De minimis aid: the €300,000 ceiling, the 3-year calculation and the single undertaking

De minimis aid is a small amount of public aid that a state may grant without notifying the European Commission. Since 1 January 2024, under Regulation (EU) 2023/2831, a single undertaking may receive no more than €300,000 of de minimis aid in any period of 3 years. The Regulation applies until 31 December 2030. The ceiling is checked over a rolling 3-year period and covers the whole group of linked companies, not just the company submitting the application.

In brief

• Legal act: Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2831 on de minimis aid
• Ceiling: €300,000 per Member State for a single undertaking, in any period of 3 years (Article 3(2))
• Calculation: rolling: for each new aid, you add up all de minimis aid received in the previous 3 years
• Date of granting: the date on which the company acquires the legal right to the aid (usually the signing of the contract), not the date of payment
• Amounts: gross, before tax, expressed as a cash grant
• Central register: mandatory from 1 January 2026, with registration within 20 working days of the aid being granted. In Romania, the register is RegAS, administered by the Competition Council
• Application: 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2030

What is de minimis aid and who cannot receive it?

The Regulation applies to companies in all sectors, with a few exceptions set out in Article 1. De minimis aid cannot be granted under it for:

• primary production of agricultural products and primary production of fishery and aquaculture products;
• processing and marketing of agricultural or fishery products, if the aid depends on the price or quantity of the products purchased or placed on the market, or if it must be passed on, in whole or in part, to primary producers;
• export-related activities: aid directly linked to the quantities exported, to the establishment of a distribution network or to other current expenditure linked to export activity;
• aid contingent on the use of domestic goods in preference to imported ones.

A company that operates both in an excluded sector and in an eligible one may receive aid only for the eligible activity. The condition is that, through separation of activities or distinct accounts, the excluded activity does not benefit from the aid. For primary agricultural production and for fisheries there are separate de minimis regulations, No 1408/2013 and No 717/2014.

How is the 3-year period calculated?

The Regulation no longer refers to "fiscal years" but to "any period of 3 years". Recital 11 explains that the period is assessed continuously: for each new aid, all de minimis aid granted in the previous 3 years is added up. What matters is the date of granting, that is, the moment the company acquires the legal right to the aid, not the date on which it receives the money.

Calculation example. A company has received two de minimis aids: €120,000 under a contract signed on 15 March 2024 and €100,000 under a contract signed on 10 October 2025. It now applies for €150,000, with signing expected on 1 November 2026.

• The 3-year window before signing includes both aids: 120,000 + 100,000 = €220,000.
• With the new aid, the total would be €370,000, above the €300,000 ceiling.
• Under Article 3(7), the new aid can no longer be granted under the Regulation, so it is not just the part exceeding the ceiling that is lost.
• If the same application were signed after 15 March 2027, the first aid would fall out of the window: 100,000 + 150,000 = €250,000, below the ceiling.

Aid paid in several instalments is discounted to its value at the time of granting, using the discount rate applicable on that date.

What is a single undertaking?

The ceiling does not apply per tax code, but per "single undertaking". Under Article 2(2), this covers all companies between which there is at least one of the following relationships:

1. one company holds the majority of the voting rights of the shareholders or members of another company;
2. one company has the right to appoint or remove the majority of the members of the administrative, management or supervisory body of another company;
3. one company can exercise a dominant influence over another, under a contract or a provision in the articles of association or statutes;
4. one company that is a shareholder or member of another controls alone, under an agreement with the other shareholders or members, the majority of the voting rights in that company.

Relationships also pass through intermediary companies. Example: SRL A holds 60% of SRL B, and SRL B holds 70% of SRL C. The three form a single undertaking, so all de minimis aid received by A, B and C in the last 3 years is added up against the same €300,000 ceiling. If SRL A holds only 40% of SRL D and has no other control relationship of the kinds above, D is not part of A's single undertaking.

How are loans and guarantees calculated?

