Financial support for SMEs in the Romanian brewery industry

The Law no. 88/2010 was republished in the Official Gazette (no.121) on February, the 18^th providing several financial stipulations concerning the small and medium enterprises involved in the brewery industry in Romania.

The newly introduced regulations concern the financial measures allowed for SMEs active in Romania in the brewery industry. These stipulations refer to a specific group of companies which declared until the 15^th of January 2009 an output less than 500 hl/year. They were not entering the bankruptcy procedures up until the moment when this law went into force. They can be labeled as small and medium companies according to law stipulations valid in Romania. They are SMEs which can be considered firms in difficulty, following current regulations. The restructuring plans for long-term viability were established according to provided legal background. They are legally aware of all financial responsibilities which must be achieved within these restructuring measures as it follows: medium companies must compensate at least 40% of expenses and small ones must compensate at least 25 %. These restructuring plans shall be approved and verified by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development within 15 days after the file was submitted. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has the authority to nominate a legal or natural person, a specialist in this field, to evaluate conditions and fulfillment of all regulations. The nominated person must be certified in this area of expertise. These expenses shall be covered my companies in question. The restructuring plan may refer to a time interval of a maximum of three years.

All guaranteed facilities are no longer valid if, during the application of the restructuring plan, the beneficiary party proceeds to increasing output, fails to follow all measures stipulated in the restructuring procedures, does not assume and does not execute fiscal responsibilities on time. If the fiscal responsibilities are not fulfilled within limits they do have the alternative of paying taxes for a period of 90 days, including other adjacent payments. Up until 29^th of December of each fiscal year, all taxes must be paid. The benefits will also be suspended when the majority of shareholders controlling activities changes, without providing a notice to fiscal authorities in the area. Managers of these small and medium companies are not allowed to have committed crimes related to taxation for which the competent courts had pronounced a final judgment. Another detail that cancels benefits is represented by the alienation of any type of fixed assets, without noticing the tax authorities. At this point, an exception must be identified and that is the sale of assets which is stipulated within restructuring plans. Another condition obviously concerns the importance of making proof of all characteristics, particular for SME’s structures.  The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall provide a report for each year concerning the accessibility to this state aid scheme, according to legal stipulations. For any other additional details, our team may provide all necessary answers explaining how this scheme suits your type of business and circumstances imposed.