Source: http://www.fbihvlada.gov.ba
The Chamber of Economy of FBiH informs representatives of companies that the Government of the Federation of BiH, at its 10th session, adopted by decision two Programs that are significant for supporting SMEs.
The Program for the expenditure of funds “Current transfers to other levels of government and funds – Support of the European Union to BiH with the aim of mitigating the negative socio-economic impact of the energy crisis” established by the FBiH Budget for 2023 for the Federal Ministry of Development, Entrepreneurship and Crafts was adopted. The total amount of financial resources intended for the implementation of the Program is 12,912,315 KM.
The Program is adopted with the aim of implementing the Action Plan/Roadmap for the Energy Support Package Agreement for the country and building resilience within the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III for 2023), namely for the implementation of measure 3 from goal I of the Action Plan “Support for the implementation of energy efficiency measures in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises”.
The federal ministries of development, entrepreneurship and crafts and finance, as well as the FBiH Environmental Protection Fund, are responsible for the implementation of the Program, each within its own jurisdiction. The Federal Ministry of Development, Entrepreneurship and Crafts will, within 60 days of the entry into force of this decision, transfer the entire amount of funds to the FBiH Environmental Protection Fund to an open dedicated account. These funds represent state aid of small value and will be allocated through the Fund to end users as grants in accordance with the Program. Supervision and verification of the purpose of spending the funds is carried out by the Fund, and any unspent funds the Fund is obliged to return to the FBiH Budget upon completion of the Program.
The allocation of funds to end users is carried out by the FBiH Environmental Protection Fund through a public call published in the Official Gazette of the Federation of BiH, on the websites of the Government of FBiH, the FBiH Environmental Protection Fund and the Federal Ministry of Development, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, as well as in at least two daily newspapers available in the territory of the Federation of BiH.
The purpose of the financial resources relates to co-financing one or more of the following energy efficiency measures: thermal insulation of external walls, ceiling/roof, floor, then replacement of external joinery (windows and doors), improvement of the system for the production and distribution of thermal energy for heating and/or cooling spaces and/or preparation of domestic hot water by installing pellet boilers, heat pumps, condensing boilers, solar collectors for the production of domestic hot water, and replacement of inefficient air conditioning units with new energy-efficient ones.
The subject of co-financing may also be the internal heating distribution system, but only in the case if it is applied for the installation of a boiler/heat pump measure, then improvement of the energy efficiency of internal lighting, improvement of energy efficiency in production processes such as the use of waste heat, measures to increase the efficiency of electric motor drives and the like, as well as for the construction of photovoltaic power plants for the production of electricity exclusively for own needs.
The results of the public call will be published on the websites of the Government of FBiH, the FBiH Environmental Protection Fund and the Federal Ministry of Development, Entrepreneurship and Crafts.
The FBiH Environmental Protection Fund will report quarterly on the spent funds to the Federal Ministry of Development, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, which will report to the Federal Ministry of Finance.
As stated, among other things, in the Program for the expenditure of funds, the final goal of the implementation of this program is to provide non-repayable financial assistance to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) through co-financing energy efficiency measures that will result in reducing operating costs of business, i.e. increasing the competitiveness of MSMEs, for at least 264 of them, as an indicator of the successful implementation of measure 3 of goal I of the Action Plan. A special focus of encouragement is on micro enterprises and enterprises in majority female ownership.
The Program also states that the right to use the funds can be exercised by micro, small and medium-sized small business entities defined by the Law on Encouraging the Development of Small Business that are registered under the Law on Business Companies.
The second adopted Program significant for SMEs is
The Program for granting loans to companies through the Permanent Revolving Fund at Union Bank d.d. Sarajevo.
The Federal Ministry of Energy, Mining and Industry has also this year opted to allocate financial resources to companies on a credit basis, with a favorable interest rate, a grace period and a minimal fee for processing loan applications, and a sufficient number of installments so that the amount of repayment of funds is acceptable to loan users. In this way, access to funds under favorable conditions is opened with the aim of survival, growth and development of companies, as well as strengthening energy independence through financing projects using renewable energy sources.
The total amount for the distribution of funds under this program is about 14,000,000 KM, and the allocation of the total available funds will be carried out through two projects. It is about the implementation of a project using renewable energy sources for the production of electricity from solar energy for own needs, and investment in assets, procurement of fixed assets and equipment directly involved in the production process and modernization of technological processes.
When it comes to the first project, the Program explains, among other things, that its implementation aims to affirm the use of renewable energy sources and encourage the application of energy efficiency measures, and that the subject of the allocation of funds is financing the procurement of photovoltaic systems for the production of electricity from solar energy, for own needs. The available amount of funds for this project is 2,500,000 KM, and the lowest amount that can be allocated is 30,000 KM, while the highest cannot exceed 250,000 KM (excluding VAT), regardless of the total investment amount for the procurement of the photovoltaic system.
The goal of allocating funds under the second project is to encourage businesspeople to invest in tangible assets for the purpose of modernizing and expanding existing production capacities, establishing new production facilities and business units, increasing the number of employees, and investing in intangible assets. The available amount of funds for this project is about 11,500,000 KM, and the lowest amount allocated is 100,000 KM, while the highest amount will be 900,000 KM.
This program aims to encourage businesspeople to invest in tangible assets for the purpose of modernizing and expanding existing production capacities, as well as establishing new production facilities and business units, with the condition of maintaining or increasing the number of employees.
The users of credit funds under this program are private companies, with headquarters in the Federation of BiH, which operate in accordance with the Law on Business Companies, in the fields of metal, electrical and automotive industries, building materials industry, wood, paper and graphic industry, textile, leather and footwear production, chemical industry and rubber and plastics industry, and waste collection and material recycling.
In the part of the Program relating to the criteria for selecting beneficiaries of funds for allocation, it is stated, among other things, that beneficiaries of funds must employ at least ten employees, as well as that companies applying for the allocation of funds must be registered at least one year before the day of submitting the request for allocation of funds.
Funds are allocated on the basis of a public call in which the conditions for applying to the public call, the criteria for allocating funds, the manner of considering applications, as well as the list of necessary documentation that must be attached to the request for allocation of funds will be defined.
