The end user is the entity or person who ultimately receives the support, even though someone else holds the contractual relationship with the provider. A typical example is a national project in which the beneficiary is a state organisation and the end users are companies, municipalities or citizens who receive a service, equipment or contribution from it. This distinction has practical consequences. The beneficiary is responsible for eligibility and reporting, but the end user must meet its own conditions – for example, not being an undertaking in difficulty – and the benefit received counts towards its state aid limit. Companies often do not realise that a service provided free of charge from a national project fills up part of their de minimis limit, and they run into this when submitting their own application later.
See also: Beneficiary, De minimis aid scheme, National project.
