Fundo Tecnológico de I+D+i - INVEST IN SPAIN

8/9/2019 Fundo Tecnolgico de I+D+i - INVEST IN SPAIN

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Call for Aid Applications 1/2010 under the "Promoting the Establishment of Foreign Companies Programme

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CALL FOR AID APPLICATIONS 1/2010 UNDER THE "PROMOTING THEESTABLISHMENT OF FOREIGN COMPANIES PROGRAMME OF THE SOCIEDAD

ESTATAL PARA LA PROMOCIN Y ATRACCIN DE LASINVERSIONES EXTERIORES, S.A.

On 25 February 2005, the Council of Ministers approved the Agreement on theadoption of Mandates to Implement Measures to Boost Productivity, which aims toprovide a direct boost to economic productivity. The forty second of these mandatesgiven to the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade proposes the creation of theSociedad Estatal para la Promocin y Atraccin de las Inversiones Exteriores, S.A.(Public Corporation for the Promotion and Attraction of Foreign Investment). Thecorporate purpose of this body is the promotion and attraction of foreign investment inSpain, in addition to providing impetus and coordination for a favourable foreigninvestment climate.

The measures referred to in the aforementioned agreement must be developed,according to the guidelines and objectives stated therein. These measures areespecially devoted to assisting the establishment of companies with a high level ofinnovation as a way to attain the competitiveness and productivity objectives set out inthe Council of Ministers' agreement.

In order to attain these objectives, an agreement was signed on 12 May 2008 betweenthe Directorate General of Community Funds of the Ministry of Economy and Financeand the Sociedad Estatal para la Promocin y Atraccin de las Inversiones Exteriores,S.A. (hereafter INVEST IN SPAIN) which appoints this body as the Intermediary Body ofthe Multiregional Operational Programme for Research, Development and Innovationfor the Benefit of Companies, Technology Fund approved on 07 December 2007.

To comply with the duties commended to INVEST IN SPAIN regarding theimplementation of the Technology Fund Operational Programme, aid for investment inplants, equipment, human resources or technology is made available to companies withforeign capital in proportion to the investment made in innovation.

This aid may be cofinanced with community funds, within the Technology FundOperational Programme of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

At European Union level, this aid is within the framework of Regulation (CE) no.1998/2006, of the European Commission of 25 December 2006, regarding theapplication of articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty on de minimis aid, in Regulation (EC)no. 1083/2006, of the Council, of 11 July 2006, which established general provisionsrelating to the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and theCohesion Fund and repealed Regulation (EC) no. 1260/1999, in addition to Regulation(EC) no. 1828/2006, of the Commission, of 08 December 2006, which established theimplementation norms for the abovementioned Regulation (EC) no. 1083/2006, andRegulation (EC) no. 1080/2006, of the European Parliament and the Council, relating tothe European Regional Development Fund.


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All of the initiatives referred to in this call form part of the strategic objectives forresearch, technological development and innovation within the National Strategic

Reference Framework 2007-2013 of Spain, submitted to the European Commission'sDirectorate General for Regional Policy in March 2006.

Therefore, this call for aid applications for projects and activities that promote theestablishment of foreign companies must be approved, with the following content:

One. Purpose

This document announces the availability of aid for projects and activities that promotethe establishment of foreign companies with a high level of innovation and which favourinvestment in plants, equipment, human resources or technology, aiming to contributeto improving the competitiveness and productivity of the Spanish economy, within theframework of the ERDF Technology Fund Programme.

Two. Aid Characteristics and Restrictions.

1) Aid applications may be made for projects and activities stated in section four of thiscall, with the limits of section six.

2) Aid will be granted on a competitive basis using the selection process explained insection twelve of this call.

3) The aid regulations are part of that stipulated in Regulation (EC) no. 1998/2006, of

the Commission of 25 December 2006, regarding the application of articles 87 and 88of the EC Treaty on "de minimis aid".

Three. Geographical Limits and Financing.

The activities to be funded must take place on Spanish territory.

The total amount for this call is 1,250,000. This amount may be increased in anadditional quantity according to the article 58.2 of the RD 887/2006 by which theRegulation and Law 38/2003 were approved.

