PTJ — Investments for SME development: digitalization in the six just-transition counties

Territorial eligibility is rule zero of the PTJ: only SMEs from Gorj, Hunedoara, Dolj, Galați, Prahova and Mureș can access the enterprise development investment line. A company from any other county, however strong its project, must turn to the regional or national programmes.

The institutional set-up is worth remembering: the managing authority is MIPE — AM PTJ, while the regional development agencies act as intermediate bodies. Official correspondence, guides and launch announcements therefore come through MIPE's channels, under article 4 of Emergency Ordinance no. 23/2023.

Submissions closed on 20 May 2024 after two extensions, by MIPE Orders no. 737/11.03.2024 and no. 1020/16.04.2024. Financing contracts were then signed up to 17 May 2025, and beneficiaries are deep into implementation: procurement, equipment installation, hiring and — an integral part of many projects — commissioning the software components.

Financial ceilings and aid intensity differ from call to call and remain those set per the official applicant guide of each one; the guide was approved by MIPE Order no. 4003/2023 and the state aid and de minimis scheme by MIPE Order no. 3,996/2023, published in Official Gazette no. 951 of 20 October 2023.

Our role is that of the beneficiary's software vendor: we implement the ERP, production software or process digitalization foreseen in the project, deliver in documented stages, and hand over the acceptance protocols and technical documentation for reimbursement requests.

The limit that costs us: we do not invoice licences or software development under an equipment heading so that they fit a budget line with room left. The real nature of the cost is visible in the contract, the deliverables and the fixed-asset record, and it is the easiest thing to unpick at an audit.