Grants available for Malta’s Recovery and Resilience Plan

The Digital Intensification Grant, SME Digitalisation Grant and the Renovation of Private Sector buildings Grant Schemes are now available for business through a series of open calls managed by the Measures and Support Division (MSD).  These schemes are funded through the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) to support digitalisation investments and energy efficient projects by eligible businesses through non-repayable Grants to part-finance initial investments in the case of SMEs, or for initial investment in favour of a new economic activity in the case of large enterprises.

Scheme 1: Digital Intensification Grant Scheme

This scheme is intended to those businesses planning to invest in digital technologies and other related processes in their company in particular hardware, software (off-the-shelf or custom made), digital solutions and installations including training costs aiming to improve the efficiency, productivity, and customer experience.  There are various economic sectors which are eligible but proposals within the Manufacturing and Tourism (including culture) sectors shall be given priority.

Budget: €10,000,000

Timeframe:  Scheme operational until 31 December 2023 subject to availability of funds and investments must be concluded by 30th June 2026.

Maximum Grant Value and Aid Intensity: The maximum grant value under this scheme is set at €200,000 with aid intensity ranging from 10% to 30% depending on the applicant’s size and the location of the investment.  Gozo applicants shall benefit with a higher aid intensity of 5%.  Large companies which do not operate in the indicated Malta’s regional aid map will be ineligible to participate.  If the applicant has more than one digitalisation investment project, the total maximum amount of assistance would still be €200,000 per undertaking.

Scheme 2: SME Digitalisation Grant Scheme

This scheme is aimed to support Digitalisation Investment by SMEs, in various economic sectors through non-repayable Grants to part-finance investment in digital technologies and related processes and implementation.  The Grant will assist businesses to finance the hardware, software and digital solutions to improve their efficiency, productivity and customer experience by enhancing new digital capabilities and digitalised processes such as product and process design and engineering, end-to-end procurement, supply chain/distribution and after sales.

Budget: €5,000,000

Timeframe:  Scheme will be operational until 31 December 2023 subject to availability of funds and investments are to be concluded by 30 June 2026.

Maximum Grant Value: Maximum funding is capped at €50,000 per digitalisation investment in digital technologies, part-financing eligible costs up to 50% for investments in Malta and 60% for investments in Gozo.

Eligible Expenditure: This Grant schemes will support eligible applicants investing in tangible and intangible assets including e-Commerce Website, Digital Solution (including necessary hardware and software) and related training costs.  Applications need to include a Systems and Process Review.

Scheme 3: Renovation of Private Sector Buildings Grant Scheme

This scheme is aimed to improve the energy efficiency, reduce energy demand, lower carbon emissions and limit energy waste through the retrofitting of private sector buildings.  The improvement of the existing building will upgrade the energy performance of the commercial building assets for their ongoing life.

Budget: €20M with annual thresholds of €10M

Timeframe:  Scheme will be operational until 31 December 2023 subject to availability of funds and investments are to be concluded by 31 December 2025.

Maximum Grant Value aid intensity:  The grant that an applicant can receive is of €300 per m (capped at €1M per undertaking).  The aid shall depend on the set aid intensities as follows:

Eligible Expenditure: Reducing energy used for heating, cooling, ventilation, hot water and lighting are eligible including systems for the above energy use.  An Energy Performance Certificate issue before and after the renovation will be required.  The building renovations undertaken are to lead a reduction of Primary Energy Demand of at least 30%.  For construction works the economic operators need to ensure that at least 70% (by weight) of the non-hazardous construction and demolition waste shall be prepared for re-use and recycling.  An assessment and evaluation process is carried out.

The deadline for all three schemes is 30th September 2022. Should you require assistance with your application you may contact our advisory team on [email protected]

Requirement of email address by Malta Business Registry

The Malta Business Registry has issued a notice that in furtherance to the publication Act LX of 2021, the legislation has introduced the requirement for companies to indicate their electronic mail address in the Memorandum & Articles in terms of article 69(1)(d) of the Companies Act.

