If you have a Startup or SME, pay attention to the following article. Next, we'll tell you if you meet the requirements to apply for the Innovative SME Seal.
What is the Innovative SME Seal?
The Innovative SME Seal is a recognition by the Ministry of Science and Innovation to distinguish companies that have an innovative character. Those who meet the requirements can take advantage of and combine a series of tax incentives that, without the seal, would be incompatible and could not be applied at the same time.
What are the benefits of having the Innovative SME Seal?
This seal can provide you with a series of very interesting tax benefits. First of all, it allows you to reconcile incentives, such as the corporate tax deduction for R+D+i activities and the bonus for people dedicated to R+D+i in Social Security. If you don't know these tax incentives, let's briefly summarize what they mean:
- Social Security Bonuses by research staff: reduces by 40% the share of common Social Security contingencies of people dedicated to R+D+i by 85% of their time that the company has on staff.
- Tax Deductions for R+D+i: allow Corporate Tax to be reduced by up to 42% of the investment made by the company in R&D and up to 12% of the investment made by the company in IT (Technological Innovation).
Second, it gives you the option to participate in certain funding grants. You have access to participate in the Public Purchase of Innovation or the ICO Funding Line.
The seal can also be used for advertising and commercial purposes, to improve the brand image.
When is an SME considered innovative?
An innovative SME is considered to be of an innovative nature when it meets any of the following requisitions/characteristics:
- When the SME has received public funding over the past three years through:- Public calls within the framework of the seventh National Plan for Scientific Research, Development and Technological Innovation or the State Plan for Scientific, Technical and Innovation Research- Grants for carrying out R+D+i projects of the Center for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI) - Calls for the 7th Framework Program for R+D+i or the Horizon 2020 Program offered by the European Union.
- When the SME has demonstrated its innovative nature through its own activity:- For the fact that he has his own operating patent for a period not exceeding five years.- For the fact that he obtained, in the three years prior to the exercise of the right of bonus, a positive, binding reasoned report for the purpose of applying tax deductions on corporate income tax.
- When the SME has demonstrated its capacity for innovation through one of the following official certifications:- Innovative Young Company (JEI) according to AENOR Specification EA0043.- Small or innovative microenterprise, according to AENOR Specification EA0047.- Certification in accordance with the UNE 166.002 standard called “R+D+i Management Systems”.
How to apply for the Innovative SME Seal?
SMEs that meet the necessary requirements to be included in the Public Registry of Innovative SMEs and that are not yet on published lists, may request to be included in the list through an Application for Registration as an Innovative SME, providing documentation that proves that they meet any of the circumstances established in Ministerial Order ECC/1087/2015 of June 5.
La Request for registration there is no cost to companies and the registration procedure is carried out by the Public Registry of Innovative SMEs under the Ministry of Science and Innovation.
The company must be registered in the RUS (Acronyms that refer to the Unified Register of Applicants) in order to initiate the application for the seal.
During the application process, we will be asked for the following information:
- Information about the requesting company
- Details of the requesting contact person
- General information about the company: number of employees, billing and annual accounts, articles of incorporation, CIF, statutes, etc.
- Provide some of the documents we have mentioned in the previous section that prove that your company is innovative, for example: documentation on the granting of any of the above-mentioned public R&D grants, your own operating patent, copy of the resolution of the positive binding motivated report or the copy of the official certification recognized by MINECO.
- Electronic signature
Once the entire process is done, we must wait for the Ministry's resolution, which can take anywhere from a week to 4 months. When the final resolution is obtained, the seal can be downloaded.
IMPORTANT: The seal has an expiration date. It expires after 3 years and you can renew it as long as you continue to meet the requirements. At Intelectium we specialize in processing and obtaining this type of certification for innovative companies. Get in touch with us through the Next form and we'll help you know if you can apply for the Innovative SME Seal with your company.
