Compensation of Loan Interest

• A loan is either an investment loan or a financial lease (leasing), including refinancing, when investments made with one's own funds were executed no earlier than 6 months prior to the signing of the loan agreement. Overdraft, factoring, letter of credit, or bank guarantee under the loan instrument are not considered as loans.
• Financial lease (leasing) is a service whereby assets acquired by a financial lease (leasing) company under ownership rights are independently selected, financed on an instalment basis, and transferred for use and management to the lessee according to the financial lease (leasing) agreement and becomes the property of the finance lease (leasing) beneficiary upon final settlement with the finance lease (leasing) company with the finance lease (leasing) company.
• Investment loan means a loan of which at least 71 % of the amount is earmarked for the borrower's investment in tangible and intangible fixed assets owned by the borrower and used in the borrower's business and eligible under point 11 of the Description to the Conditions of the measure 'Interest Compensation for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises', and the remainder for the purpose of replenishing the working capital.
• The loan is granted under a loan agreement concluded with a financial intermediary (see the list of financial intermediaries) holding a valid agreement with INVEGA for collaboration in implementing interest compensation measures, and for which INVEGA has not made a decision to restrict cooperation. Not applicable when the loan is granted under the INVEGA financial instrument Startuok.
• A loan agreement under which interest reimbursement is applied for with the application no later than 6 months after the date of signature of the loan agreement, where no more than 6 months have passed between the date of signature of the loan agreement and the date of submission of the application and the loan agreement is in force at the time of the assessment of the application (not having lapsed or been terminated). Alternatively, if a new financing for a new investment is granted under a loan agreement, the signature date whereof is more than 6 months from the date of submission of the application (a change in the duration or amount of an existing loan is not considered to be a grant of a new financing), the period between the date of signature of the amendment to the loan agreement to grant the new financing and the date of submission of the application is no more than 6 months.

If, according to the loan agreement, a portion of the loan funds is allocated under the Description for ineligible expenses, interest is compensated only for the portion of the loan allocated to eligible expenditure under the Description. In such cases, the loan agreement should specify loan portions in a way that allows for the identification of the purpose of the funds for the appropriate portion of the loan during disbursement, the repayment schedule for this portion, and the interest rates applicable to it.

• The applicant, during the evaluation of the application, is a loan recipient who meets the requirements of the status of SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) – a micro, small, or medium-sized enterprise or an entrepreneur – an individual engaged in economic activities.
• The applicant has not been subjected to bankruptcy and/or restructuring proceedings, and if the applicant is an entrepreneur, no bankruptcy proceedings have been initiated against the individual.
• The total amount of de minimis aid granted to the applicant as a single entity does not exceed the limits set out in Article 3(2) of Regulation (EU) No. 2023/2831 over any 3-year period.
• The applicant, its owners holding at least 25 % of the shares and/or other participations and/or votes in the capital of the undertaking ('the participants') and/or its directors have not been convicted and sentenced for economic or financial crimes in the past 5 years, and the applicant, participants, and/or executives do not have any outstanding or unrevoked convictions.
• The applicant, its manager, representative, persons in the applicant's ownership structure, the beneficial owner, or the natural and legal persons for whose benefit the loan is to be used, the entities involved in the transaction and/or payment and supply chain are not subject to any international sanctions and/or restrictive measures, as such terms are defined in the Law on international sanctions of the Republic of Lithuania, or to sanctions imposed or administered by the United States Government (including the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury), the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
• The applicant has not received state aid that was deemed unduly paid by the decision of INVEGOS and/or recognised by the European Commission as incompatible with the internal market of the European Union and/or declared unlawful aid by the decision of the aid provider, as defined in the Law on Competition, or has refunded the entire amount, including interest.
• During the evaluation of the application, the applicant has submitted to the State Enterprise Centre of Registers a set of financial statements for the last financial year. This requirement does not apply when the applicant is an entrepreneur or has been in operation for less than one financial year.

