Registering for minimum aid offered to SMEs, annulled

The online session of registration for minimum aid offered to SMEs, which took place Wednesday, will be annulled and will be resumed afterwards.

Finances Minister, Daniel Chitoiu, states he took this decision in order to eliminate any suspicion and to offer equality of chances to those interested in these irredeemable funds.
More entrepreneurs, who tried to access, Wednesday morning, the internet page of the Finances Ministry, claimed that the section dedicated to the minimum aid of 500 million lei blocked immediately after the opening.

In short time, the selection process was declared closed and these could no longer apply for the financial aid.

The finances minister requested immediately an investigation, and the first data showed that IT resources allocated to the minimum schema were insufficient, after the wrong anticipation of the number of firms interested.

In only five minutes from the opening of the applicants’ session, the whole amount of 500 million lei was spent, on the criterion “first come, first served”, while many of those interested could not even access the page dedicated to this aid.

The Finances Minister will come again with specification at the end of the investigation.
The minimum aid for SMEs is a support schema from the state for investment and creating new jobs.

The firms interested could receive between 100 and 900 thousands lei, money for which they oblige to maintain the jobs existent at the time of registration and to hire another 5 or 7 persons, function of the amount obtained, which cannot be higher than 200 thousand euro.

SMEs are obliged to maintain the jobs at least 3 years after the investment is finalized.

Translated by Alexandra-Diana Mircea