Small-scale (de minimis) aid for farming

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EU) No 1408/2013 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid in the agriculture sector

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

It lays down the rules regarding small (known as de minimis) aid given to businesses involved in the primary production of agricultural products.
It defines the threshold of such aid and the conditions it should meet so that it neither affects trade between European Union (EU) Member States nor distorts or threatens to distort competition.

KEY POINTS

A Member State may grant aid of up to €15,000 to a given beneficiary over any period of 3 fiscal years. This was increased to €20,000 by amending Regulation (EU) 2019/316, which has applied since 14 March 2019.
Where a country does not spend more than 50% of its total national aid envelope on one particular agricultural sector, it may, under amending Regulation (EU) 2019/316, further increase the de minimis aid per farm to €25,000 and the national maximum to 1.5% of the annual output.
The overall amount of de minimis aid granted must not exceed 1% of that Member State’s annual agricultural output. Amending Regulation (EU) 2019/316 sets this national ceiling at 1.25% of the country’s annual agricultural output over the same 3-year period.
The beneficiary must be active in the primary production of agricultural products (for example, live animals, fruit or vegetables).
The amount of the aid must be transparent, i.e. quantifiable in advance.
Aid that meets these conditions is not considered to constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and does not, therefore, have to be brought to the attention of the European Commission.
De minimis aid can be cumulated with State aid (for example, under Regulation (EU) No 702/2014 on State aid in the agricultural and forestry sectors — see summary) as long as the total aid does not breach the maximum aid rate/amount allowed for the other aid under State aid rules.
In 2014, the Commission issued guidelines for State aid in the agricultural and forestry sectors and in rural areas for the 2014–2020 period. These were amended in 2020 and extended to cover the period up until 31 December 2022.

Exclusions

Certain types of aid are ineligible as de minimis aid:

aid whose amount is fixed on the basis of the price or quantity of products that are put on the market;
aid directly linked to quantities exported, to the establishment and operation of a distribution network or to other current expenditures linked to an export activity;
aid that is conditional upon the use of domestic over imported goods.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

Regulation (EU) No 1408/2013 initially applied from 1 January 2014 until 31 December 2020.
Amending Regulation (EU) 2019/316 extended this date until 31 December 2027.

BACKGROUND

For more information, see:

Agriculture (European Commission).

MAIN DOCUMENT

Commission Regulation (EU) No 1408/2013 of 18 December 2013 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid in the agriculture sector (OJ L 352, 24.12.2013, pp. 9–17).

Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1408/2013 have been incorporated in the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.