2024-04-21 22:36:02
Until April 30, carriers can submit applications for the payment of state aid to support the costs of stabilizing the transport industry, the Road Infrastructure Agency (API) announced. The documents can be submitted to the agency’s office in Sofia, to the offices of the regional road administrations, the National Toll Administration, as well as electronically through the system for secure electronic delivery and on [email protected] and [email protected].
The complete set of documents – application and declarations with their annexes, which transport companies must complete and submit as accompanying documents, are published on the websites of the Road Infrastructure Agency and the National Toll Administration (NTU). changes in the documents The change makes it easier for the carriers to fill out the applications and their administrative processing by the API and NTU experts.
The purpose of the state aid provided is to support the transport industry, which has suffered significant damage since 2020 from the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, global changes in trade routes and logistics chains, the significant increase in fuel prices and the need from the reorientation of transport routes, which leads to increased operating costs for companies.
According to data from the National Statistical Institute, in the period since the start of the war, operating costs in the sector have increased significantly, putting pressure on the financial health of freight companies, threatening their ability to offer competitive prices and maintain operational efficiency.
On February 23 of this year, the Council of Ministers decided that transport enterprises will be supported with up to BGN 50 million of state aid under the measure “Aid to support costs for the stabilization of the transport industry in the Republic of Bulgaria”. The European Commission for compatibility with the rules in the field of state aid and this makes it possible to proceed with its payment.
The decree of the Council of Ministers stipulates that the aid will be provided in the form of direct grants in the amount of up to BGN 4 million for transport companies that hold a license to transport goods. Its size will be determined on the basis of proportional distribution, using as a base the toll fees paid in 2023 by cars over 3.5 tons, the size of which is an indicator of the volume of transport carried out and will serve as a basis for determining the size of state aid.
Due to the serious interest in the procedure, the deadline for submitting applications for the payment of state aid to support the costs of stabilizing the transport industry was extended to April 12 by 10 working days.
Companies belonging to or acquired by a larger business group will not be able to benefit from the aid, unless it can be demonstrated that the company’s difficulties are not the result of an arbitrary distribution of costs within the group and that the difficulties are too serious, so that they can be overcome by the group itself. It is not allowed to support enterprises that have been subject to sanctions adopted by the EU.