Aid for research and development in the agricultural and forestry sectors
Article 38
1. Aid for research and development projects in the agricultural and forestry sectors and sub-sectors shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3), point (c), of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) thereof where it fulfils the conditions laid down in this Article and in Chapter I of this Regulation. 2. The aided project shall be of general interest to all undertakings active in the sector or sub-sector concerned as referred to in paragraph 1. 3. Prior to the date of the start of the aided project the following information shall be published on a publicly accessible website at national or regional level: (a) that the aided project is to be carried out; (b) the goals of the aided project; (c) an approximate date for the publication of the expected results of the aided project; (d) the place of publication of the expected results of the aided project on the internet; (e) that the results of the aided project will be available at no cost to all undertakings active in the sector or sub-sector concerned. 4. The results of the aided project shall be made available on a publicly accessible website from the end date of the aided project or the date on which any information concerning those results is given to members of any particular organisation, whatever comes first. The results shall remain available on the internet for a period of at least five years starting from the end date of the aided project. 5. The aid shall be granted directly to the research and/or knowledge-dissemination organisation. 6. The aid shall not involve payments to undertakings active in the agricultural or forestry sector based on the price of the agricultural or forestry products. 7. The eligible costs shall be the following: (a) personnel costs related to researchers, technicians and other supporting staff to the extent employed on the project; (b) costs of instruments and equipment to the extent and for the period used for the project; where such instruments and equipment are not used for their full life for the project, only the depreciation costs corresponding to the life of the project, as calculated on the basis of generally accepted accounting principles are considered as eligible; (c) costs of buildings and land, to the extent and for the duration period used for the project and under the following conditions: (i) with regard to buildings, only the depreciation costs corresponding to the life of the project, as calculated on the basis of generally accepted accounting principles, are considered as eligible; (ii) with regard to land, costs of commercial transfer or actually incurred capital costs are eligible; (d) costs of contractual research, knowledge and patents bought or licensed from outside sources at arm’s length conditions, as well as costs of consultancy and equivalent services used exclusively for the project; (e) additional overheads and other operating expenses, including costs of materials, supplies and similar products, incurred directly as a result of the project. 8. Where a research, and/or knowledge-dissemination organisation also pursues economic activities the financing, the costs and the revenues of those economic activities shall be accounted for separately. 9. Undertakings that can exert influence upon research and/or knowledge-dissemination organisation, in the quality of, for example, shareholders or members, may not enjoy a preferential access to its research capacities or to the results generated by it. 10. The aid intensity shall be limited to 100 % of the eligible costs.