Assistance to Small and Medium-Sized Undertakings

L.N. 412 of 2015

MALTA ENTERPRISE ACT

(CAP. 463)

Assistance to Small and Medium-Sized Undertakings

(Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations, 2015

IN exercise of the powers conferred upon him by article 5 of the

Malta Enterprise Act, the Minister for the Economy, Investment and

Small Business, in consultation with the Malta Enterprise

Corporation, has made the following regulations:-

The title of these regulations is the Assistance to Small and

Medium-Sized Undertakings (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations,

2015, and these regulations shall be read and construed as one with

the Assistance to Small and Medium-Sized Undertakings

Regulations, hereinafter referred to as "the principal regulations".

Regulation 13 of the principal regulations shall be

renumbered as regulation 14.

Immediately after regulation 12 of the principal

regulations there shall be added the following new regulation

'' Assistance to

(1)

Where the Corporation is

small start-up

satisfied that a small start-up undertaking in its

undertakings in

setting-up and initial growth phases as may be

their setting up

and initial

prescribed in the Guidelines, requires assistance,

growth phases.

the Corporation may provide such an

undertaking with a repayable cash grant that

shall not exceed

(a)

the amount of two hundred

thousand euro (€200,000) which amount

shall be linked to private equity in

accordance with the terms and conditions

set out in the Guidelines; or

(b) the amount of five hundred

thousand euro (€500,000) for the

acquisition of tangible assets in accordance

with the terms and conditions set out in the

Guidelines

Provided that in order to be eligible

for this assistance, the small start-up

undertaking must be an innovative

undertaking or a knowledge based

technology undertaking;

(c)

the amount of one hundred

thousand euro (€100,000) which amount

shall be linked to funding sought through

crowd funding platforms in accordance

with the terms and conditions set out in the

Guidelines.

(2) For the purposes of this regulation

(a)

an ''innovative undertaking''

shall mean an undertaking

(i) that can demonstrate, by

means of an evaluation carried out by

an external expert, that it will in the

foreseeable future develop products,

services or processes which are new

or substantially improved compared

to the state of the art in its industry,

and which carry a risk of

technological or industrial failure; or

(ii) the

research

and

development costs of which represent

at least 10% of its total operating

costs in at least one of the three years

preceding the granting of the aid or, in

the case of a start-up undertaking

without any financial history, in the

audit of its current fiscal period, as

certified by an external auditor;

(b) a ''knowledge based technology

undertaking'',

a

''small

start-up

undertaking'' and ''tangible assets'' shall

have the meaning attributed to them in the

Guidelines;

(c)

a ''qualifying activity'' shall be

an economic activity carried on or intended

to be carried out by a small start-up

undertaking as may be prescribed in the

Guidelines;

(d) an ''undertaking'' shall mean a

limited liability company constituted under

the Companies Act.

B

(3) Assistance under this regulation shall

be linked to either

(a)

co-investment linked to private

equity; or

(b) the procurement of tangible

assets; or

(c)

crowd funding campaigns.

(4) (a)

Assistance that may be

provided under this regulation shall be repaid

over a period of ten years and an interest will be

charged on any value outstanding at the end of

each calendar year in accordance with the terms

and conditions set out in the Guidelines.

(b)

The repayment period may be

extended in line with the performance of the

supported undertaking as may be prescribed in

the Guidelines.

(5) Applications for assistance under this

regulation shall reach the Corporation by not

later than the 31st October, 2016.''.

€0.27