I’m a retailer, I have a business in a municipal market or I’m in the restaurant and catering industry

ECONOMIC REACTIVATION MEASURES

Check out all the resources available: advice and information, online courses and training programmes for professionals and enterprises, and other economic-revival measures.

Subsidies, grants and funding

Barcelona City Council is allocating a large amount of resources to drive city recovery and promotion policies, in the form of grants, subsidies and funding. The City Council is reaffirming its commitment to promoting the economy, fostering employment and shaping the city’s future, by having more programmes, services and budgetary allocations.

  • Incentives for recruiting unemployed people with particular difficulties in accessing the labour market. This year’s call for applications will involve subsidies ranging from 2,000 to 8,000 euros, depending on the group and type of working week, for companies with their head office in the metropolitan area hiring unemployed people. A total of 2 million euros are being allocated to the call, which will benefit in particular the hiring of young people, women or people over the age of 45, unemployed for a long time and in a vulnerable situation.

    Period: March 2023 (start of the application period)

  • Grants for energy saving aimed at ground-floor premises. Subsidies will be calculated on the basis of expenditure substantiated at the time of the application, up to a maximum of 3,000 euros, with a total of 9,000 euros in three independent premises.

    Period: from December 2022 until the budget is used up

  • The 2023 general call for subsidy applications has a total budget of €1,650,000 in grants for projects. The current budgetary allocation represents a slight increase of 0.5% with respect to 2022 and nearly 50% with regard to 2015. In all, the call includes 105 grant programmes divided up into 26 different subject areas.

    Period: from 9 to 26 January 2023

  • Call for grant applications boost the local economy. Up to 80% of a project’s cost can be funded, with a maximum of 40,000 euros (except category 1 Amunt Persianes). It offers 6 categories: Amunt persianes, socio-economic innovation and the SSE, promoting quality jobs, sustainable and responsible tourism, sustainable food and consumption, and urban goods distribution.

    Period: March 2023 (start of the application period)

  • To boost the presence of establishments in the digital environment, Barcelona is allocating 1 million euros towards funding projects that invest in digital marketing, websites, online shops and digital signage, among other things.

    Period: March 2023

     

  • Call for subsidy applications totalling 850,000 euros, intended to give support to the Christmas lights initiative launched by the city’s retailers associations, and to help promote local commerce during the Christmas period.  The grants are aimed at the city’s local non-profit retailers associations carrying out their project in Barcelona.

    Period: April 2023

  • A call for grant applications is being launched, within the framework of the Amunt persianes strategy for revitalising ground-floor premises, under a category entitled Impulsem el que fas (We promote what you do), geared to generating new economic activity in vacant premises and supporting commercial resilience.

    Period: February 2023

  • The Barcelona Municipal Institute of Markets (IMMB) is driving ahead with remodelling and renovation work on the markets with an expected investment of 100 million euros during this municipal government's term of office. The remodelling projects in progress are as follows: Mercat de l’Abaceria, Mercat de Montserrat, Mercat d’Horta and Mercat de l’Estrella.  The aim is to put the focus on plans for improving and maintaining Barcelona’s network of markets, with an annual budget of 4 million euros.

    Period: 2023 and 2024

  • The aim behind the call, which boasts a 450,000-euro budget, is to provide financial support to cover the ordinary operational costs of their facilities as well as any extraordinary expenses arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Period: First quarter of 2023

  • Call for grant applications for open, plural and multidisciplinary urban-innovation projects that contribute real solutions to the challenges facing our city in the immediate future.

    Period: April-May 2023

Advice

Barcelona City Council is at your side, helping you to look for information, selecting the resources best adapted to your needs and supporting when it comes to processing grants or drawing up personalised plans for your business with the help of experts. Our advice services will help you to start, consolidate or continue developing projects.

  • Mediation service for renting vacant private premises, under advantageous conditions for owners and tenants, enshrined in the Amunt persianes strategy.

