De Minimis State aid Process
Purpose
This document sets out the key elements of De Minimis state aid, a public funding source that
allows small amounts of aid to be given based on the assumption that the amounts are too small to
distort or threaten to distort competition.
What De Minimis Includes
De Minimis is aid provided by public funds, but does not include aid provided by block exemption
regulations or approved State Aid schemes.
Threshold
Each business is allocated a maximum threshold of €200,0001 under De Minimis over three fiscal
years.
Compliance with De Minimis requirements;

De Minimis allows aid up to €200,0001 to be provided to an enterprise regardless of size.

There are restrictions with De Minimis for undertakings with road transport, the maximum
threshold being €100,0001.

De Minimis aid cannot be given to enterprises within the agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture and
coal sectors, undertaking for firms in difficulties, or for directly export-related activities within the
third countries or member states.

De Minimis aid cannot be given towards similar activity that is supported by other block
exemption or notified scheme which means that the block exemption or notified scheme
thresholds would be exceeded.
Process
There are three key elements in managing the state aid process:
1)
2)
3)
Eligibility Declaration
Declaration of the value of previous aid
Annual Statements and review of cumulative value of aid
Data is collected on an annual basis to ensure that the businesses being assisted under the
Programme remain eligible and do not exceed the De Minimis threshold. The excerpts below
provide example text for inclusion in Business Registration/Engagement Forms.
1. Eligibility Declaration – This is required to confirm that the businesses being assisted are SMEs
and are therefore eligible for support. Example text for inclusion in the registration form is set out
below; however, please refer to standard registration forms for the latest text version.
We declare that no more than 25% or more of the capital or the voting rights of the company
applying for support, is owned by any other enterprise or jointly by several other enterprises, which
fall outside the definition of an SME (see below), AND that the applicant enterprise and any partner
or substantial shareholder in it, is NOT associated, related or in any other way connected with any
other enterprise(s) whose total number of employees, turnover, and balance sheet, when
aggregated with those of the applicant does not satisfy the criteria below:
1
This is the threshold as at Sept 2011; however the threshold is subject to change and should be checked at appropriate intervals
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(a) We have 250 or fewer employees (worldwide, including partners and executive directors)
(b) Annual turnover does not exceed EURO 501 million (Approx £44m, September 2011), or an
annual balance sheet not exceeding EURO 43million (Approx £38m, September 2011)
(c) The support, when aggregated with all other public aid given to the company over a rolling 3
year period, does not exceed EURO 200,0001.
2. De Minimis Declaration – This is to obtain the values of state aids received over the last three
years from the businesses being assisted. This information is then held by the delivery partner and
consolidated within a central database. An example statement for inclusion in Business
Registration/Engagement forms is provided below; however, please refer to standard template
documents for the latest text version
I have read and understood the regulations regarding De Minimis Aid and I am aware that there is
a ceiling of 200,0001 Euro (for all De Minimis aid provided to any organisation over a three year
period. (See www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/stateaid). Please see a list of De Minimis Aid received over the
last three years below:
Source of Aid
Amount(£)
Date
1.
2.
3.
4.
3. Value of Assistance - Communicate to the businesses participating within the programme the
value of assistance provided directly to them.
An example of wording to be included within the letter communicating the value of assistance to
businesses can be found within the ENWORKS De Minimis Letter Template.
De Minimis Value Methodology
A written methodology is to be kept on file which explains how the value of the De Minimis to each
business is calculated. This reflects all the costs associated with delivering to the businesses, and
includes, for example:
Delivery staff hourly rate multiplied by the hours worked with the business (site visits, research,
report writing), plus any consultancy work, travel costs etc.
Euro Conversion
Appropriate records must be held that record the State Aid De Minimis value being provided to
businesses in both €s and £s. This should also be held on file and included within the De Minimis
Declaration letters provided to businesses.
Guidance from funders recommends that the Euro exchange rate used in the conversion is taken
from the first date of assistance provided to the business within that particular financial year.
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Audit Trails

De Minimis Statement - On an annual basis, each recipient is given a statement detailing the
value of state aid and its purpose. It should make reference to the De Minimis regulation
(Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1998/2006).

De Minimis Rationale - A rationale is to be kept on file explaining how the value of state aid is
calculated for each business assisted through the programme, including how the Euro
Conversion rate has been applied.

De Minimis Declaration - Each recipient is required to declare what state aid they have
received over the previous three years. This should include the details of each individual
intervention in terms of value, source of aid and the date aid was given. As there are many
different types of aid, it is important that there is clarity over the type of aid received. This
should be requested from the business recipient on an annual basis through the Business
Registration/Engagement Forms.

De Minimis Database - A central database of ‘De Minimis state aid’ provided to businesses is
to be kept by the organisation providing the support. The value of De Minimis aid received via
other sources should also be recorded to allow the cumulative value of aid to be tracked
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