Before you submit an application for a grant covered by the de minimis aid rules, you need to establish whether your enterprise has a sufficient limit to benefit from the planned support. You can check the available de minimis limit yourself in the State Aid Data Sharing System (SUDOP), run by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK). Verifying the limit is not only good practice, but in many calls it is a formal condition for submitting an application.
What is de minimis aid and why does the limit matter?
De minimis aid is a form of public support that does not require notification to the European Commission, provided that certain requirements are met. The rules for granting it are laid down in Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2831 of 13 December 2023.
Under the applicable rules, the total amount of de minimis aid granted to a single undertaking may not exceed EUR 300,000 over a period of three years, calculated on a rolling basis.
From 1 January 2024, this limit increased from EUR 200,000 to EUR 300,000 and also covers the road freight transport sector. Separate rules apply, among others, in agriculture and fisheries.
Why is verifying the limit so important? For several practical reasons:
- exceeding the limit means that the aid granted becomes unlawful aid, which may result in an obligation to repay it with interest,
- institutions awarding grants are obliged to check the available limit before issuing a decision,
- a lack of headroom in the limit disqualifies the application at the formal assessment stage.
How to check the available de minimis limit – step by step
The SUDOP system – the basic verification tool
The main source of information on de minimis aid granted in Poland is the State Aid Data Sharing System (SUDOP), available at sudop.uokik.gov.pl. The database is run by UOKiK and contains information on State aid granted by entities operating in the territory of the Republic of Poland.
To check the available limit, you should:
- go to the SUDOP website (sudop.uokik.gov.pl),
- select the tab for searching for aid beneficiaries,
- enter the company’s NIP (tax identification number),
- review the history of de minimis aid granted over the last three tax years.
The system displays a summary of the aid granted, broken down by programme, date and amount in euro. On this basis, you can calculate how much of the available limit has already been used.
De minimis aid certificates – what is worth knowing?
Every entity granting de minimis aid (e.g. the tax office, ZUS, an intermediate body in grant programmes) is obliged to issue the entrepreneur with a certificate stating the amount of aid granted. These certificates constitute formal documentation that the entrepreneur should collect and present with subsequent applications.
If an authority has not issued a certificate, the entrepreneur is entitled to request it. Certificates are issued under the Act of 30 April 2004 on procedural matters concerning State aid.
How to calculate the actual use of the limit?
The de minimis limit is expressed in euro, whereas many forms of support in Poland are granted in zlotys. The aid value is converted using the average euro exchange rate published by Narodowy Bank Polski on the date the aid is granted.
Calculating the available limit requires:
- adding up the values of all de minimis aid certificates received in the current tax year and the two previous ones,
- taking into account de minimis aid in agriculture and fisheries, where separate sectoral limits apply,
- subtracting the total amount from the current limit (EUR 300,000),
- taking into account the NBP exchange rate on the date each form of aid was granted.
Which forms of support count towards the de minimis limit?
Many entrepreneurs are unaware of how broad a range of instruments can be classified as de minimis aid. The limit includes, among other things:
- grants from public funds for investment or current activities,
- funding for training and EU projects,
- preferential loans and sureties granted on terms more favourable than market terms,
- tax reliefs and write-offs of public-law arrears granted at the entrepreneur’s request,
- property tax exemptions granted by municipalities under aid resolutions,
- reimbursements of ZUS contributions under specific programmes,
- support from labour offices (e.g. grants for starting a business).
This means that entrepreneurs who have used various forms of public support over the last three years may have a much smaller available limit than they initially assume.
Special situations – capital links and a single undertaking
One of the most frequently overlooked aspects of de minimis aid is the principle of a single undertaking. Under EU law, the de minimis limit applies jointly to all entities that form a single undertaking within the meaning of State aid rules.
A single undertaking comprises all entities between which there are capital or personal links that allow decisive influence to be exercised – both directly and indirectly. This means, for example, that a parent company and its subsidiaries share a common de minimis limit.
Failure to notice these links may lead to the limit being exceeded unknowingly, which consequently results in an obligation to repay the aid.
Before submitting an application, it is therefore worth:
- analysing the ownership structure of the capital group,
- taking into account the aid granted to all linked entities,
- consulting an advisor in case of doubt.
What to do if the de minimis limit is insufficient?
Exhausting the de minimis limit does not automatically mean that support cannot be obtained. There are several alternative paths:
- Regional aid – programmes based on the regional aid map have higher aid intensity ceilings and separate cumulation rules. This type of aid does not count towards the de minimis limit.
- Aid under block exemptions (GBER) – Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 provides for a broad catalogue of forms of aid that are permissible without notification and without applying the de minimis limit.
- Financial instruments – loans and sureties granted on market terms do not constitute State aid and do not affect the limit.
- Waiting for the limit to reset – if the limit was exhausted as a result of aid granted two or three years ago, it is possible to wait for the reference period to roll over, after which part of the earlier aid is no longer counted.
Optimal planning of the schedule and selection of the form of support may require the analysis of many variables at the same time. In such cases, it is worth using the grant advisory services, which allow a comprehensive verification of eligibility and the available alternatives.
Practical tips before submitting an application
Below are some recommendations that will help you avoid problems related to the de minimis limit at the application submission and assessment stage:
- download and archive all de minimis aid certificates issued over the last three years,
- verify the data in the SUDOP system and compare them with the documentation you hold – any discrepancies should be clarified before submitting the application,
- if you run several linked entities, analyse the combined level of use of the limit,
- include the planned aid in the calculation – the value of the support applied for may not exceed the difference between the limit and the aid granted to date,
- if you operate in sectors covered by separate rules (agriculture, fisheries, road freight transport), check the dedicated sectoral rules.
Useful information on State aid rules and the database of notified aid schemes is available on the website of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection and on the information website of the European Commission on State aid.
How to find grants that fit your available limit?
Knowing your available de minimis limit is the starting point for effective planning of external support. The next step is to identify grant programmes that fit within your aid budget or that are based on alternative legal bases.
You will find current calls and regional and national programmes in our grant search engine.Go to the grant search engine
Author: Dariusz Kozakiewicz
EU funding expert