The Official State Gazette (BOE) has published the new call for 2023 of the three lines of aid for trade to improve its competitive model and help in its transformation processes to make it more digital, sustainable and resilient.
The deadline for submitting applications will be one month from the day following the publication of the extract of the call in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
These aids will be distributed in three lines of action and are endowed with a total budget of 107 million euro for 2023 destined to: sustainable markets in commercial urban areas, sustainable markets in rural areas and strengthening the commercial sector in tourist areas. These subsidies are included in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan that will be financed with the European Next Generation EU Funds.
For the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto: “with these programs the Government reinforces its support for local commerce to improve its competitiveness. In the last two from Commerce we have mobilised close to 208 million euro to improve activity through the financing of 227 beneficiary projects of the lines of sustainable markets, markets in rural areas and strengthening of commercial activity in tourist areas”.
In the new call for 2023, the economic endowment of the aid line for rural areas is increased with an amount of 22 million euro for 2023. The line of sustainable markets will have 60.8 million and the line of tourist areas will have 24.3 million.
In addition, apart from assessing the drive for digital transformation and the sustainability of the sector, a new evaluation parameter is included: the implementation of technological solutions to improve efficiency in energy consumption in the commercial sector. Thus, projects of local entities that promote efficiency and energy savings in their demarcations will be taken into account.
The subsidies will be managed through the local administrations awarded.
Aid lines for the commercial sector
These three lines of aid to the commercial sector are included in component 13 (Promoting SMEs) and component 14 (modernisation of the tourism sector) of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.
‘Aid to sustainable urban markets’: finances the development of projects of technological, innovative and sustainability content of local entities, as well as improvement of equipment, aimed at the commercial sector that is located in its demarcation.
‘Aid for sustainable rural markets’: aimed at supporting the implementation, modernisation and promotion of commercial activity in rural areas, improving the competitiveness, sustainability and diversification of the rural economy.
‘Aid to areas of tourist influx’: to support those commercial establishments located in tourist areas and whose businesses are linked to the arrival of visitors.
Since its launch, these grants have generated great interest among local entities and this has been confirmed by the receipt of a high number of applications during the first two calls of 2021 and 2022.
