CALL CLOSED

Component 1 is aimed at preparing for the export of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurs who still do not export, but have the potential, or are interested in exporting.

Conditions for participation in the program

Grants can be applied for by clusters, regional development agencies, chambers of commerce, associations, colleges and institutes that can compete individually or as members of the Consortium. Other organizations involved in supporting the economy (business incubators, science and technology parks, etc.), as well as enterprises and entrepreneurs whose consulting activities represent a core activity, can apply only as members of the Consortium. 

The applicants (all members of the Consortium) must meet all the following general conditions:
1. they are registered in the Republic of Serbia in line with the applicable legislation relating to them;
2. they were established before January 1, 2016;
3. they are not in bankruptcy or liquidation proceedings;
4. they have paid liabilities for taxes and contributions;
5. they conducted positive business in the previous year;
6. they have not been sentenced with legally binding measure prohibiting business activity in the last two years;
7. they have not, in this year on the same basis, used incentives that come from the budget of the Republic of Serbia, the APV budget and the budgets of local governments;

8. they are not in difficulty according to the definition contained in the Regulation on the rules for granting state aid;
9. support to export/export promotion is defined as one of the goals in their strategic plan/development plan;
10. they realized activities related to supporting exports of SMEs in the previous year;
11. they have adopted the Program or Work plan for 2017.

For certain categories of applicants, i.e. members of the Consortium additional special conditions apply, namely:
For Associations:
• that their statute defines the activity oriented to support of SMEs and entrepreneurs;
 
For companies and entrepreneurs:
• that their predominant activity refers to consulting activities.

Allocation of grants

Under Component 1 the following types of activities can be recognized:
• Development of training programs and conducting of training for the acquisition of general knowledge and skills necessary for export;
• Development of a program of individual counseling/mentoring for SMEs;
• Development of training programs and conducting of training and/or counseling to prepare a plan of export adapted to a business entity;
• Organization of gaining practical experience in the field of export.
This list of possible type of actions is only indicative (demonstrative) and is not final. Relevant activities that are not mentioned, which contribute to increasing the number of SMEs which have been prepared for the first export, may also be implemented. Project activities of training must include a minimum of 15 SMEs.

Each applicant under this program may submit a maximum of three applications, individually or as a member of the Consortium. If the application is filed on behalf of the Consortium, all members of the Consortium must meet the following general conditions applicable to the Applicant.

 
Unacceptable projects in the context of this program include:

1. project activities aimed at sectors of the tobacco industry; organization of lottery games; production and sale of weapons and military equipment; trade and primary agricultural production;

2. projects concerning only or mainly individual grants for studies and training, as well as individual sponsorships for participation in workshops;

3. arrears from duties and taxes, loans and installments for the repayment of loans;

4. cost of guarantees, insurance, interest, costs of banking operations and exchange rate differences;

5. customs and administrative costs;

6. costs of enforced collection;

7. projects related to political parties;

8. projects focused on charitable donations.

The amount of grants

RAS co-finances up to 60% of the total eligible costs excluding VAT. The maximum amount awarded by the RAS for this component is RSD 1,000,000.00 per project.
The total budget for this component amounts to RSD 15,000,000.00.
 
Eligible costs are costs actually incurred by the Selected beneficiary, provided that:
1) they were created during the implementation of the project;
2) they are indicated in the planned budget of the project;
3) they are necessary for the implementation of project activities;
4) they are measurable and recorded, and in line with the applicable accounting standards;
5) they are reasonable in accordance with the requirements of financial management, particularly with regard to economy and efficiency;
6) they are not covered by other funding sources (there must not be double-financing).

The following costs are eligible for Component 1:

1. Project management cost:
1.1. Salaries of the employees of the Applicant / Consortium members involved in the project - salaries of members of the project team;
1.2. Cost of renting office space for the duration of the project;
1.3. Overhead office costs for the duration of the project (costs of electricity, heating, water, telephone, postage, etc.);
1.4. Cost of purchasing of office supplies for the project (paper, toner, pens, folders, etc.);
1.5. Travel and accommodation costs of the project team;
1.6. Travel expenses (bus and other tickets, car rentals and other means of transport, fuel, etc.);
1.7. Daily allowances for members of the project team (daily allowances to the non-taxable amount will be accepted);
1.8. Costs of accommodation of persons engaged in the project;

2. Cost of the organization of training, seminars, conferences and other events;

2.1. Cost of renting space, equipment;
2.2. Cost of refreshments for participants (coffee, soft drinks, catering, etc.);
2.3. Costs of preparing materials for the event (invitations, presentations, etc.);
2.4. Cost of purchasing consumables for the event (paper, folders, pens, CDs, etc.);
2.5. Cost of transportation of participants;
2.6. Accommodation costs of participants;

3. Costs for increasing the visibility of the project, information and publicity;

3.1. Costs of purchasing promotional materials (pens, folders, CD, USB flash drive, etc.);
3.2. Cost of developing promotional materials to disseminate information (costs of design, preparation, printing and translation of reports, leaflets, brochures, manuals, etc.);
3.3. Cost of appearing in the media (TV, radio, social networks, etc.);
4. Costs of outsourcing;

4.1. Cost of hiring lecturers, trainers, consultants, mentors, etc.

The cost of the project management may not exceed 25% of the total eligible costs of the project (total project cost excluding VAT).
 
