The government approved the relevant resolution at its meeting on August 19. According to the document, out of the total amount of 1 billion lei, 1 billion lei is earmarked for non-repayable grants, and 3 billion lei will be provided in the form of partial income tax exemptions. Assistance for each investment project will be provided in the same ratio as before: 25% as a grant and 75% as a partial tax exemption. The maximum amount of assistance per project will be reduced from 20% to 10% of the program's budget, which, given the program's new budget size, corresponds to 400 million lei. The draft introduces additional selection criteria and strengthens the procedures for evaluating and monitoring projects. At the same time, clearer rules are established for reviewing incomplete or erroneous applications to ensure that assistance reaches viable investment projects and is used effectively. Thus, an investment project must be fully completed and put into operation no later than three years after work begins. The final decision on granting assistance will be made by an interagency collegial body, which will assess the effectiveness of state aid, growth in labor productivity and average wages, the quality of the business plan, and the project's contribution to regional development. Incomplete applications for participation in the program may be corrected within 5 business days; however, a request for correction will generally be allowed only once, with a second request permitted only in justified cases. Recipients of aid will be monitored annually via MConnect; small and medium-sized enterprises will be monitored for 3 years, while large enterprises will be monitored for 5 years. Companies that score 30–49 points during monitoring and deviate from the project's target values by more than 25% will receive a warning, in which case their aid may be suspended; if the result is below 30 points, aid will be terminated, and the amounts provided, along with interest, may be recovered from the company. Certain conditions for participation in the state investment aid scheme are also being clarified: enterprises that are part of the same group in connection with a single investment project will not be eligible, companies controlled by individuals subject to international restrictive measures, or formally new enterprises created through the fragmentation, reorganization, or relocation of an existing business to circumvent the program's conditions. The changes will take effect on the date of publication in the Monitorul Oficial. As noted by the government, the results obtained so far confirm companies' interest in this mechanism. From the time of its introduction through August 5, 42 applications were submitted, and 28 beneficiaries have already signed documents granting state aid. The approved projects involve investments totaling approximately 2.53 billion lei and the creation of 1,572 jobs. The 2026 state budget allocates 250 million lei for the grant component of the state aid scheme, which will be funded through EU assistance and other pre-accession financial instruments. // 19.08.2026 — InfoMarket.