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What do you need to know?
A strategic business project for productive investment in industry and production services or in biogas for anaerobic digestion from livestock manure and organic waste can be classified as "strategic" when it meets a number of requirements set by the regulations for unlocking economic activity.
When classification as a strategic business project is secured, the administration considers that there are grounds of public interest and expedites procedures as a matter of urgency. This means that the deadlines (with no possibility of extensions) are shortened in all the procedures required for the clearance and start-up of the activity in the strategic project.
The classification also entails a declaration of public utility for the purposes of compulsory expropriation of the land.
This procedure can only be done online. Any documentation you provide by another channel will not be considered or counted for the purposes of the filing date.
The generic request is not valid for the submission of applications for this procedure. Applications submitted by generic request will not be considered and the filing date will be the date on which the new application is submitted using the specific form available in this procedure.
Individuals or legal entities interested in making productive investments to undertake a strategic business project.
This procedure can be applied for at any time.
Documents to be attached to the application:
- An explanatory report about the project. When drawing up this report, you should follow the Guide to Technical Reports for Strategic Project Designation in the Industrial and Production Services Sector.
The report is to contain at least the following items: - Corporate structure and company capital of the undertaking promoting the project.
- Project description and goals.
- Completion schedule.
- Budget and business plan.
- Investment plan.
- Financing plan and source and application of the funds.
- Expected employment generation by occupational profiles and categories.
- A detailed specification of the impact on local suppliers.
A document proving that the company has sufficient resources of its own to bear the investment, public aid or an agreement concluded with financial or similar institutions.
Requirements for applicants
- Have the funds to ensure the financing or capitalisation of the investment submitted according to the supporting documents attached to the application.
- Be up to date with their tax obligations to the Spanish and Catalan governments and with their Social Security obligations.
Requirements for projects
- Be promoted by an individual or legal entity and foster economic, social and territorial development in Catalonia.
- Be in industry and services to production pursuant to the CCAE indicated in the “Other information” section.
- Meet the following characteristics:
- Entail investment in fixed production assets coming to at least €20 million.
In the case of the territorial areas of Les Terres de l’Ebre, Lleida province, Alt Pirineu i Aran and the Penedès Region and given their economic, social and territorial characteristics, the minimum investment is reduced to €10 million. - Generate at least 75 direct jobs to be maintained for not less than three years, starting from the time the activity included in the strategic project begins in compliance with the applicable sector agreement for the company's business operations.
In the case of the territorial areas of the Les Terres de l’Ebre, Lleida province, Alt Pirineu i Aran and the Penedès Region and given their economic, social and territorial characteristics, the generation/maintenance of jobs is reduced to 35.
If the project does not reach this threshold of net job creation, the criterion is considered to have been met by demonstrating that at least 100 employees will be maintained in an industrial activity in a position of difficulty due to closure, relocation, reindustrialisation or insolvency or pre-insolvency proceedings which will be converted through the project applying for strategic status, and which if the project is not carried out would entail the application of a redundancy procedure with the termination of the aforementioned contracts. - Once the investment project has been completed, the volume of purchases, services and supplies (excluding electricity, water, gas and telecommunications) by the company from suppliers with production headquarters in Catalonia is greater than 40%, provided that this percentage can be covered in Catalonia.
- The project includes an action in renewable energies for self-consumption by the production activity that has a significant impact of more than 25% on the energy use of the production process, an action in the field of the circular economy and environmental sustainability, and the application of technologies enabling Industry 4.0, an action which has to be quantified in relation to its impact on the production process.
- The project must include the decision taken by the company's governing or management body approving the investment in the site and the timetable for its implementation which will be specified in the report.
- The promoter of the strategic business project must confirm that it owns the chosen site.
- The company promoting the project seeking to be declared strategic may not be under investigation for breach of labour or environmental regulations at any production plant in Catalonia at the time of application.
Furthermore, Regulation (EU) 2024/1735, hereinafter referred to as the NZIA, lays down a number of obligations at Member State level which are to be complied with during the permit-granting process for clean zero emission manufacturing projects, including net zero emission strategic projects.
There are no fees for this procedure.
What is considered a strategic business project?
In general, the following are strategic business projects:
- Any bringing added value, besides other economic, social and environmental criteria, in areas such as:
- Technological development and innovation.