Grants cannot be used for:
1) arrears from duties and taxes, loans and loan installments;
2) the cost of guarantees, insurance, interest, costs of banking operations, foreign exchange differences;
3) fines, financial penalties and the cost of litigation;
4) customs costs;
5) the cost of forced collection;
6) VAT.
 
Maximum project duration is 6 months from the date of signing the contract with RAS 

Required application documents:

1) Form 1 – Project application (completed, signed and certified);
2) Form 2 - Statement by the applicant of accepting conditions for funds;
3) Form 3 - Statement on allocated low-value state aid (de minimis state aid);
4) Form 4 - Project budget;
5) Form 5 - Structure of the participation of the Applicant (if the project application is submitted by the Consortium);
6) CVs of persons involved in the project, with reference lists;
7) A statement that the liquidation proces is not registered or tht the Applicant has not ceased to exist due to the decision of the court or other body with binding force;

8) A statement that it does not experience any difficulty according to the definition of the company in difficulties referred to in the Regulation on the allocation of state aid;
9) Consortium contract (only if the project proposal is submitted by the Consortium - deliver the original or a certified copy by the competent certification authority), consisting of the following mandatory elements: 1. subject of the contract; 2. objectives of the Consortium; 3. value of the contract; 4. structure of funding (participation and financing of the Consortium members); 5. method of payment; 6. payment schedule; 7. rights, obligations and responsibilities of the Consortium members; 8. intellectual property rights; 9. length and validity of the contract; 10. resolution of disputes; 11. final provisions;

10) certificate of the competent tax authority that the applicant has paid all public revenues (taxes and contributions), which may not be issued prior to the date of publishing the public call (original or copy);
11) The balance sheet, income statement and statistical report of the Applicant for the year 2016, with a copy of the Certificate of registration of regular annual financial report for 2016 issued by the APR (If the applicant has not obtained the certificate of registration of regular annual financial report for 2016, submit the balance sheet, income statement and statistical report for 2016, signed and certified by the person responsible for the preparation of financial reports, and a written statement of the legal representative of the applicant on the authenticity and identity of the copy which was submitted to the APR for the final processing);

12) A copy of the Statute/strategic plan/development plan which shows that the support of export/export promotion is one of the goals of the applicant;
13) copy of the Program/Work Plan of the applicant for 2017.
 
Submitting the documentation provided for in paragraph 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 applies to all members of the Consortium.
 
RAS reserves the right to, if necessary, request additional documentation from the Applicant, but only for complete applications.

How to apply and deadline for submission of applications
Applications with all supporting forms and documents are to be submitted in person or by registered mail in printed and electronic form, to the following address: Development Agency of Serbia (RAS), Belgrade, Kneza Milosa 12 / III Office 309, with a note: Application to the Public call for participation in the Program of support to exporters, component 1 - Preparation for first export.
 
Public call shall be open for 60 days from the date of publication and until May 5,.2017.
 
For more information, please contact the Development Agency of Serbia at: pripremazaizvoz@ras.gov.rs

Supporting documents:

Instruction

Form 1 – First export

Form 2 – First export

Form 3 – First export

Form 4 – First export

Form 5 – First export

Form 6 – First export

Form 7 – Request for Payment - K1

CALL OPENED

Component 2 is intended for micro, small, medium enterprises and entrepreneurs who have conducted at least one export business. SMEs may apply individually or in conjunction (as Consortium) depending on the type of activity.
 
Requirements for applicants

For Component 2, the right to grants is given to persons categorized as SMEs, in accordance with Article 6 of the Law on Accounting, as well as entrepreneurs who keep books by double-entry bookkeeping, who submit annual financial statements to the APR for processing, and who are engaged primarily in manufacturing or processing [1]. SMEs may apply individually or in conjunction (as Consortium) depending on the type of activity. 

[1] Fulfillment of this requirement will be checked on the basis of activity code under which the Applicant is registered in the APR. Exceptionally, in the case the core code of the Applicant relates to the operations which are excluded by this program, and the Applicant performs production activity as well, it is necessary to submit an explanation in which we can see that the purpose of this program is in accordance with the nature of additional activity that the Applicant also performs, which is not excluded by this program. Based on this, the Commission for evaluation and selection of requests for grants will appreciate the fulfillment of this requirement.