Four. Projects and Activities Eligible for Aid.

1) The call includes a diverse set of measures, all aimed at promoting R&D&I incompanies with foreign capital wishing to set up operations in Spain or those alreadyestablished in the country who wish to begin R&D&I activities.

The aid categories are as follows:

1.1. Aid for pilot studies aimed at setting up company activities:

For foreign companies intending to establish operations in Spain or those alreadyhaving operations in the country and wishing to begin R&D activities using local

resources on an experimental basis.


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1.2. Setting up company activities:

For foreign companies intending to establish operations in Spain or those alreadyhaving operations in the country and wishing to begin R&D activities using localresources on a permanent basis.

Five. Recipients. Forms of Participation.

1) Recipients. The following bodies may receive the Aid contemplated in this call,notwithstanding the exceptions stipulated in article 1 of Regulation (EC) number1998/2006 of the Commission:

a) Foreign capital companies, irrespective of their legal status, with current economic

activity and validly constituted on submission of the aid application. For the purposes ofthis call, the definition of company includes public and private commercial companies,public business organisations and individual businesspeople.

b) Economic Interest Groups (EIG) with the participation of at least one foreign capitalcompany, receiving aid in proportion to foreign capital participation.

c) Groups of companies including at least one foreign capital company receiving aid inproportion to foreign capital participation.

Companies may form unions or groups without independent legal status, subject totheir regulatory contractual documents, with the presence of a representative body for

the purposes of the aid application. This representative or interlocutor will receive,distribute, represent and undertake the obligations incumbent on the group inaccordance with this call, in addition to those corresponding to all of the group'smembers.

2) For the purposes of this call, a foreign capital company is defined as that which hasits corporate headquarters in Spain and has a minimum of 10% Foreign DirectInvestment in its capital or which, irrespective of the location of its corporateheadquarters, has a subsidiary constituted in Spain.

3) Categories. All projects and activities defined may fall into one of the followingcategories:

a) Individual project or activity: project or activity carried out by a single companyamong the possible recipients. These projects may also be subcontracts, according tothe terms stipulated in section nine of this call.

b) Project or activity in cooperation: projects with the participation of more than one ofthose mentioned as recipients, which may or may not belong to the same type ofsubjects, whose relationship must be formalised in a contract or agreement stipulatingthe rights and obligations of the participants. These projects may contain subcontractsin accordance with that stated in article nine of this call.

4) Legal representation must exist in the projects or activities in cooperation submitted.

One of the members will act as representative. The representative must be the aid


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applicant and will be accountable to INVEST IN SPAIN for the implementation of theproject or activity. For this purpose, the representative will coordinate the relationship

with the participants and, if necessary, will provide documentation accreditingimplementation of the project or activity. Payment for the aid awarded will be made tothe representative, who will be responsible for transferring the amounts correspondingto each participant. And all of the above notwithstanding the rights and obligationswhich, derived from the status of recipients, are held by the representative and theparticipants, in particular, that having no outstanding tax or social security liabilities.

Six. Eligible Costs and Aid Intensity.

1) The aid contemplated in this call will be allocated to cover costs directly related tothe implementation of the project or activity for which they were awarded.

2) Costs are defined as those paid between the time of aid application and the end ofthe accreditation period for the project or activity to be funded.

3) When the amount of the eligible costs exceeds 12,000 euros, the recipient must seektenders from at least three different suppliers, prior to contracting the provision of theservice or delivery of the goods, unless due to the special nature of the eligible costs,there is a shortage of companies that are able to supply or provide the service or goodsin question, or unless the expense was already completed prior to the aid application.

The selection of tenders submitted, which must be included in the accreditation, or,where appropriate, in the aid application, will be carried out in accordance with the

criteria of efficiency and value for money, and must be clearly justified in a reportshould the option representing the greatest value for money not be selected.