- Territorial development and structuring.
- Contribution to reindustrialisation.
- Generating jobs.
- Recovering and enhancing traditional industries.
- Environmental protection
- Promoting diversity, social inclusion, equality, non-discrimination and work-life balance in the workplace or shared responsibility.
- Any whose purpose is to merge small undertakings or integrate start-ups to grow and increase the number of medium-sized and large enterprises.
- Investment plans in the supply distribution network needed for the performance of the business activity to be conducted in Catalonia as long as there is an investment plan lasting at least three years.
CCAE included
Industrial companies
- 05 Mining of coal and lignite.
- 06 Extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas.
- 07 Mining of metal ores.
- 08 Other mining and quarrying.
- 10 Manufacture of food products.
- 11 Manufacture of beverages.
- 13 Manufacture of textiles.
- 14 Manufacture of wearing apparel.
- 15 Manufacture of leather and related products.
- 16 Manufacture of wood and of products of wood and cork, except furniture; manufacture of articles of straw and plaiting materials.
- 17 Manufacture of paper and paper products.
- 18 Printing and reproduction of recorded media.
- 19 Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products.
- 20 Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products.
- 21 Manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations.
- 22 Manufacture of rubber and plastic products.
- 23 Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products.
- 24 Manufacture of basic metals.
- 25 Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment.
- 26 Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products.
- 27 Manufacture of electrical equipment.
- 28 Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c.
- 29 Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers.
- 30 Manufacture of other transport equipment.
- 31 Manufacture of furniture.
- 32 Miscellaneous manufacturing industries.
Steps to follow
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1
Step one
Apply
This procedure can only be done online.
You have to sign in when you submit the form with idCATMòbil or a digitalcertificate of:
- An individual
- A legal entity
- A person related to an organisation with representative powers
The application form, the explanatory report about the investment project and the supporting document showing the company has sufficient resources to bear the investment must be submitted at the start of the procedure. All the documents together may not be larger than 5 MB. If they are larger than this, when you send the application form for processing you will be automatically asked to submit the explanatory report which you will have to attach within no more than one day.
By Internet
Access the form
Start . Go to Access the form
If you are unable to complete the process due to a system issue, please try again later.
See the technical requirements for online procedures in Gencat Procedures.
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2
Step two
Checking the status of the procedure
You can check the status of your application as follows:
You can check the status of your application as follows:
- On Canal Empresa (using your idCAT Mobile and/or digital certificate).
- On Status of my procedure (using the procedure code and your DNI/NIF).
- By calling 012 (have your procedure code and DNI/NIF to hand).
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3
Step three
Get the reply from the agency
When do I get a reply from the agency? A decision will be made and notified to you within no more than three months from when you submitted your application.
When do I get a reply from the agency?
A decision will be made and notified to you within no more than three months from when you submitted your application.
If you have not been notified of the decision by the end of this period, you can assume your application has been rejected pursuant to section 24 of the Common Administrative Procedure for Governmental Agencies Act 39/2015 of 1 October and section 54(2)(e) of the Legal and Procedural System for Government Agencies in Catalonia Act 26/2010 of 3 August.
Who gives the reply?
After receiving the report from the Directorate General for Industry, the head of the Ministry of Business and Labour makes the decision.
This decision specifies when the project is to be considered completed and the cases in which the designation of the strategic business project is rendered null and void, which are:
- If the instruments are not approved or the permits or licences required for its implementation are not awarded; and
- If the project is not actually completed within two years of receiving the instruments, permits or licences stipulated in sector regulations for starting the project, notwithstanding any extensions as may be applicable.
Any decision to cancel designation of the business project as strategic and consequently the associated prerogatives will be made after hearing the applicant.
How do I get the reply?
You will get an e-notification. You can view it in the e-NOTUM service.
Can I lodge an appeal if I dispute the decision?
The decision of the head of the Ministry of Business and Labour exhausts all available administrative remedies and you may lodge an appeal for review against it with the Ministry within one month from the day after the date of notification pursuant to sections 123 and 124 of the Common Administrative Procedure for Governmental Agencies Act 39/2015 of 1 October and section 77 of the Legal and Procedural System for Government Agencies in Catalonia Act 26/2010 of 3 August.