Applicants must cumulatively meet the following general conditions:
1) they are registered in the territory of the Republic of Serbia and are in majority domestic private ownership;
2) they were established before January 1, 2015;
3) they operated positively in the previous year;
4) they kept books by double-entry bookkeeping in the previous two years;
5) they settled liabilities for taxes and contributions;
6) they were not sentenced with a legally binding measure prohibiting business activity in the last two years;
7) they are not in a bankruptcy or liquidation proceedings;
8) in the current year they have not on the same basis used incentives of other government agencies and APV institutions;
9) they are not in difficulty according to the definition contained in the Regulation on the rules for granting state aid;
10) they have conducted at least one export operation;
11) they have a functional internet presentation, regularly updated, the content of which is available in at least one foreign language

In regard to this component, in order for the Consortium to be recognized as the Applicant, the consortium must consist of a minimum of 3 SMEs.

The purpose of the grant
The following activities can be realized under Component 2:
1. Arrangement of business operations in accordance with the requirements of international business standards in order to raise competitiveness on international markets, namely:
• Implementation of standards in the field of quality, environmental protection, food safety and other standards;
• Certification of the quality management system, environmental protection management system, food safety systems and other systems;
• Recertification of the quality management system, environmental protection management system, food safety systems and other systems.

2. Reconciliation of the product with the requirements for obtaining the right to use the label of the product ("CE" label, eco-label, FSC CoC, the label of organic products, etc.) in function of preparation of products for foreign markets.
3. Development of export plan.
4. New product design and packaging, and preparation of documentation for the preparation of products for foreign markets, including:
a) provision of a conceptual solution and/or preparation of the test sample;
b) preparation of documents related to the product (e.g. making instructions in the language of the country where the export will be made).
5. Organization of trainings related to export activities.

6. Gathering exporters for a joint approach to foreign markets and their association.
The Commission for the evaluation and selection of grant requests will appreciate the meeting of this requirement.
This activity involves organization of joint meetings, preparation of documents (laws on the registration, contracts, etc.), registration of associations and others.

7. Gathering of exporters by markets.

One economic entity or Consortium, under this component, may submit one application.

The applicant that acts independently can apply for the activities under number 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. The Consortium can apply for the activity number 5, 6 and 7.
 
In this component, the activities initiated after January 1, 2017 and has not been completed by the time of publication of the Public call, will also be financed. All payments in connection with the implementation of project activities can be initiated in 2017 before the publication of the Public call, but may not be completed.
 
Unacceptable projects in the context of this program include:
1. project activities aimed at sectors of the tobacco industry; organization of games of chance; production and sale of weapons and military equipment; trade and primary agricultural production;

2. projects concerning only or mainly individual grants for studies and training, as well as individual sponsorships for participation in workshops;
3. arrears from duties and taxes, loans and installments for the repayment of loans;
4. cost of guarantees, insurance, interest, costs of banking operations and exchange rate differences;
5. customs and administrative costs;
6. costs of enforced collection;
7. projects related to political parties;
8 projects already financed from state aid funds;
9 projects focused on charitable donations.

The amount of grants

RAS co-finances up to 50% of the total eligible costs excluding VAT. The applicant may apply for one or more activities, provided that the maximum total amount of the grant may not exceed RSD 1,000,000.00.

 
The maximum amount of the grant up to RSD 300.000,00 may be approved to the Selected beneficiary for the following specific activities:
• Organization of trainings related to export activities;
• Arrangement of operations in accordance with the requirements of international standards of operation;
• Development of an export plan;
• Gathering of exporters for a joint approach to foreign markets and their association;
• Gathering of exporters by markets.
The maximum amount of the grant up to RSD 500.000,00 may be granted to the Selected beneficiary for the following specific activities:
• Reconciliation of products with the requirements for obtaining the right to use the prduct label;
• New product design and packaging aimed at the preparation of products for foreign markets. 

The total budget for this component amounts to RSD 30,000,000.00.
 
Eligible costs are costs actually incurred by the Selected beneficiary, provided that:
1) they occurred during the implementation of the project;
2) they are indicated in the planned budget of the project;
3) they are necessary for the implementation of project activities;
4) they can be measured and recorded, and are according to the applicable accounting standards;
5) they are reasonable in accordance with the requirements of the financial management, particularly with regard to economy and efficiency;
6) they are not covered by other funding sources (there must not be double-financing).

