A new state aid scheme launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade will be available in Hungary

A new state aid scheme launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade will be available in Hungary to alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on companies. The scheme has already been approved by the European Commission and will be managed by HIPA Non-Profit Ltd. Under the new state aid scheme, companies can receive aid over 800 000 EUR.

The estimated budget of the measure is HUF 50 billion, and the beneficiaries of the measure are large enterprises operating in any sector of the economy, except primary agriculture and fisheries and aquaculture.

An important criterion is that only companies that have suffered a minimum of 25% decline in turnover or order volume compared to the reference period as a consequence of COVID-19 outbreak and the respective governmental measures are eligible.

Applications will be ranked on the basis of several criteria, each of which is weighted equally, including:

• the relative size of the damage incurred by the applicant,
• the headcount number that the applicant commits to maintain,
• the future investment amount the applicant commits to implement until 31 December 2021 at the latest.

The aim of the new state aid scheme is to compensate the damage caused by the COVID-19 outbreak and the respective governmental measures, thus the amount of aid cannot exceed the amount of damage.

The applicant shall also verify or declare that:

• it was not in difficulty on December 31, 2019, however, faced difficulties or entered in difficulty thereafter as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak,
• its turnover or order volume decreased at least by 25% as a result of the outbreak, 
• is not responsible for the economic downturn and has acted with reasonable care,
• has no insurance covering its losses or its insurance does not enable to cover the losses in full.

Applications shall be submitted to, and the call for applications will be available on the website of, HIPA Ltd. The aid granted under this measure cannot be cumulated with other state aid granted for the same eligible costs.
For practical answers to key questions about the new scheme and other state aid questions, please contact our professional on the contact details below.