Prime - Programa de Incentivos à Modernização da Economia

MEASURE FACT SHEET

PITER programmes are composed by coherent, complementary sets of investment projects, to be implemented within a limited time frame. These projects seek the same strategic goals, with a view to achieve structural changes in the local or regional tourism offer and a significant social and economic impact on the concerned geographic area. The classification of a programme as PITER is a condition for eligibility to the associated Incentive Scheme.

Objectives

To create groups of tourism offer elements functionally interdependent.
To take advantage of tourism market niches.
To enhance and to rehabilitate areas with a strong tourism activity, including the upgrading of the existing offer and its urbanistic integration.

Beneficiaries

All entities, irrespective of their nature and juridical statute, and namely enterprises, municipal councils, tourism regions and other local or regional tourism bodies, as well as groups of the former entities.

Activity Sectors

Tourism.

Type of Projects

a) Projects necessary for preparing and coordinating the application to PITER.

b) Projects commonly promoted by all or by a relevant number of participants in PITER and whose importance is essential to further the programme's strategy.

c) Private projects that cannot apply to SIPIE, SIVETUR or SIME.

d) Private anchor-projects.

ITP may study and finance public investments included in PITER and related to projects of a structuring nature that cannot be classified in any of the previous categories, whose aim should be infrastructure building or any other public initiative relevant to tourist activity.

Eligible Expenses

Projects necessary to prepare and co-ordinate the PITER application:

Studies, diagnosis, programme and project validation audits, including application preparation.
Technical assistance to project implementation and application organisation, including costs related to the operational unit functioning.

Projects commonly promoted by all or by a relevant number of participants in PITER and whose importance is essential to further the programme's strategy:

Expenses related to activities developed in common by several promoters, namely equipments, technical assistance and other types of assistance, related to marketing and awareness campaigns encompassing the whole of the programme or intervention area.

Private and anchor-projects:

Purchasing of land-property for golf courses.
Buildings and infrastructure construction directly related to the production process and the core managing activities, as well as, exceptionally, the purchase of vacant or unfinished buildings, representing an element of degradation of the surrounding environment.
Other construction and facility rehabilitation or re-conversion works, directly related to the activity's development or intended to improve health and safety conditions.
Environmental protection equipments purchasing and introduction of eco-efficient technologies, for a sustainable use of natural resources.
Purchasing and assembling of safety, energy efficiency and saving materials and equipments, including the cost of facility adaptation.
Purchasing of equipments directly related to the production process.
Studies, architectural and engineering projects, diagnosis, project validation audits and technical assistance.
Technical assistance to management, including the aspects involving quality, environment and safety, organisation and management, technological upgrading and best available techniques.
Actions related to the initial procedures for the qualification, certification or registration processes, within the Portuguese Quality System, in the quality, environment and safety areas, as well as other additional expenses including, if necessary, expenses with dissemination actions.
Hardware and software for management; introduction of information and communication technologies; logistics, sales and marketing upgrading.
Trademarks and permits purchasing and registration.
Patents and licenses purchasing and registration.
Vocational training.
Advertising and marketing.
Transport, insurance, equipment assembling and disassembling.
Bank guarantees the promoters must provide.
Statutory auditors intervention.

Non-Eligible Expenses

Land-property and buildings acquisition (except in the cases prescribed in the regulating Order in Council).
Studies, diagnosis, programme and project validation audits and the corresponding technical assistance, including application preparation, concluded after the normal deadline for introducing an application to PITER.
Subletting rights and space using rights.
Motor vehicles and other transport equipment purchasing, except transport equipment classified as important to tourism, within tourist recreation projects.
Furniture or other equipments not directly linked to essential activities or to management.
Aircrafts and other aeronautic equipment.
Second-hand goods purchasing (except in the cases prescribed in the regulating Order in Council).
Enterprise internal costs (except vocational training).
Interests during construction.
Working capital.
Construction, setting up, rehabilitation or expansion of tourist structures to be operated on a time-share basis, either through right of possession or the general law of contract, for the share of investment expenses corresponding to time-share operation.

Incentives

For incentive estimation purposes, the eligible expenses were split into two groups: Group I and II.

Group I

Land-property, buildings and equipments.
Technology transfer (patents, operating licences and know-how acquisition).

The incentive amount to be granted is equivalent to:

75% of non-refundable eligible expenses - for projects necessary for preparing and coordinating the application and for commonly promoted projects.
25% of refundable eligible expenses - for private projects.
40% of refundable and non-refundable eligible expenses (75%/25%) - for private anchor-projects (30% of refundable eligible expenses - for private anchor-projects promoted by enterprises other than SMEs, located in the Grande Lisboa zone and to be refunded over a period exceeding five years).

Surcharges

10% - for projects located within the Regional Modulation Zone II.
10% - for projects promoted by SMEs (except for projects located in the Grande Lisboa zone).

When the goals established in the incentive granting contract are fulfilled, an accomplishment bonus is awarded: non-refunding of part of the granted refundable incentive.

Group II

Vocational training.
Other intangible assets.

The incentive is non-refundable and amounts to 30% of the eligible expenses.

Surcharges

5% - for projects located outside the Lisboa e Vale do Tejo zone.
10% - for the specific vocational training component of projects promoted by SMEs.
20% - for the general vocational training component of projects promoted by SMEs.
15% - for the "other intangible assets" share of projects promoted by SMEs.
25% - for the vocational training component of projects aimed at a type of training not specifically targeted to the present or future position of the promoters' employees within the enterprise.
10% - for vocational training expenses, in projects designed for handicapped workers.