    Period: from February to March 2023 (application period)

  • If you’re someone whose time with the enterprise you run has now ended, or an entrepreneur aiming to bring continuity to an already existing enterprise, Barcelona Activa offers an advisory service to connect you and facilitate business continuity.

    Period: 2023

  • Business one-stop-shop for enabling economic activity in the district. Located in the MediaTIC building, the office offers information for carrying out a business activity in the 22@ district. Preliminary use-plan reports, activity-starting and ending statements, licence transfers and applications for occupying public roads and squares can be processed there.

    Period: 2023

  • The observatory is regarded as an ordered knowledge platform, with data for monitoring the progress of ground-floor premises and activities as well as identifying opportunities. It also contains the main and supplementary indicators of interest to the various groups (internal, commercial sector and entrepreneurs) and which inspire the development of initiatives for improving the sustainability of active premises and occupation of vacant premises.

    The functions of this observatory are to quantify and openly share the available knowledge on ground-floor activities and premises, monitor the progress and changes that occur and inspire new strategies.

    Period: during 2023

  • Urban economic promotion areas (APEU) are created to promote and modernise urban areas with an action plan adapted to general-interest purposes. The goal is to improve the quality of the urban environment, consolidate the compact, unified and environmentally efficient city model, as well as increase business competitiveness.

    Barcelona City Council has launched training and support sessions for shopping hubs and players involved from the economic sector. It also offers technical and legal advice to organisations interested in continuing to work on developing their APEU project.

    Period: during 2023

  • Barcelona City Council approaches shops to advise them on re-defining their business strategy as well as putting their business back on its feet, adopting new marketing models, or creating and developing formulas for incentivising demand. It provides free support adapted to each person’s work pace.

    Period: from January to November 2023

  • Project to revive local trade with contributions from young talent in the creative industries. Various training centres in creative disciplines come into contact with commercial hubs. Groups of students diagnose issues and propose creative initiatives to revive small businesses.

    This project enables small retailers to learn more about strategies and creative thinking, and jobs for design professionals may subsequently be created.

    Term: until June 2023

  • The Municipal Consumer Information Office (OMIC) provides an information and advice service for commercial establishments, self-employed professionals and micro-companies. The OMIC advises enterprises as consumers of basic or ongoing services: utilities, telephone services, insurance and financial products.

    Period: during 2023

  • The Municipal Consumer Information Office (OMIC) provides shopping hubs, district trade councils and enterprises with information sessions to explain consumer rights, municipal assistance channels relating to consumption, how inquiries and claims can be made, and mediation and arbitration processes for resolving consumer issues and any related queries that may arise.

    Period: during 2023

  • This is a municipal facility specialising in responsible consumption and committed to people and the environment. With that goal in mind, it takes part in city events that promote responsible consumption and sustainable food, offers talks, activities and exhibitions, and puts a Responsible Consumption Information Point at the disposal of the general public.

    Period: during 2023 (except August)

  • The Municipal Institute of Markets (IMMB) is going to publish a handbook of recommendations, within the framework of Barcelona City Council’s commitment to zero plastic, for tackling new and future regulations on the use of single-use plastics, and draw up a repository of suppliers. For its part, the Green Trade project is already present in municipal markets, with 573 establishments signed up to it. The goal is to promote organic and local produce, with guidance from the Barcelona City Council, the Municipal Markets Federation (FEMM) and food guilds. The project will be consolidated in 2023 with a new campaign and selective initiatives for each type of product.

    Period: 2023 and 2024

  • The City Council offers tools and accompaniment for retailers who have signed up to the Green Trade programme. The goal is to raise customer awareness and promote sustainable food produce.

    Includes:

    • Short F2F or online training course lasting 1 hr 30 min
    • Personalised advice for 60 retailers
    • Virtual accompaniment by periodically sending out useful information

    Period: up to April 2023

     

Training

To be competitive, you need to be up to date. So Barcelona City Council has launched a wide range of specialised training lines, designed to prepare you for the future with more drive than ever. The range of free possibilities means there is something for everyone!

  • The Cibernàrium offers training to improve digital tech skills and help meet the challenges that come with digitalisation. Its programme enables enterprises to cover their digital talent needs.