4) In the budget submitted by the recipient, aid must apply to the following items, withallowance made for the intensity of the corresponding aid in accordance with theCommission Notice on Community Framework on State Aid for Research andDevelopment and Innovation (2006/C 323/01):

a) Staff costs (researchers, technicians and other auxiliary staff, provided they aredevoted exclusively to the research project).

b) Equipment and materials costs, to the extent which they are used in the project and

for its duration. Should the equipment and materials not reach the end of their usefullife by the end of the project, aid will only apply to the depreciation costs correspondingto the duration of the project, calculated according to sound accounting practice.

c) Buildings and land costs, to the extent which they are used in the project. In thecase of buildings, only those costs corresponding to the duration of the project,calculated according to sound accounting practice will be eligible; as for land, thosecosts pertaining to costs of sale or capital incurred will be eligible.

d) Costs pertaining to contractual research, technical knowledge and patents acquiredor obtained under licence from external sources at market prices, provided theoperation has been carried out at arms length with no collusion whatever, as well as

costs for consultancy and similar services, devoted exclusively to the research activity.


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e) General supplementary costs directly derived from the research project.

f) Other operating costs, including material, supply and similar product costs, deriveddirectly from the research activity.

A maximum aid intensity of 80% will be granted to applied research and 60% toexperimental development over the total eligible amount.

5) Under no circumstances will indirect taxes be construed as eligible costs whensubject to recovery or compensation, and neither will personal income taxes.

6) The aid ceiling per beneficiary for this call is 200,000 Euros.

Seven. Time Period for Submission of Applications and Eligibility Period.

The time period for submission of applications for the projects and activities referred toin section four will be from 7 April until 30 September 2010.

The eligibility period will run from 1 October 2010 until 31 December 2011.

Eight. Requirements and Obligations for Recipients.

1) The recipients must not be in any of the following situations, unless exempted by theregulations and requirements of the aid:

a) Having been convicted in a final judgement causing loss of the right to obtain publicgrants or aid.

b) Having declared bankruptcy, having been declared insolvent in any procedure,undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, being subject to receivership or having beenincapacitated according to the Bankruptcy Law without the incapacity period establishedin the bankruptcy ruling having elapsed.

c) Having caused, and been declared guilty of, a final sentence for the termination of acontract signed with the Administration.

d) Involvement of the natural person, commercial company managers or those actingas legal representatives of other legal persons, in any of the circumstances set forth inLaw 5/2006, of 10 April, on conflicts of interests of members of the Government andSenior Officials, in Law 53/1984, of 26 December, on Incompatibilities of Civil ServicePersonnel, or any of the elected positions regulated by Organic Law 5/1985, of 19 June,on the General Electoral System, in the terms set forth therein or in the regionallegislation that regulates these areas.

e) Having outstanding tax or social security liabilities under current legislation, asdefined according to regulations.

f) Residence for tax purposes in a country or territory defined under regulations as a

tax haven.


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g) Having outstanding reimbursable aid payments in the terms defined underregulations.

h) Having been convicted in a final judgement causing loss of the right to obtain publicgrants in accordance with current legislation.

2) Recipients must fulfil the obligations set forth in the community legislation on ERDFaid, order EHA/524/2008 of 26 February approving legislation on costs eligible for aid,ERDF and the Cohesion Fund, other national legislation on application, managementand control of ERDF, in addition to specific instructions which, pursuant to and incompliance with community legislation, are communicated by INVEST IN SPAINregarding implementation, monitoring, payment of aid, information and advertising andaccreditation and monitoring of expenses.

3) Recipients must notify INVEST IN SPAIN, where appropriate, of any other aid,grants, revenue for the implementation of funded activities, as soon as they becomeaware of them, in any event, prior to the accreditation of the use of the funds received.Furthermore, recipients must communicate the existence of any other aid grantedunder de minimis community legislation, in the current fiscal year and in the twoprevious fiscal years, depending on when these were granted.

4) Recipients must clearly accept the aid granted. Acceptance by recipients includes theauthorisation to publish the aid granted, the title of the project or activity, a briefdescription of its content, the implementation period and the amount of aid awarded onthe INVEST IN SPAIN web site.

Nine. Subcontracting.

1) A recipient is defined as subcontracting when the implementation of the activity tobe funded is either totally or partially arranged with a third party. Costs incurred by therecipient for the implementation of the funded activity carried out by the recipient arenot included.

2) Where part of the implementation of a project or activity is subcontracted, the costof the subcontract may not exceed 50% of the total cost of the project or activity, withthe exception of projects or activities implemented by non-profit organisations andsupport activities deemed of general interest by the Programme Monitoring and

Evaluation Commission, in which cases the subcontract may reach 95% of the total costof the project or activity.

3) When the subcontract exceeds 20 per cent of the amount of the item eligible for aid,and this amount exceeds 60,000 euros, a written contract must be drafted between theparties and must subsequently be submitted to the investigating official prior togranting the aid. The aid will be deemed granted and the contract authorised by thebody awarding the aid upon reception of the aid award decision by the recipient.

4) No subcontracts may be drafted with persons or companies in any of the followingcircumstances:


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- Persons or companies involved in any of the activities prohibited in point eight, section1) of this call.

- Persons or companies that have received other grants or aid for the implementation ofthe activity to be subcontracted.

- Intermediaries or advisers in which payment is defined as a percentage of the totalcost of the operation, unless this payment is accredited with reference to the marketvalue of the work carried out or the services provided.

- Persons or companies linked to the recipient, except under the followingcircumstances:

o Where subcontracting takes place in accordance with normal market conditions.

o Where prior authorisation is obtained from the body awarding the aid.

- Persons or companies applying for aid in the same call and programme, who did notobtain the aforementioned aid due to lack of fulfilment of the requirements or notachieving the necessary rating.

Ten. Competent Bodies for Processing and Resolution of the Aid Contemplatedin this Call.

1) The examination and organisation of the aid granting procedure is the responsibility

of the Technology Funds Unit of INVEST IN SPAIN.

2) The Assessment Committee is the body in charge of overseeing compliance withcommunity and national legislation in the assessment of operations and the monitoringof their implementation. It consists of the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief OperationsManager, the Secretary General, the Head of the Administration and Human ResourcesUnit, the Head of the Technology Funds Unit and up to three experts from the PublicSector in the area of foreign investment and community programmes. It will be chairedby the Chief Executive Officer, who may delegate to the Chief Operations Manager,acting as secretary to the Head of the Technology Funds Unit. The AssessmentCommittee will undertake the technical and economic viability studies of the aidapplications.

3) Resolution of the procedure will be the responsibility of the Chief Executive Officer ofINVEST IN SPAIN or the person to whom he/she delegates this responsibility.

Eleven. Lodging and Submission of Applications.

1) Applications for aid must be filled in according to the form included, for informationonly, in Appendix I of this call. This form may be filled in and submitted on the INVESTIN SPAIN web site (www.investinspain.org). The abovementioned form consists of threeparts: aid application, questionnaire and report, which must be completed using theelectronic support resources available on the abovementioned web site.


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2) Applicants must submit the aid application, questionnaire and report in electronicformat to the following e-mail address: [email protected].

3) The questionnaire and report must be attached to the application form in one of thefollowing formats: pdf, rtf, txt or doc and will under no circumstances exceed3 mega bytes in size.

4) Valid accreditation of the authority of the application's signatory must accompanythe abovementioned documentation, which must be submitted by any means validunder the law allowing proof of authenticity, and making reference to the electronicapplication number used.

5) Once approval has been given to grant aid applications for multiannual projects oractivities, the individual recipient or the representative of legal person recipients andother recipients of aid for in cooperation projects do not have to submit applications insubsequent years for the annuities included in the aid approval for the project oractivity, without prejudice to the obligation to submit the proof of payment referred toin section sixteen of this call and to comply with the remaining requirements stipulatedin current legislation so that the competent body may recognise the correspondingobligation.

6) Should the documentation submitted for not meet the requirements as stipulated,the applicant will be requested to rectify the fault or provide the missing documentswithin a period of ten working days from day following the notification date. If therequested information is not provided within this period, the application will beconsidered null and void.

Twelve. Examination and Assessment.

1) The Technology Funds Unit of INVEST IN SPAIN will be the examiner for the process.The examiner will carry out any actions it deems necessary by right of office to examineand check the information submitted. This will then be passed on to the AssessmentCommittee along with the application itself.

2) Applications will be subjected to a prior process of content evaluation.

3) The prior evaluation reports undertaken by the examiner will be sent to the

Assessment Committee.

4) Aid will be granted to applications scoring the highest number of points, inaccordance with the following selection criteria:

CRITERIA WEIGHTINGa) Increase in resources devoted to R&D&I 20

b) Increase in technological intensity such as patents,licenses, etc.

10

c ) Assessment of direct, indirect and secondary effects 20

d) Knock on effect for the regional economy 10


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e) Strategic interest in the technology to be developed inSpain

10

f) Promotion of cooperation agreements between privateactors

10

g) Promotion of public-private cooperation agreements PPP(Public-Private Partnership)

10

h) Advertising and marketing as tools to support R&D&I 10

Total 100

Applications scoring under 40 points, according to the table above, will be automaticallyexcluded from the assessment process.

5) Once examination of the applications is complete, they will be passed on to the

Assessment Committee, which will produce an assessment report and proposal for theChief Executive Officer of INVEST IN SPAIN, who will decide the final approval ordisapproval of aid applications for projects and activities. The report drafted by theAssessment Committee must provide due reasons for its conclusions. The decisionmaking process used to approve the report will be a vote by the simple majority ofAssessment Committee members.

Thirteen. Hearing and Decision.

1) Once the project has been assessed by the Assessment Committee in accordancewith that stated in the previous section, a duly reasoned provisional decision proposalwill be drafted, of which the applicants will be notified, so that, within a period of 10

days, they may put forward whatever arguments they see fit, or express theiracceptance.

The proposal for provisional resolution, as well as the proposed beneficiaries list and theineligible project list, may include a list of projects that, despite having met therequirements and exceeded the minimum threshold established by the assessmentcriteria of the call, have not been included due to budget constraints.

In the case that any of the beneficiaries of provisional list renounce their aid, assistancemay be granted to the applicant or applicants next in line in the list of ineligibleprojects, not being necessary to publish a new call for aid.

2) Responsibilities of beneficiaries relating to information and publicity measures,according to article 8 of Regulation (EC) 1828/2006, will be mentioned on thenotification of provisional decision. As well, the interested parties will be requested,where appropriate, to provide the following documentation:

a) Form attesting acceptance of the aid offered.

b) In the case of projects or activities in cooperation, the contract or agreementstipulating the rights and obligations of all those participating.

c) The contract between the parties, in the case of subcontracts exceeding 20% of theamount eligible for aid and with a total value of over 60,000.


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d) Valid accreditation of the authority of the application's signatory, should this nothave been provided previously.

e) Any further documentation requested in provisional decision proposal.

If the interested parties submit their arguments, once these have been studied, a finaldecision proposal will be drafted by the Assessment Committee, and will subsequentlyby communicated to the proposed aid recipients so that, within a period of 10 days,they may convey their acceptance or renunciation of the proposal. Acceptance will beunderstood as having been given if there is no reply from the interested party after aperiod of 10 days.

The final decision will be made by the Chief Executive Officer of INVEST IN SPAIN, inaccordance with the proposal drafted by the Assessment Committee. Should the finaldecision be different from that made by the Assessment Committee, the decision mustprovide due reasons for its conclusions.

Interested parties wishing to dispute the final decision of the procedure may presenttheir case before the relevant civil legal authority

Fourteen. Compatibility with Other Aid.

Applicants must declare any aid applied for or received in relation to the activities orprojects in question, both at the time of submitting proposals or whenever this situationarises, and must accept possible reductions applied as a result. In any event, the

reception of the aid referred to in this call is not compatible with aid provided byCommunity Funds for the same activities, if these are already cofinanced by theabovementioned funds.

Fifteen. Changes to Procedures for Implementing the Activity.

1) Funded activities must be implemented in the timescale and manner approved, asstipulated in the decisions granting the aid. Any change to the project will requirecompliance with all of the following criteria:

a) The change must not affect the objectives pursued by the call for aid applications, itsbasic aspects, the recipient's identity, nor the geographic location in which the project

is to be implemented.

b) The change must be expressly accepted by INVEST IN SPAIN, in the termsmentioned above.

