One of the main objectives of the Secretary of State for Trade is to strengthen the foreign sector, both in terms of exports and investment, through various strategies to support exports and the internationalisation of companies.
The activities carried out by exporters' associations and federations and many of the services they provide to their member companies, especially SMEs, contribute effectively to maintaining Spanish exports in established markets and enable access to those where there is a smaller market share.
The associations also play a significant role in representing their sectors in their dealings with the general state administration. The information derived from this facilitates knowledge of the Spanish business reality and decision-making by the administration.
For all these reasons, the commercial administration believes it is advisable to ensure the strengthening of export associations and the stability of these entities, for which it has established a framework for collaboration with the main export associations.
Once recognised, exporters' associations and federations are eligible for two types of aid:
The regulatory development of the programme is set out in Order ICT/870/2023 of 20 July of the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade, which establishes the regulatory bases for aid to exporters' associations and federations recognised as collaborating entities of the General State Administration. Order ICT/870/2023
The granting of recognition as a collaborating entity to exporters' associations and federations entails their periodic compliance with a series of obligations, basically relating to the provision of documentation and information. The Subdirectorate General for Internationalisation Strategy, which reports to the Secretary of State for Trade, is responsible for coordinating the receipt of this data. In order to help ensure the quality of this information, as part of a continuous improvement effort, this section of the website has been created to provide recognised associations with guidance on how to submit this information.
Requirements for applying for the annual subsidy
In accordance with the provisions of Article 2 of ORDER ICT/870/2023, of 20 July, associations and federations recognised as collaborating entities of the Secretary of State for Trade may benefit from the aid established in this order.
Grant Application and Required Documentation
Applications must be submitted electronically via the website of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise, using a recognised electronic signature, selecting the option “Aid for Exporters' Associations or Federations”
The documents specified at that address, specifically in the section ‘Information on aid for all modes of access’, must be attached electronically to the application.
Justification for the use of funds received
Between 1 September and 31 October each year, associations and federations that have received a financial contribution in the previous year must submit a documented report justifying the allocation and use of the funds. The report must be submitted electronically via the website of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise, using a recognised electronic signature, selecting from the list of available electronic procedures the same one used for the grant application, i.e. the one corresponding to Grants for Exporters' Associations or Federations.
Within this procedure, a link entitled “Justification of the use of funds received” has been enabled for the electronic submission of the required documentation.
The required supporting documentation shall consist of a classified list of the expenses to which the subsidy has been allocated - strictly those listed in Article 5 of Order ICT/870/2023 of 20 July, identifying the creditor and the document, its amount and date of issue. Where applicable, details of other subsidies received that have financed any of these expenses must be provided, indicating their amount and source.
This justification must be provided for an amount that is at least double the grant awarded and must be supported by the submission of the corresponding invoices and bank statements.
In addition, the association’s or federation’s financial statements—approved by the body within the organization that, in accordance with its bylaws, has the authority to do so—must be submitted, from which it can be determined that the eligible expenses are at least double the grant awarded.
List of associations and federations of exporters recognised as collaborating entities of the Secretary of State for Trade, under the collaboration regime established in Ministerial Order ITC/3690/2005 of 22 November (BOE of 29).
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