For aid that is not a grant, the gross grant equivalent (GGE) is used. Article 4 sets out several safe thresholds:

• Loan secured by collateral covering at least 50%: a loan of €1,500,000 over 5 years or of €750,000 over 10 years has a GGE equal to the €300,000 ceiling. For smaller amounts or shorter terms, the GGE is calculated proportionally. Example: a loan of €750,000 over 5 years means 300,000 × 750,000 / 1,500,000 = €150,000 of de minimis aid.
• Guarantee of up to 80% of the guaranteed loan: a guarantee of €2,250,000 over 5 years or of €1,125,000 over 10 years has a GGE equal to the ceiling.
• The GGE can also be calculated on the basis of the reference rate or safe-harbour premiums, provided the company is not subject to collective insolvency proceedings.

How does it combine with other aid?

Article 5 sets out three rules:

• general de minimis aid can be combined with de minimis aid for services of general economic interest, granted under Regulation (EU) 2023/2832;
• it can be combined with agricultural de minimis aid (Regulation No 1408/2013) and with fisheries de minimis aid (Regulation No 717/2014), but only up to the €300,000 ceiling;
• it cannot be combined with state aid for the same eligible costs if this would exceed the maximum aid intensity permitted by the applicable exemption regulation. De minimis aid that is not linked to specific eligible costs can be combined with state aid granted under block exemption.

Mergers, demergers and the central register

In a merger or acquisition, all previous de minimis aid of the merging companies is added together. Aid lawfully granted before the merger remains lawful. In a demerger, the aid stays with the company that takes over the activity for which it was used. If this cannot be determined, the aid is divided in proportion to the book value of the equity of the new companies at the date of the split.

From 1 January 2026, de minimis aid must be recorded in a central register, and the information is kept for 10 years. In Romania, the records are held in RegAS, the Competition Council's register. Until the central register covers a full 3-year period, the authority asks the company, before granting the aid, for a declaration of all de minimis aid received in any period of 3 years.

What this means for your business

Our recommendation: before any de minimis funding application, draw up a table of all aid received by the company and by linked companies in the last 3 years. For each one, record the contract date, not the payment date, and the gross amount. The most common mistakes we encounter are:

• companies in the group are forgotten, especially those controlled through intermediaries;
• calendar years are counted instead of the rolling window;
• less visible aid is omitted, such as guarantees, interest subsidies or facilities granted by local authorities;
• the de minimis declaration is incomplete. The evaluator compares it with RegAS, and a discrepancy can lead to rejection or to recovery of the aid.

The Regulation expresses the ceiling in euro. The exchange rate used for conversion is the one set in the aid scheme, so check it in the call guide. If you are not sure whether the company still has room under the ceiling, the eligibility check is a good starting point.

Frequently asked questions

Is the €300,000 ceiling calculated over three fiscal years?

No. Regulation (EU) 2023/2831 uses "any period of 3 years", assessed continuously. For each new aid, all de minimis aid granted in the previous 3 years is added up, counted from the date of granting.

What happens if the new aid exceeds the ceiling?

Under Article 3(7), the new aid can no longer be granted under the de minimis regulation, in its entirety, not just the part exceeding the ceiling.

Does the payment date or the contract date matter?

What matters is the date on which the company acquires the legal right to the aid, usually the signing of the contract or of the granting document. The payment date does not matter.

Is aid received by the parent company added to mine?

Yes, if the parent company holds the majority of the voting rights or has another control relationship of the kind listed in Article 2(2). In that case you form a single undertaking together, with one ceiling of €300,000.

Can I receive de minimis aid if I do primary agricultural production?

Not under Regulation 2023/2831, which excludes primary agricultural production. For that activity, the agricultural de minimis Regulation No 1408/2013 applies.

Official sources

• Regulation (EU) 2023/2831 on de minimis aid, EUR-Lex
• Official summary of the de minimis rule, EUR-Lex
• Competition Council: the RegAS 2 state aid register

Information checked on 27 September 2026. Conditions may be amended by the managing authority — check the guide in force before submitting.