The Ministry of Finance, through the Tax Agency, has registered in just two days more than 400 requests from companies and self-employed workers in Ceuta to access the direct aid approved by the Government, aimed at alleviating the economic impact in the autonomous city after the massive influx of migrants at the end of July.
The deadline to process these subsidies opened on September 14 and, in just a day and a half, 408 applications had already been counted, as detailed by the Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, at the press conference following the Council of Ministers.
The companies and self-employed workers in Ceuta will be able to submit their applications until November 30 through the Tax Agency's website, and it is expected that the payment of the aid will begin around October 6.
At the beginning of the month, the Council of Ministers green-lighted a royal decree-law with urgent social and economic measures in support of the autonomous city, which mobilizes 309 million euros until 2026 to reinforce essential services, security, the reception of minors, and humanitarian assistance, as well as to support companies and workers.
Within this package, 80 million euros have been reserved for direct aid and other support instruments for the productive fabric. Specifically, a fund of 36.6 million euros has been created, managed by the Tax Agency, with which self-employed workers can receive 5,000 euros and companies, between 10,000 and 150,000 euros, depending on their turnover.
According to the Government's estimates, these measures could reach 2,500 self-employed workers and 1,500 companies. To access the aid, companies will only need to provide a bank account number to receive the payment, which will be exempt from taxation and cannot be subject to seizure.
The Government launches an ICO guarantee line of 50 million
In parallel, to facilitate access to credit for companies and self-employed workers in Ceuta, the Council of Ministers this Tuesday approved the conditions of a guarantee line from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Business for an amount of 50 million euros, aimed at supporting the financing of those who carry out their economic activity in the autonomous city.
The objective of this tool is to contribute to the maintenance of employment and mitigate the economic consequences derived from the massive entry of irregular immigrants at the end of July, in addition to promoting the recovery and relaunch of the business fabric in Ceuta.
According to what the Ministry of Economy has pointed out in a press release, the financing with public guarantee can be allocated both to cover liquidity and working capital needs as well as to address new investments.
These guarantees, of a free nature, will be managed by the Official Credit Institute (ICO) and will be channeled through credit entities and financial credit establishments supervised by the Bank of Spain that adhere to the program, structured in two main modalities.
On one hand, the liquidity and working capital modality will allow addressing specific needs related to the payment of salaries, invoices, financial or tax obligations, and other current expenses. On the other hand, the investment modality will be aimed at financing new operations intended for the maintenance, recovery, adaptation, or relaunch of economic activity in Ceuta.
The loans will have long amortization periods: up to five years for liquidity operations and up to seven years for those intended for investment, which may be extended up to ten years in the case of projects promoted by companies in the agricultural sector.
The guarantee will cover up to 80% of the financing amount in the case of SMEs and up to 70% for large companies. Given the exceptional situation that motivates the measure, the guarantees will have no cost for either the companies or the participating financial entities.
This line is aimed at companies and self-employed individuals who have their registered office or a workplace, commercial, industrial, or service establishment in Ceuta and who meet the eligibility criteria and the regulations on State aid.
Guarantees can be requested for operations formalized from July 31 until December 15, 2026, in accordance with the conditions set for each modality. Guarantees may be granted until December 31, 2026.