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De Minimis Notification Procedures

The de minimis Regulation is in different terms from the block exemption Regulations for SME, training and employment aid – although it is often considered along with them.

Where an aid measure satisfies all the conditions laid down in the de minimis Regulation there is no requirement to submit the summary information required for the three block-exempted State Aid Regulations.

However, there are procedural requirements designed to ensure that the de minimis ceiling is not exceeded. Aid administrators need to think carefully about how they will ensure compliance with the regulation's requirements.

Because of the need to be sure that the threshold has not been exceeded, it may be quicker and easier to provide the aid in another form, eg under the SME block exemption regulation or even under a scheme of approved State Aid.

Compliance with de minimis requirements

• requirement to tell the recipient that it is de minimis aid.

One way of doing this is to include a statement in any offer letter. Where there is no "offer letter" as such, the same wording could be provided in a standard letter which specifies the amount of de minimis aid and its purpose.

• requirement is to obtain from each recipient information about other de minimis aid received (as opposed to offered) during the previous 3 years.

This may be difficult because firms may not know if the public aid they have received is a de minimis aid. There is no central register of de minimis aid.

One possibility might be to require applicants to give details, including a scheme title if known, of all the public financial assistance they have received over the past 3 years below €100,000. Aid administrators would need to isolate the de minimis aid from any State Aid received under an approved State Aid scheme or under a block exemption Regulation.

To help applicants provide you with all this information you may consider including in a letter to applicants requesting this information an illustrative list of possible forms of assistance which could comprise public aid, State Aid or de minimis aid. Examples which will help you to compile your list are given in the 'What is State Aid?'  section of the State Aid Guide.