6.3, as well as other individual standards specific to the Supported Value Chains).
Refund up to 70% of the value of justified costs for the activity in question, in an amount that cannot exceed 2,500,000.00 RSD.
- Consulting support for compliance with the requirements of the green industry, which means the preparation of technical documentation, studies, reports for the purpose of reducing environmental pollution, compliance with the requirements of the green industry, energy efficiency in order to implement decarbonization and reduce industrial emissions.
Refund up to 70% of the value of justified costs for the activity in question, in an amount that cannot exceed 1,500,000.00 RSD.
- Consulting support for planning the introduction of software solutions, i.e. process mapping that precedes the introduction of software solutions.
Refund up to 70% of the value of justified costs for the activity in question, in an amount that cannot exceed 1,500,000.00 RSD.
AVAILABLE FINANCIAL FUNDS
For the implementation of this program, a budget in the amount of RSD 190,000,000.00 has been determined.
Available funds are approved individually to the Users, by refunding as co-financing up to a certain percentage of the amount of justified costs in an amount that cannot exceed 23,000,000.00 RSD.
METHOD APPLICATIONS
Applications are submitted electronically, by creating a user account at the link https://prijave.ras.gov.rs/dobavlajci/ and verifying the internet address.
Creating a user account opens a page for entering data, as well as for entering supporting documentation, all within Form 1 - Application for participation in the Program. After entering the data and completing the documentation, the applicant confirms that the Application is complete. Confirmation that the Application is complete is considered to be the same as submitted to the Public Invitation, after which it is received electronically, and each Applicant receives a notification of receipt and the registration number of the Application. The applicant can submit only one Application.
The application link is available until the end of the Public Call, after which it is no longer possible to submit an Application.
REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION FOR COMPETITION
Each Applicant is obliged to enter the following on the Agency Portal documentation:
- Form 1 - Application form for the Program submitted electronically on the Agency's Portal;
- Form 2 - Statements of the Applicant regarding the confirmation of the submission of Form 1 through the Agency's Portal, fulfillment of the conditions and acceptance of the conditions for participation in the Program, non-convict of the Applicant and his legal representatives for economic offenses and criminal offenses against the economy, which are given under full material and criminal liability, as well as related companies and the existence of an obligation implementation of financial consolidation or exemption from the obligation to implement financial consolidation, if the Applicant is a parent company or a subsidiary within the group;
- A copy of the certificate of the competent authority of the tax administration that the Applicant has settled all due obligations on the basis of taxes and contributions, not older than one month from the date of publication of the Public Call;
- A copy of the valid ISO 9001 quality system certificate issued by an accredited certification body by ATS;
- Signed and duly completed Letter of Recommendation of MNC and/or MNC Supplier, on the prescribed form by the Agency. In the case of submission of a Letter of Recommendation from the MNC Supplier, the Applicant also submits evidence of an active commercial relationship between the MNC Supplier and the MNC (Form 7 - Declaration by the MNC in the prescribed format or a valid contract confirming the nature of the commercial relationship);
- Statement by the MNC that the subject of the Applicant's project which is related to the MNC is an innovative product in terms of the Law on Business Companies, if the effect of the participation results in the introduction of an innovative product - in the event that The applicant is associated with a business that meets the requirements for acquiring MNC status
Note: Letter of recommendation from MNC or Letter of recommendation from MNC Supplier The applicant can submit later, after the date of submission of the Application, and at the latest by the end of the business performance diagnostic procedure.
Additional documentation that is not a mandatory condition for participation in Program
Applicant with the Application can also submit the following documentation:
- evidence of issued certificates IATF16949, IRIS or an industry-specific standard from the group of CEN standards The applicant is entitled to 25 points;
- Agreement on the confidentiality of information signed by the legal representative of the Applicant.
ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTATION :
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SUPPORT PROGRAM FOR BUSINESS COMPANIES FOR ENTERING THE SUPPLY CHAIN OF MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES IN 2023. YEARS
1. Form 1 - Program application form, which is submitted electronically on the Agency's Portal;
2. Form 2 - Statements of the Applicant regarding the confirmation of the submission of Form 1 through the Agency Portal, fulfillment of the conditions and acceptance of the conditions for participation in the Program, non-conviction of the Applicant and his legal representatives for economic offenses and criminal offenses against the economy, which are given under full material and criminal responsibility, as well as related companies and the existence of the obligation to implement financial consolidation or exemption from the obligation to implement financial consolidation, if the Applicant is the parent company or a subsidiary within the group;
3. Form 3 - MNK recommendation letter;
4. Form 4 - Letter of recommendation from MNK Supplier;
5. Form 5 - Improvement Plan;
6. Form 6 - Request for payment of approved grants;
7. Form 7 - Statement by the MNC confirming the nature of the commercial relationship with the MNC Supplier;
8. Appendix 1 - Method of determining the fulfillment of the special condition for participation in the Program/Financial capacities;
9. Appendix 2 - Methodology for determining criteria and weights for evaluating permitted applications;
10. Instructions for conducting diagnostics of business performance;
11. Instructions for verification of approved intervention measures;
12. Agreement on confidentiality of information.
