What is de minimis help?

First of all, State aid corresponds to State funding for a company. It must not distort or threaten to distort competition by favoring certain companies or productions. The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union mentions State aid compatible with the internal market: aid to promote the economic development of regions with abnormally low living standards, aid to facilitate the development of certain activities, aid to promote culture and heritage conservation, etc.

State aid must be notified to the Commission with the exception of de minimis aid.

The so-called aids de minimis are State aid small amount granted to companies. They are now governed by Regulation 2023/2831 of 13 December 2023, supplemented by the regulation no 2024/3118 on de minimis aid in the agriculture sector.

Change in threshold

The de minimis aid ceiling corresponds to the threshold of small aid that a company can receive over three rolling fiscal years (current fiscal year and the two preceding fiscal years). In other words, over a period of 3 years.

Compliance with the de minimis aid threshold, for example, determines the eligibility of a company to pay taxes on the use of passenger cars for economic purposes (formerly TVS).

The threshold to be met over three rolling tax years has been raised to €300,000 by Regulation 2023/2831 due to the inflation observed in recent years and the expected evolution until 2030. This threshold also applies to the road haulage sector for hire or reward.

Since 1^er in january 2024, the de minimis thresholds are as follows: