Cumulation of aid is a rule under which all forms of public support provided for the same eligible expenditure are added together and, combined, must not exceed the set maximum intensity. It is not just about grants – favourable loans, guarantees, tax relief and non-monetary support are also counted, regardless of who provided them. Companies most often go wrong in assuming that when support was provided by two different authorities, the limits are assessed separately. For de minimis aid, moreover, the ceiling is tracked over a period of several years and for the entire linked undertaking, not for an individual company. Keep an ongoing record of aid received, therefore, and update it with every new application; exceeding the ceiling means the support must be repaid together with interest.
See also: De minimis aid scheme, Aid intensity, Single undertaking.
