What does de minimis aid mean?

De minimis aid refers to public funding granted to companies, governed by the Commission Regulation (EU) No 2023/2831. The aid may consist of funding or other benefits, such as tax relief, interest rate subsidies, partially or completely free training, or other service offered to a limited group of companies. 

Which parties in Finland grant de minimis aid?

In addition to Business Finland, parties such as municipalities, regional councils, ministries, Finnvera, and ELY Centers grant de minimis aid in Finland. Each organization granting aid states the amount of de minimis aid in its decision. 

Notification requirement of a company

The company itself must monitor the amount of the de minimis aid it receives and report it when applying for new aid, so that the total amount of de minimis aid granted by different authorities does not exceed the maximum permissible sum of aid over any period of 3 years. 

What is the maximum amount of de minimis aid and how is it calculated?

The total amount of de minimis aid granted to a single company shall not exceed EUR 300 000 over any period of 3 years.

Aid is deemed to be granted at the moment that the legal right to receive the aid is conferred on the company. It does not matter when the aid was applied for or when it was paid, or how much of the granted aid was used.

At the group level, a parent company and its subsidiary operating in the same Member State, and the companies in the same control, are treated as a single company, and the amounts of aid they receive are added together.

The company must report the de minimis aid it has received previously in the funding application. If the company has not received any aid, the sum of aid is reported as 0 euros.

For which purposes de minimis aid cannot be granted?

De minimis aid cannot be granted to primary production of agriculture, fishery and aquaculture. These fields have their own forms of aid. The de minimis regulation also prohibits export aid and aid to the establishment of a distribution network. 

More information about de minimis aid

Read more about de minimis aid in the guide published by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment (in Finnish). 

Please NOTE that the guide has been updated in February 2023, when e.g. the cumulation limits and the cumulation calculation instructions still refer to the previous regulation.