A public call has been announced for small businesses for support in the procurement of equipment

The support program for small businesses for the purchase of equipment in 2016 (hereinafter: the Program) is implemented by the Ministry of Economy (hereinafter: the Ministry) in cooperation with the Development Agency of Serbia (hereinafter: the Development Agency) and selected commercial banks and leasing companies:

• CREDIT AGRICOLE BANKA SERBIA AD NOVI SAD
• ERSTE BANK A.D. NOVI SAD
• UNICREDIT BANK SERBIA A.D. BELGRADE
• BANCA INTESA A.D. BELGRADE.
• INTESA LEASING D.O.O. BELGRADE
• UNICREDIT LEASING SERBIA D.O.O. BELGRADE

Total funds available for the implementation of the Program amount to 542,000,000.00 dinars.

The general goal of the Program is to increase the competitiveness of economic entities, improve their operations and internationalization, as well as create new jobs through investments in equipment, through participation in the co-financing of the procurement of the following production equipment and equipment directly involved in the production process:

• new production equipment and/or machine;
• used production equipment and/or machines, not older than five years;
• new parts, specialized tools for machines or other capital goods that will be used for the production of exchangeable goods.

Funds for the implementation of the Program cannot be used for:

1) value added tax;

2) purchase of passenger, cargo and commercial vehicles;

3) covering costs related to the acquisition of equipment such as: customs and administrative costs, costs of transport, forwarding, storage and manipulation, assembly and installation of equipment, training, etc.;

4) covering costs related to the approval and implementation of a bank loan, i.e. financial leasing, such as costs: processing requests, interest, cost of credit bureau for the user, registration of a pledge in the Agency for Commercial Registers (hereinafter text: APR), mobility insurance, exchange rate differences, etc.;

5) refund of funds for already purchased equipment;

6) loans and installments for loan repayment, as well as for loan reprogramming;

7) other costs that are not in accordance with the purpose of the Program.

Beneficiaries of grants

The right to apply to grant competition have:

1. legal entities, registered in the Agency for Business Registers as business companies or cooperatives, which are classified as micro or small legal entities in accordance with the Law on Accounting ("Official Gazette of RS", No. 62/2013) according to financial reports for 2014, as well as
2. entrepreneurs who keep double-entry bookkeeping, registered in the Agency for Business registers.

Conditions for participation in the Program

Conditions that must be met by the applicants for the allocation of grants:

1. that they have submitted a completed application form with the necessary documentation to one of the banks or leasing companies involved in the implementation of this Program;
2. that they have been entered in the register of the Agency for Economic Registers no later than December 31, 2013 year;
3. that bankruptcy proceedings have not been initiated against them or the liquidation procedure;
4. that they have settled the due obligations of public revenues;
5. that within two years prior to the submission of the application, they have not been imposed a legally binding measure prohibiting them from carrying out activities;
6. that the owners and/or responsible persons have not been criminally convicted;
7. that they are majority privately owned and are not in a group of related parties in which some of the members are large legal entities;
8. purpose and the purpose of investing in production equipment is in accordance with the nature of the subject's activity;
9. that companies, cooperatives and entrepreneurs, according to the financial reports from 2014, have at least one employed person;
10. not to perform activities in the following sectors:

• primary agricultural production;
• trade (retail and wholesale);
• catering;
• production and sale of weapons and military equipment;
• organization of games of chance and similar activities;
• production of steel and synthetic fibers and coal mining;
• production and trade of any products or activities that are considered prohibited according to domestic regulations or international conventions.

11. that they are not in difficulties according to the definition of a business entity in difficulties found in the Program;

12. that in the current fiscal year and in the previous two years (2014, 2015, 2016) they did not receive state aid, the amount of which, together with the requested funds, would exceed the amount of 200,000 euros in dinar equivalent;

13. that they did not receive grants from public funds for the same purposes in the previous or current year.

