All Luxembourg companies engaged in export-related economic activity are eligible, with the exception of certain sectors or types of activities listed below (non-exhaustive list):

– Financial (banking, insurance, trustees, chartered accountants and auditors of companies and investment funds) except for Fintech’s
– Real estate development
– Cultural sector, including art galleries, whose purpose is not commercial
– Tourism
– Training
– Primary production of agricultural products, fisheries and aquaculture products, listed in Annex 1 of the EU Treaty
– Fossil fuels
– Interim work
– NPO – Non-profit association
– EIG – Economic interest group

Companies whose products/services are not yet ready to be marketed are automatically excluded from any financial aid.

Conditions of eligibility

To be eligible, the company must carry out an export-oriented economic activity and its products/services must be ready to be marketed.

General scheme

Under the general scheme, the maximum amount granted is €300,000 per single company, over a rolling three-year period (de minimis regulation).

To be eligible for aid under the general scheme, the company must meet all the following conditions:
– Be an export-oriented Luxembourg company export-oriented
– Have a valid business permit and all other legal authorisations required to carry out its activity
– Comply with Luxembourg’s tax and social security obligations
– Be a financially healthy company, i.e., have positive equity and adequate liquidity to finance its operations for profitability
– Exist for at least 3 years (if not applicable, please consult the “YMC” – Young and/or Micro-companies’ scheme)
– Have at least 2 employees (if not applicable, please consult the “YMC” – Young and/or Micro-companies’ scheme)
– Bring substantial added value to the Luxembourg economy.

The assessment of the company’s contribution to the Luxembourg economy is based on the following criteria (for guidance purposes only):
– Company development: total growth, export revenue and number of employees
– Growth perspectives
– Activities carried out in Luxembourg (production, processing, sales, marketing, research and development, etc.)
– Luxembourg visibility of the company at the national and international levels.

Scheme for young and/or micro-companies “YMC”

This scheme is intended for:

• Startups
• SARL-S
• Companies with less than two employees
• Companies that do not meet all the eligibility requirements for the general scheme.

Companies covered by the “YMC” scheme can benefit from an annual aid ceiling of EUR 10.000, all aid combined.

Scheme Classification Procedure

On first application, the Copel classifies the company under either the “general” scheme or the “YMC” scheme based on the information provided.

The COPEL reserves the right to reclassify a company initially classified under the general scheme to the YMC scheme if it no longer meets all the eligibility requirements for the general scheme.

Request for reassessment of the “YMC” scheme

A company classified as YMC may request a reassessment of its classification provided it meets all the following criteria:
– Be a financially healthy company, i.e., have positive equity and adequate liquidity to finance its operations for profitability
– Have at least two employees (CCSS certificate)
– Demonstrate real growth in turnover
– Bring substantial added value to the Luxembourg economy.

For this purpose, the company must provide a detailed presentation containing the following information:
– Description of its business, any recent changes to its articles of association, its growth prospects, and any other document deemed relevant to the analysis of its application
– Changes since its creation in its equity, net turnover, number of employees, and the percentage of turnover generated from exports (please complete the form)
– CCSS certificate confirming the current number of employees
– Complete annual accounts for the 2 last years (balance sheets, income statements, and appendices).

Submitting an application

Applications can only be submitted via the secure online form on MyGuichet.lu (available in French, German, and English).

Applications must be submitted before the submission deadline.
Any application submitted after the submission deadline will be automatically rejected.

Steps to submit the application

– Complete the application form following the instructions
– Review and confirm the data entered
– Electronically sign the application
– Attach all required documents (balance sheets, organisational chart, quotes, registration form)
– Submit the application
– Verify that you have received the automatic email from the MyGuichet platform confirming the submission of the application.

To access the MyGuichet.lu portal, users must have an authentication certificate that allows them to log in to online government applications and a professional account on MyGuichet.lu.

For any technical questions regarding the MyGuichet portal, please contact the Helpdesk: (+352)247-82000.

Documents to attach to the application

For initial applications, the following documents must be attached:
– Complete annual financial statements N-2 and N-1 (balance sheets, income statements, and appendices) or, if not available, a detailed business plan
– Complete organisational chart detailing the company’s structure, including all group entities, both nationally and internationally, controlled by the same entity or individual, their respective ownership percentages, and their activities and relationships within the group
– CCSS certificate confirming the current number of employees
– Bank account details (RIB)
– Register of beneficial owners (RBE) current.

For subsequent applications, the following documents must be attached:
– Recent annual financial statements
– Any amendments to the articles of association.

During the application review, additional explanations or documents may be requested.

The Committee also takes into account the ESG criteria defined by the Board of Directors in the procedure “Analysis of environmental, social and governance criteria – Financial aid” and ensures compliance with restrictive sanctions regimes imposed on certain countries.

Decision process

The Committee meets once a month to review all complete applications.

Incomplete applications, due to a lack information, are automatically closed after 90 days.

The Committee’s decision (acceptance or rejection) is communicated by email.
– If accepted: the company receives a letter of commitment with a defined validity period.
– If rejected: the company receives a refused letter.

The letter of commitment does not constitute a final agreement for the payment of aid. The amount indicated is provisional and represents the maximum amount that can be paid for the project.

The company has the option, before the commitment expires or before the fair starts, to request by email:
– a modification of the commitment, in the event of changes occurring before the project is executed (e.g., additional costs)
– an extension of the commitment’s validity period, if the project is delayed and all invoices have not yet been received.

Rejected files are closed after the appeal period has expired.

Payment of the aid

Request for payment of aid

The request for payment of the aid must be:
– sent by email or post, within the validity period indicated in the commitment letter; any request submitted after this period will be automatically rejected
– accompanied by the following supporting documents (the file number must be clearly stated on all documents submitted):

• Paid invoices for eligible expenses
• Proof of payment (bank statements, debit notes, etc.)
• Order confirmations dated and signed confirming the validation of the order.

Calculation of the final amount of aid and payment

The amount of aid:
– is calculated based on the invoices and proof of payment provided, excluding VAT, considering the “de minimis” ceiling as well as the specific ceilings applicable to each type of aid and the maximum annual ceiling allocated to YMC’s
– may under no circumstances exceed the amount indicated in the commitment letter
– the amount is paid into the company’s Luxembourg bank account; a bank account statement (RIB) will be requested from the company
– is confirmed in a grant letter sent by email.

Aid paid is recorded on the date the grant letter is issued.

For projects with interim payments, the company must group invoices relating to the same project to not submit more than three payment requests.

In case of false declarations or the submission of inaccurate documents, sanctions may be applied, including:

• full or partial restitution of aid received
• exclusion of the company from any future aid.

Appeal

A company might challenge a decision of ODL by introducing a legal appeal before the administrative court. This recourse must take the form of a petition signed by a court lawyer within 3 months from the notification of the decision.

Within the same period of time, the company might challenge the decision of ODL by introducing a non-contentious appeal of the decision of ODL. To do so, the company has to send a registered letter to ODL in which it has to present the facts and its claims and add all documents it deems useful.

In the event of a non-contentious appeal, the time limit for introducing a legal appeal before the administrative court is suspended. If within three months from the introduction of the non-contentious appeal, a new decision is made or if no decision is made, a new period of three months to introduce the legal appeal before the administrative court begins to run.

The company might also introduce a complaint with the Mediator – Ombudsman. This complaint does not interrupt or suspend the legal deadlines for non-contentious and legal appeals. The mediator cannot change the decision taken, but will intervene with ODL to find an amicable agreement.