The scope behind this amendment is two-fold. Firstly, electronic communication serves to increase efficiency through timely communication by reducing the reliance on paper format communication to a company’s registered office. Certain correspondence may well be served to a company electronically and is many times more effective in reaching the concerned company officers. Secondly, the MBR as a central national registry and supervisory authority, is in the process of implementing sustainable governance measures that correspond to corporate sustainability goals reflecting national and European Union initiatives in the sector. Limiting the amount of physical paper-format correspondence and shifting the emphasis to electronic means, will serve to reduce the use of paper and associated materials which is in line with the requirement of the European Green Directive.

MBR is therefore requesting that an electronic mail address is to be provided to the Malta Business Registry by 30 September 2022 by all companies actively registered in the Malta Business Registry. This can be done either by filing an updated memorandum and articles of association or by sending a formal letter (in writing) to the Registrar.

Should you need any assistance in this regard, 3a can assist you to comply with the above-mentioned requirement. Kindly contact Ms Rachel Schembri, our Corporate Support Officer on [email protected]

Research & Development Scheme

Scope:  This scheme is open to companies which require assistance to carry out Research and Experimental Development projects as required by industry for the acquisition of knowledge in either industrial research or experimental projects.  These projects may include projects accepted and endorsed by the EUREKA Network under these various instruments: Network projects, Eurostars, Clusters.  The project’s scope should include a technological challenge through a structured approach within an established time frame, which should not exceed 36 months in project duration.

When a cash injection is required to finance the project, the applicant must commit not to commence the project prior to the formal approval of the aid from the Corporation.  In requesting fiscal (tax credits) support, the applicant may apply within 6 months of commencement of the project.

Definition:

  • ‘Industrial research’ means the planned research or critical investigation aimed at the acquisition of new knowledge and skills for developing new products, processes, or services or for bringing about a significant improvement in existing products, processes, or services. It comprises the creation of components parts of complex systems and may include the construction of prototypes in a laboratory environment or in an environment with simulated interfaces to existing systems as well as of pilot lines, when necessary for the industrial research and notably for generic technology validation.
  • ‘Experimental development’ means acquiring, combining, shaping, and using existing scientific, technological, business and other relevant knowledge and skills with the aim of developing new or improved products, processes or services. This may also include, for example, activities aiming at the conceptual definition, planning and documentation of new products, processes or services;

Experimental development may comprise prototyping, demonstrating, piloting, testing and validation of new or improved products, processes or services in environments representative of real life operating conditions where the primary objective is to make further technical improvements on products, processes or services that are not substantially set. This may include the development of a commercially usable prototype or pilot which is necessarily the final commercial product and which is too expensive to produce for it to be used only for demonstration and validation purposes.

Experimental development does not include routine or periodic changes made to existing products, production lines, manufacturing processes, services and other operations in progress, even if those changes may represent improvements.

Budget:      This scheme shall have a budget of €5,000,000 and an overall budget of €20,000,000.

Incentive:  45% of the eligible costs in the case of an undertaking which qualifies as a small enterprise; 35% of the eligible costs in the case of an undertaking which qualifies as a medium enterprise; 25% of the eligible costs in the case of an undertaking which qualifies as a large enterprise;

  • Malta Enterprise may provide an additional assistance of 25% of the eligible costs if undertaking carries out industrial research project;
  • The project may receive an additional assistance of not more than 15% of the eligible costs of up to a maximum aid intensity of 80% of eligible costs, if one of the following conditions is fulfilled:

The project involves effective collaborative R&D project involving at least an independent undertaking and/or Research and Knowledge Dissemination Organisations withing terms established by the Guidelines;

The results of the project are widely disseminated through conferences, publications, open access repositories, or free or open source software within one year of completion of the project and such intention is declared at application stage.

A pre-approval proposal must be submitted to the Corporation so they will do the necessary vetting and ensure that the intended project conforms with the Enterprises’ parameters as set in the Incentives guidelines.