Applications for the Micro Invest Scheme: Now Open

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Applications for the Micro Invest Scheme, covering costs incurred in 2014, are now open and shall be accepted until 30th March.

The Micro Invest Scheme, administered by Malta Enterprise, is open once more. The Micro Invest Scheme’s scope is to encourage undertakings to invest in their business, to innovate, expand and implement compliance directives or to develop their operations. The Scheme aids undertakings via a tax credit which represents a percentage of eligible expenditure and the wages of newly recruited employees and/or apprentices incurred between 2014 and 2020.

Malta Enterprise may approve a tax credit of a maximum of 65%. However, undertakings operating in Malta may qualify for no more than 45%, with Gozitan operators benefiting from an additional 20%. Having said that, no undertaking may benefit from more than €30,000 (€50,000 in the case of undertakings operating in Gozo) in aid over any period of 3 consecutive years.

Qualifying Costs

The application form must regard costs incurred over the calendar year preceding the year in which the claim is made. Eligible expenses include:

  • Costs subcontracted to third parties in relation to furbishing, refurbishing and upgrading of business premises;
  • Investments in acquiring new machinery, technology, apparatus or instruments which enhance the operations;
  • Capital Investment in IT;
  • Wages costs covering a 12 month period pertaining to new full-time jobs created from 1st January of the previous year as long as this constitutes a net increase in the total number of full-time employees of the applicant when compared to the employment figure of previous years;

… among others.

Ineligible costs include:

  • Purchase of land and/or property;
  • Acquisitions of works of art or antiques;
  • Costs that are assisted (even partially) through other incentive schemes;
  • Spare-parts and maintenance costs;
  • Personal devices such as mobile phones;
  • Invoice items having a value of less than €200.

Undertaking Eligibility

While the incentive is open to all undertakings, certain criteria must be satisfied for the undertaking to benefit:

  • The applicant must be a single undertaking;
  • In the year in which the eligible costs were incurred, the undertaking must not have employed more than 30 persons or had a turnover exceeding Euro 10 million;
  • The undertaking must employ at least 1 person at time of application, who may be the applicant himself, and such employee must be registered with the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC);
  • The undertaking must be registered with the VAT department;
  • Applicants must not be defaulting on VAT, Income Tax and Social Security. Persons or undertakings engaged in activities specifically excluded under the de minimis regulations are not eligible for this incentive.

The incentive is not available to voluntary organisations.