Green Entrepreneurship in Crete

Public expenditure for the Action amounts to €5,000,000.

The subsidized budget of each investment proposal of a potential aid beneficiary can range from €30,000 to €300,000. 

If the submitted investment plan has a total subsidized budget of less than € 30,000, then it will be deemed ineligible from the outset and will not be able to be submitted. 

Note that if the Total Budget of the investment plan is over the Subsidized Budget, the excess amount will be considered as a 100% private participation for the implementation of the plan. In this case, although the excess cost is not subsidized, the investment plan in its entirety, including the excess cost, is subject to assessment and monitoring-control.

The maximum completion period for the funded investments shall not exceed twenty-four (24) months from the date of electronic notification of the final approval of the funding application (evaluation result or appeal evaluation result).

Existing micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, legally operating and active within the Region of Crete, in eligible Activity Codes (KAD) for the Action, which meet the requirements specified in the Action’s Detailed Call, and operate exclusively in one of the following forms of corporate/commercial enterprises: 

Société Anonyme (S.A.), Single Member Société Anonyme (S.M.S.A) Limited Liability Company (Ltd.), Single-Member Limited Liability Company (M.E.P.E.), General Partnership (O.E.), Limited Partnership (E.E.), Limited Partnership (E.E.) by Shares, Private Capital Company (I.K.E.), Single Member Private Capital Company (M.I.K.E.), Sole Proprietorship, Social Cooperative Enterprise of Law 4430/2016 as in force (KOIN.SEP.), Limited Liability Social Cooperative Enterprise (KOI.S.P.E.), Civil Profit-Making Cooperative Enterprise, Other For-Profit Legal Entity under Private Law (N.P.I.D.).

• They must operate within the Region of Crete, and the investment plan must concern existing facilities (headquarters or branch) located within the geographical boundaries of the Region of Crete prior to the publication of the call for the action. The beneficiary must have the facility/facilities where the investment plan will be implemented, registered as active with the Tax Office (DOY) within the Region of Crete prior to the publication of the call for the action.
• They must be incorporated prior to 01/01/2023 (commencement of business activity with AADE-tax authority).
• They must have at least two (2) fully closed financial years for the years n-2 and n-3 prior to the date of submission of the funding application (year n).
• They can submit one and only funding application per TIN.
• They must have been substantially actively engaged during the financial year n-2 (through their main KAD and/or the KAD corresponding to the highest gross revenues as indicated in the relevant E3 form for year n-2) in one eligible Activity Code listed in the call.
• The proposed investment plan must exclusively concern investment Activity Codes (KAD) that are active with the Tax Office (DOY) at the time of application submission and are eligible at the investment location(s) included in the call.
• The amount of the subsidized budget for the investment plan must not exceed twice the highest turnover [code (500) of the tax form E3] achieved by the enterprise in either of the two fully closed financial years for which the relevant tax forms have been submitted to the Independent Authority for Public Revenue AADE for the fiscal years (year n-3) and (year n-2) prior to the submission of the funding application (year n), and it must be within the time framework specified in the call.
• They must submit proof of availability of funds, demonstrating that it is possible to cover at least 25% of the total investment plan expenses, either through own resources or external financing, in accordance with the supporting documents specified in the call.
• The funding application must include expenditure related to subcategories marked as “eco-friendly processes” and the relevant minimum percentages described in the call must be observed both at the time of application submission and upon completion of the investment plan.
• They must have the status of Micro or Small or Medium-sized Enterprise.
• Applicant businesses must meet all the conditions for the application of Regulation (EU) 2831/2023 (OJ L 15.12.2023) (De Minimis) on which the present Action is based.
• They must maintain single or double-entry account books under Law 4308/2014, as in force.
• They must operate legally in the activity/activities (KAD) related to the investment plan (Investment KAD), possessing the appropriate licensing document in accordance with the applicable legislation.
• They must undertake that the entire investment plan and the individual costs included in the specific financing application:
  • have not been funded under any other action funded by national or EU funds.
  • do not constitute approved investment project expenditure in another ation financed by national or Union funds.
  • If approval is carried out also for the period that they constitute approved expenditure under the investment plan to be implemented, such expenditure will not be submitted for inclusion or certification in an investment plan of another action financed by national or Union funds, which may additionally finance the same investment plan, provided that the rules on cumulation of State aid are complied with.
• They must comply with the provisions set out in the Commission Communication (2021/C 373/01): Technical guidelines on strengthening the resilience of infrastructure to climate change during the period 2021-2027.
• They must not have completed or fully implemented the physical object of the investment before submitting the funding application.
• They must not be subject to an order for the clawback of aid, following a prior decision of the European Commission or the Court of Justice of the European Union.
• They must undertake that there are no grounds for exclusion under Article 39, par. 1-4 and Article 40 par. 1 of Greek law 4488/2017 (A137/13.09.2017).
• They must be registered in the Register of Beneficial Owners of Article 20 of Law 4557/2018 (A 139), as in force, if there is a relevant obligation, prior to the date of submission of the funding application.
• The place of implementation of the investment must not be the residence of the beneficiary (primary or secondary).
• They must not be under bankruptcy, liquidation, or compulsory administration, nor have a pending application for resolution submitted by their creditors.
• Where rescue aid has previously been granted, the loan must be repaid and associated guarantee agreements terminated; where restructuring aid has been received, the restructuring process must be fully completed.
• If they are active in the fisheries and aquaculture sector, they should not have committed one or more of the infringements referred to in Article 10(1)(a) to (d) and Article 10(3) of Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
• The funding application must obtain a minimum overall score of 30 in the scoring criteria as mentioned in the call.

The main expenses covered by the Program relate to:

Costs of Equipment, Means of Transport & Instruments

• Production and mechanical equipment
• Automation and specialized IT systems
• Digital office equipment
• Other business equipment
• Circular economy equipment – Please note that this specific subcategory of expenditure is mandatory.
• Equipment for environmental protection and Energy saving
• Installation equipment for photovoltaic plants and storage systems for electricity production and coverage of own needs (self-production)
• Electric means of transport

Expenditure on Buildings, Land Plots, Facilities & Surrounding Areas

• Building interventions for environmental protection, Energy and Water-saving and waste treatment purposes
• Buildings, facilities and surrounding area

Expenses for the Provision of Services

• Advisory support for monitoring the implementation of the investment plan.
• Technical studies necessarily linked to the costs of the investment plan

Indirect expenses

•  7% of the eligible direct expenses of the investment plan.
  Note that: Upon completion of the investment and on its final certified Budget, the following requirements must be met:
• Implementation of expenditure for circular economy equipment at least 5% on the subsidized budget. 
• Implementation of expenditure for “eco-friendly processes” at least 60% on the subsidized budget. 
• 7% of indirect costs on the final certified direct costs.

The date of publication of the Call for the Action shall be considered the start date for expenditure eligibility.

Eligible costs are detailed in the Call File.