• When the loan is allocated for the following SME activities:
  • Real estate operations (activity code according to NACE Rev. 2 group 68.1–68.3);
  • Road freight transport (activity code according to NACE Rev. 2 Class 49.41) or Renting and leasing of freight vehicles (activity code according to NACE Rev. 2 77.12.10) when the loans are intended for the acquisition of road transport vehicles for freight transportation;
  • Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities (all activity codes according to NACE Rev. 2 section 01 except 01.6);
  • Forestry and logging activities (activity codes according to the provisions of NACE Rev. 2 group 02.1, group 02.3, subclass 02.30.10, subclass 02.30.20);
  • Fishing and aquaculture (all activity codes according to NACE Rev. 2 section 03);
  • Specialised retail sale of firearms and ammunition (activity code according to NACE Rev. 2 subclass 47.78.30);
  • Organization of gambling and betting activities(all activity codes according to NACE Rev. 2 section 92);
  • Financial and insurance activities (activity codes according to the provisions of NACE Rev. 2 sections 64–66);
  • Distillation, rectification, and blending of spirits (activity code according to NACE Rev. 2 (class 11.01);
  • Wholesale trade of alcoholic beverages (activity code according to NACE Rev. 2 (subclass 46.34.10);
  • Manufacture of tobacco products or wholesale trade of tobacco products (activity code according to NACE Rev. 2 (section 12 and subclass 46.35);
  • Production, transmission, and distribution of electrical energy (activity code according to NACE Rev. 2 group 35.1).
• Loan funds are intended for investments in long-term tangible and/or intangible assets, aiming to sell or otherwise transfer them to other individuals, including asset leasing and use, rather than for use in the borrower's business activities. When loan funds are allocated for the purchase and/or construction of real estate and/or investments in the substantial improvement of a building (structure), as defined in the Republic of Lithuania Law on Value Added Tax, cases where at least 80% of the asset is intended for the economic activities of the borrower are considered as property the property in the pursuit of own economic activities.
• Loan funds are designated for the acquisition or construction of residential real estate and/or investments in the substantial improvement of residential buildings (structures).
• Loan funds are allocated for the implementation of public and private sector partnership agreements and agreements between governmental and private entities.
• The loan proceeds are intended for the purchase of vehicles other than those referred to in point 6¹ of the Description (N, O categories, special purpose, etc.).
• Loan funds are allocated for financing financial assets, paying dividends, or royalties.
• Loan funds are designated for granting a loan to a third party, refinancing obligations of third parties and the borrower (loans, overdrafts, factoring, letters of credit, bank guarantees). Interest reimbursement is possible when the investments made by the borrower using their own funds, and financed by the loan (investment loan or financial lease), were executed no earlier than 6 months before the signing of the loan agreement. The moment of investment is considered to be the day of final settlement for the investments.
• Loan funds are intended to supplement circulating funds, except in cases where circulating funds are part of the loan, as specified in point 3.6 of the Description..
• Loan funds are used to finance investments carried out outside the territory of the Republic of Lithuania.
• The loan proceeds are intended for the construction and/or installation and/or modernisation of power plants generating electricity, with the aim of selling or otherwise transferring them to other parties, including leasing and use of the assets, rather than for use in the borrower's business operations.
• The applicant must retain ownership of the real estate on which investments have been made with loan funds until the end of the interest compensation period and use it according to the Description for appropriate financing of its activities. In the event that, during the period of receiving interest compensation, the property on which investments have been made with loan funds is transferred to other parties by the applicant (excluding the assumption of the borrower's obligations as specified in point 39 of the Description), and the property is used for purposes other than the applicant's business activities, or it is used for financing the activities that are ineligible for the Description of the loan, interest compensation is discontinued, and the applicant must reimburse to INVEGA the amounts of compensation received after the transfer of the asset to other persons and/or the use of the asset for activities other than its own and/or the use of the asset for activities not eligible for financing under the Description.