2) Extensions to the completion period may be requested, in justified cases presentedin a reasoned petition drafted by the recipient's legal representative. Approval forextensions must be given expressly by INVEST IN SPAIN, and the interested party mustbe notified before the initial completion period has elapsed.

Sixteen. Accreditation of Project or Activity Implementation and Payment ofAid.


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1) Accreditation of aid use will be undertaken in accordance with that stipulated in theEuropean Union Structural Funds standards.

2) Applicants must have separate accounts or account code for managing the aid.

3) Expenses allowed for in the project or activity eligible for aid must be carried outduring the years for which the aid is granted. However, proof of these costs may beprovided up to the end of the presentation period for the corresponding report,provided that the proof of payment includes the date of purchase, within the stipulatedperiod. Proof of payment will also be subject to the abovementioned time limit.

4) The recipient must submit documentation and technical and financial monitoringreports that prove the implementation of the project or activity eligible for aid. Thedocumentation must be submitted in accordance with the monitoring milestonesapproved in the decision, and, in addition, on completion of the project of activity. Thecontent of the accreditation will be as follows:

a) A technical report accrediting compliance with the conditions imposed in the aidaward decision, including a list of activities undertaken and results obtained, whichmust contain the following:

I. Identification of recipient.

II. Introduction to activity content.

III. Territorial location of the activity.

IV. Methodology or tools used.

V. Activities undertaken.

VI. Quantification and assessment of results.

VII. Changes made, if applicable, and justification.

VIII. Conclusions.

b) A financial report accrediting the cost of the activities carried out, which mustcontain the following:

I. Summary sheet showing the approved budget for the activity in comparison withactual costs, categorised by annuities and the costs appearing in the aid awarddecision.

II. Numbered list of expenses and investments for the activity including all relevantproof of payment and quantities paid using the full amount (invoices, proof of paymentand any other documentation verifying the specific application of the funds awarded)including the identification of the creditor and the document, the total amount and the


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sum applied to the project or activity, issue date and payment date, with reference topossible deviations from the approved budget and their causes.

III. Report on compliance with contracts and agreements, etc., signed withsubcontractors and, specially, with the Public Research Centres.

IV. A list of other revenues or aid that have funded the activity indicating the amountand source.

V. The three estimates which, pursuant to article 31.3 of the General Grants Law, therecipient should have requested, if not already submitted.

VI. Certificates verifying up to date status with tax and social security payments, in

accordance with that established in article 14.1 e) of Law 38/2003, of 17 November, onGeneral Grants.

VII. Company certification, signed by a person with appropriate authority, of costspertaining to internal staff working on the project (including list of individuals,occupational category, time devoted and cost/hour), with attached authenticated copyof payrolls and TC1 and TC2 documents (only the sheet corresponding to the person orpersons involved in the project) for the first and last month of participation on theproject.

VIII. In the case of highly qualified staff, certificate of employment history issued bythe social security for the staff hired along with the documentation described in the

previous paragraph.

IX. In case of acquisition of buildings and land, a copy of the self-assessment for thetax on capital transfers and documented legal acts or, failing that, certification from theOffice that calculates transfer tax.

X. Any further documents considered necessary by the examiner for the adequatejustification for the cost of the activities carried out.

5) The monitoring reports must be submitted within the dates and periods stated in theaid award decisions.

6) As a general rule, provided the decisions granting the aid do not mention differentdate, the abovementioned documentation may be submitted from 1 January until 31March of the year immediately following the activity, and must be submitted to theexaminer.

7) Once the abovementioned documentation has been submitted, technical-financialand physical checks will be undertaken. These checks will take place in accordance withthe Public Sector Audit Standards approved by the State Audit Office, for which anysupporting documents deemed necessary as providing reasonable proof of appropriateuse of the aid will be requested.

8) Should the checks reveal that the funded investment was lower than the amount

approved or that the purposes for which the aid was granted were not complied with,


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whether totally or partially, the interested party will receive notification to this effectalong with the results of the check carried out, causing a reduction of the aid granted

according to the investments as accredited or the total withdrawal of the aid should thereduction of investment be deemed to be a cause for non-compliance with the purposesfor which the aid was granted.

The grading criteria for possible non-compliance are listed in section nineteen.