For Component 2, the following expenses are eligible by activities:
1. Arrangement of business operations in accordance with the requirements of international business standards:
• The cost of hiring external consultants;
• Implementation of standards in the field of quality, environmental protection, food safety and standards in function of the development of the enterprise and/or;
• Certification of quality and standards management system in the function of the development of the enterprise and/or;
• Recertification of quality and standards management systems in the function of the development of the enterprise.

2. Reconciliation of products with the requirements for obtaining the right to use the product label ("CE" label, eco-label, FSC CoC, the label of organic products, etc.):
• The cost of hiring external consultants;
• The cost of certification.
3. Development of an export plan:
• The cost of hiring external consultants.
4. New product design or packaging and preparation of documentation for the preparation of products for the international market:
• The cost of hiring external staff;
• The cost of developing the design and/or test samples;
• The cost of developing the conceptual design with a description of technical characteristics

5. Organization of trainings related to export activities:
• The cost of hiring lecturers.
6. Gathering of exporters for a joint approach to foreign markets and their association, which includes activities such as:
• Organization of joint meetings, preparation of documents (documents of registration, contracts, etc.), registration of associations and others;
• The cost of hiring external consultants;
• The cost of registration

7. Gathering of exporters by markets:
• Costs for the services of external experts engaged in the study;
• Costs of organization of the event (cost of renting space, equipment);
• Cost of refreshments for participants (coffee, soft drinks, catering, etc.);
• Costs of preparing the material for the event (invitations, presentations, and the like.);
• Costs of consumables for the event (paper, folders, pens, CDs, etc.).
Applicant may apply for one or more activities, provided that the maximum total amount of the grant may not exceed RSD 1.000.000,00.
 
Grants may not be used for:

• arrears from duties and taxes, loans and installment of loans;
• costs of guarantees, insurance, interest, costs of banking operations, foreign exchange gains;
• fines, financial penalties and expenses of litigation;
• customs costs;
• costs of forced collection;
• VAT.
 
The maximum duration of the project is 9 months from the date of signing the contract with RAS.

Documentation for submission:

For Component 2 Applicant shall submit the following documents:
(1) Form 1 – Project application (filled, stamped and signed):
a) Form 1a – Application for the Consortium;
b) Form 1b - Application for companies and entrepreneurs members of the Consortium;
c) Form 1c) - Application for companies and entrepreneurs;
(2) Form 2 - Statement by the Applicant of accepting conditions for funds;
(3) Form 3 - Statement of granted state aid of small value (de minimis state aid);
(4) Form 4 – Statement that on the territory of the Republic of Serbia there is no supplier that can respond to the demands of the Applicant (if the applicant engages foreign Supplier);

(5) CVs of persons involved in the project, with reference lists;
(6) Supplier's offer for the proposed project, signed and certified by the Supplier, containing a clearly defined object and scope of activity, time limit for implementation and cost of services in RSD and shown VAT;
(7) Statement that a liquidation procedure is not registered, or that the Applicant has not ceased to exist because of a decision of the court or other body with a binding force;
(8) Statement that it is not in any difficulty according to the definition of an enterprise in difficulties referred to in the Regulation on the allocation of state aid;
(9) Certificate of the competent tax authority that the applicant has paid all public revenues (taxes and contributions), which may not be issued prior to the date of publishing the Public call (original or certified copy of the competent certification authority);

(10) Balance sheet, income statement and statistical report of the Applicant for the year 2016, with a copy of the Certificate of registration of regular annual financial report for 2016 issued by the APR (If the applicant has not obtained the certificate of registration of regular annual financial report for 2016, he shall submit the balance sheet, income statement and statistical report for 2016, signed and certified by the person responsible for the preparation of financial reports and a written statement of the legal representative of the applicant to the authenticity and identity of the copy which was submitted to the APR for final processing);
(11) Evidence that the applicant has completed at least one export business operation;
(12) Completed form of European Entrepreneurship Network for Applicant’s searching for a business partner abroad.

If the Applicant submits on behalf of the Consortium other than the above listed documents for the activities 5, 6 and 7, it is necessary to deliver also the Consortium contract that governs their mutual rights and obligations (original or a copy certified by the competent certification authority). For each member of the Consortium the same documentation (numbered as 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12) is submitted as for individual applicants.
 
RAS reserves the right to, if necessary, request additional documentation from the Applicant, but only for complete applications.

Supporting documents:

Instruction

Form 1a – Application for the Consortium K2

Form 1b – Application of SMEs within the Consortium K2

Form 1c – Application for SMEs K2

Form 2 – Statement on acceptance of conditions K2

Form 3 – Statement on allocated state aid K2

Form 4 – Statement that there is no service provider for the realization of the proposed activity on the territory of RS

Form 5 – Final report K2

Form 6 – Request for funds K2

Form – Structure of partner participation in the project K2

Form of the European Entrepreneurship Network