Aid for knowledge exchange and information actions in the forestry sector
Article 47
1. Aid for knowledge exchange and information actions in favour of undertakings active in the forestry sector 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. Member States shall ensure that actions supported under this Article are consistent with the description of the AKIS provided in the CAP Strategic Plan. 2. Aid shall cover vocational training and skills acquisition actions, including training courses, workshops and coaching, demonstration activities, information actions, and promotion of innovation. Aid may also cover short-term forest management exchanges and forest visits which shall focus, in particular, on sustainable forestry methods or technologies, the development of new business opportunities and new technologies, and on the improvement of forest resilience. Aid for demonstration activities may cover relevant investment costs. 3. The aid shall cover the following eligible costs: (a) the costs of organising and delivering the knowledge exchange or information action; (b) in the case of demonstration projects related to investments: (i) the construction, acquisition, including leasing, or improvement of immovable property, with land purchase only being eligible to an extent not exceeding 10 % of the other total eligible expenditure of the operation concerned with the exception of land purchase if the aid is granted in the framework of a CAP Strategic Plan; (ii) the purchase or lease purchase of machinery and equipment up to the market value of the asset; (iii) general costs linked to expenditure referred to in points (i) and (ii), such as architect, engineer and consultation fees, fees relating to advice on environmental and economic sustainability, including feasibility studies; feasibility studies shall remain eligible expenditure even where, based on their results, no expenditure under points (i) and (ii) is incurred; (iv) acquisition, development or usage fees of computer software, cloud and similar solutions, and acquisitions of patents, licenses, copyrights and trademarks; (c) the costs for travel, accommodation and per diem expenses of the participants. Working capital shall not be considered to be an eligible cost. 4. The costs referred to in paragraph 3, point (b), shall only be eligible to the extent incurred for the demonstration project and for the duration period of the demonstration project. 5. Only the depreciation costs corresponding to the life of the demonstration project, as calculated on the basis of generally accepted accounting principles, shall be eligible. 6. The aid referred to in paragraph 3, point (a), shall not involve direct payments to beneficiaries. The aid shall be paid to the provider of the knowledge exchange and information actions. 7. Bodies providing knowledge exchange and information actions shall have the appropriate capacities in the form of staff qualifications and regular training to carry out such tasks. 8. The aid shall be limited to 100 % of the eligible costs.