9) After the technical-financial check, the examiner will issue certification accreditingcompliance with the purposes for which the aid was granted. This certification will berequired for the aid payment process to begin.

10) Payment of the aid will always be made after the project or activities have beencarried out, and after the certification accrediting compliance with the purposes forwhich the aid was granted has been issued. Payment will not be made prior toaccreditation that the recipient has no outstanding tax and social security payments andis not in debt due to a repayment ruling.

But, if requested by the interested party, payment may be made prior to thejustification of the activities implemented, provided that the advance payment is madein the same year as originally planned. In these cases, the recipient must provide aguarantee in favour of INVEST IN SPAIN, via submission of an endorsement from afinancial institution or mutual security scheme, or via the establishment of a security inthe General Deposits Fund within one of the categories contemplated in the regulationsof the abovementioned Fund in accordance with the stipulations set out in itsregulations. The security will be given for the amount of the advance partial paymentrequested.

The security will be released once accreditation of the activities corresponding to theadvance partial payment has taken place.

Seventeen. Verification and Auditing.

1) The aid recipient will be obliged to provide verification of the correct implementationof the project or activity for which the aid was granted. In addition, the recipient will besubjected to checks by INVEST IN SPAIN, as well as financial control carried out by theState Audit Office and an audit performed by the State Audit Court according to that

stipulated in the legislation relating to aid cofinanced by the ERDF.

2) For the purposes of monitoring and auditing of the funded activities, recipients musthave accounting books, registers subjected to due process and other documents in theterms stated in the relevant legislation applicable to eh recipient, in addition to invoicesor documents of equivalent probatory value and the corresponding proof of payment.The abovementioned documentation constitutes supporting evidence for the aidgranted, and guarantees proper reflection of the aid in the recipient's accounts.

3) The recipient must keep documentation accrediting the accreditation of expenses forthe project or activity for the period set out in the community legislation governingStructural Funds, art. 90 of Council regulation 1083/2006.


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Eighteen. Non-compliance, Repayment and Penalties.

Non-compliance with the requirements set forth in this call and other relevantlegislation, as well as the conditions which, where applicable, have been established inthe corresponding aid award decision, will result in the obligation to return the aid inquestion received, by means of the appropriate repayment procedure, in accordancewith that stipulated in the relevant legislation.

Nineteen. Grading Criteria for Non-compliance.

1) In case of non-compliance with the conditions imposed by the aid award, the amountto be deducted from the aid granted will be calculated according to the followingcriteria:

a) Non-compliance with the purposes for which the aid was awarded or failure to carryout the funded investment or accreditation obligation, will be cause for full repaymentof the aid awarded.

b) Where the recipient's compliance significantly resembles full compliance and wherethe recipient's actions unambiguously tend towards the fulfilment of the theircommitments and the grant award conditions, the amount to be deducted from the aidawarded will be determined exclusively using the amount corresponding to theunaccredited sum.

2) Should there be a delay in the submission of documents supporting the funded

investment, the amount deducted will be determined by the following guidelines:

a) Delays of two or three months in the submission of documents supporting the fundedinvestment will result in a 100 per cent deduction of the aid awarded.

b) Delays in the submission of documents supporting the funded investment of morethan one month and less than two months, will result in a 50 per cent reduction of theaccredited aid.

c) Delays in the submission of documents supporting the funded investment of lessthan one month will result in a 25 per cent reduction of the accredited aid.

3) Unauthorised changes to the fundable budget, will result in the reduction of theamount diverted.

Twenty. Relevant Legislation and Claims Procedure

The regulations set forth in this call and in the applicable community regulations will begoverned by that stipulated in Law 38/2003, of 17 November, on General Grants, byway of supplement and with the necessary modifications deriving from the legal statusof INVEST IN SPAIN.

The interested parties may file against the decisions adopted in the aid awardprocedures contained in this call, addressing the relevant civil legal bodies.


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Twenty One. Entry into Force.

This call will come into effect the day after publication on the INVEST IN SPAIN website.

Madrid, 6 April 2010

JAVIER SANZ MUOZ

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF INVEST IN SPAIN

Fundo Tecnológico de I+D+i - INVEST IN SPAIN

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