When checking the creditworthiness of a business entity, commercial banks and leasing companies will be guided by the criteria they use in their regular credit, i.e. operations related to financial leasing. Business entities will contractually undertake not to alienate the equipment in question for at least 24 months after the conclusion of the grant agreement, loan agreement, or financial leasing agreement.

Business entities may repay the loan or financial leasing funds early in relation to the term defined in the contract with the bank or leasing company, with the provision that if they make early repayment during the first third of the duration of the loan or financial leasing agreement, they are obliged to return the entire amount of approved grants.

Financial framework

Economic entities that meet the conditions of the Program and to which banks, i.e. leasing companies involved in the implementation of the Program, conditionally approve a loan, i.e. financing, can exercise the right to co-financing up to 25% of the net value of the purchase of production equipment. The business entity is obliged to provide a participation in the amount of 5% of the net value of the production equipment, while the remaining 70% of the net value of the production equipment will be provided from loans from commercial banks or financial leasing from leasing companies involved in the implementation of this Program.

In the event that the total net costs of purchasing the equipment are higher than 10,000,000.00 dinars, the user can finance the difference with a larger own participation or increase the credit request from the bank, or the request for financial leasing with leasing company.

The amount of approved non-refundable aid up to 25% of the net value of the production equipment cannot be less than 250,000.00 dinars, nor more than 2,500,000.00 dinars.

How to apply and the deadline for submitting applications

Precisely and correctly completed application and accompanying documentation in two copies (original and certified photocopy), in accordance with the Program, are submitted when applying for a loan, i.e. financial leasing, in one of the branches/branches of the following commercial banks and leasing companies:

1. CREDIT AGRICOLE BANKA SRBIJA AD NOVI SAD
2. ERSTE BANK A.D. Novi Sad
3. UNICREDIT BANK SERBIA A.D. Belgrade
4. BANCA INTESA A.D. Belgrade.
5. INTESA LEASING D.O.O. BELGRADE
6. UNICREDIT LEASING SERBIA D.O.O. BELGRADE

All the information necessary for participation in the Program can be obtained from the mentioned commercial banks and leasing companies.

Required documentation:

• application form - Form number 1;
• signed written statement on acceptance of the conditions for the allocation of funds - Form number 2;
• proforma invoice or pre-contract issued in 2016;
• original or certified copy of the certificate from the competent branch of the Tax Administration that the applicant has settled all due obligations of public revenues;
• original or certified copy of the certificate from the competent court that the economic entity has not been issued with a legally binding measure prohibiting the performance of activities in the last two years;
• original or certified photocopy of the certificate that the owners and/or responsible persons of the business entity have not been criminally convicted.

The public call is open until the available funds are used up.

Business entities can submit only one request for the allocation of grants for the purchase of equipment from one bank or leasing company.

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Applications submitted to the office of the Ministry will be disqualified.

On the Internet pages of the Ministry: www.privreda.gov.rs, and Development Agencies: www.ras.gov.rs. the necessary tender documents can be downloaded: Form No. 1, Form No. 2, as well as the Program of Support for Small Businesses for the Procurement of Equipment in 2016, Information on the Method of Implementing the Program, Information on the Conditions of the Selected Banks and Leasing Companies, and the Draft Agreement on the Implementation of the Program, in which all essential elements and rules for participation in this Public Call are defined in more detail.

Supporting documentation:

Public call for grants under the Small Business Support Program for the purchase of equipment

Information-On-Method-of-Program-Implementation_2016

Form-No-1-For-Business-Subjects

Form-No.-2-For-Business-Entities

Form-3-For-Banks-And-Leasing-Company_2016

Conditions-of-Selected-Banks-And-Leasing-Company

Draft-Contract-With-End-User_Credit_2016

Draft-Ugovora-Sa-Krajnjim-Korisnikom_lizing_2016

Decree on Establishing the Support Program for Small Businesses for Equipment Procurement