    Period: during 2023

  • Barcelona Activa offers training grouped by subject category and adapted to the needs of each person.

    Period: during 2023


     

     

  • The XAF is a public service run by Barcelona City Council that provides access to technology and innovation through digital fab labs. The XAF has five reference centres in digital inclusion, skills acquisition and dissemination, which offer people the space, a wide range of hardware and software, and resources so they can give shape to ideas that can really transform our immediate environment.

    Fab Labs offer participation itineraries, programmes and initiatives, depending on the type of public and their needs, which are divided into two large areas: educational and community.

    Period: from 1 January to 31 December 2023

  • The City Council offers tools and accompaniment for retailers who have signed up to the Green Trade programme. The goal is to raise customer awareness and promote sustainable food produce.

    Includes:

    • Short F2F or online training course lasting 1 hr 30 min
    • Personalised advice for 60 retailers
    • Virtual accompaniment by periodically sending out useful information

    Period: up to April 2023

  • The Municipal Consumer Information Office (OMIC) provides shopping hubs, district trade councils and enterprises with information sessions to explain consumer rights, municipal assistance channels relating to consumption, how inquiries and claims can be made, and mediation and arbitration processes for resolving consumer issues and any related queries that may arise.

    Period: during 2023

  • A programme promoted by Barcelona Activa, in conjunction with Mercabarna and the Intermedia Foundation, and in collaboration with the Barcelona Municipal Institute of Markets, which seeks to meet the need for generational handovers in the city’s markets. The programme is aimed at young people aged 18 to 29, with or without compulsory secondary education (ESO), Baccalaureate or intermediate Vocational Education and Training qualifications, and offers guidance and training in three food-trade specialities: butcher's assistant, deli assistant and seafood assistant. In addition, the IMMB puts vacant stalls in the markets up for auction to give access to new concession holders. It also publishes the food trades associations that offer job vacancies on its website.

    Period: during 2023

  • Project to revive local trade with contributions from young talent in the creative industries. Various training centres in creative disciplines come into contact with commercial hubs. Groups of students diagnose issues and propose creative initiatives to revive small businesses.

    This project enables small retailers to learn more about strategies and creative thinking, and jobs for design professionals may subsequently be created.

    Term: until June 2023

  • The Municipal Consumer Information Office (OMIC) provides shopping hubs, district trade councils and enterprises with information sessions to explain consumer rights, municipal assistance channels relating to consumption, how inquiries and claims can be made, and mediation and arbitration processes for resolving consumer issues and any related queries that may arise.

    Period: during 2023

  • This is a municipal facility specialising in responsible consumption and committed to people and the environment. With that goal in mind, it takes part in city events that promote responsible consumption and sustainable food, offers talks, activities and exhibitions, and puts a Responsible Consumption Information Point at the disposal of the general public.

    Period: during 2023 (except August)

Promoting the city

Barcelona is a city that looks to the future and possesses all the attributes for playing a key role in the changes that are coming. The City Council is therefore driving ahead with economic-promotion tools, both local and international, fostering public-private cooperation initiatives and launching campaigns that strengthen the city's full economic potential.

  • This is a space for participation, public-private cooperation and joint action between city institutions and organisations working to transform the prevailing food system and make it healthier and more sustainable.

    Its goal is to give continuity to the process used for drafting the EASSB2030, promoting cooperation, action and coordination of projects to move towards a healthy, sustainable food model.

    Period: during 2023

  • Agròpolis is a public community space for dialogue, work and action, between civil society, the economic fabric, universities and the municipal public authority, which have the common goal of collaborating to transform Barcelona’s food system through the values of food sovereignty and agro-ecology.

    Period: during 2023

  • Every year the City Council launches a campaign every year to position Barcelona as a city for quality local shops, markets, bars and restaurants, thanks to the professionalism of the people working there and the service they offer the public. The campaign is also intended to make these establishments aware that the professionalism of their teams is a key factor in Barcelona becoming a benchmark in this field.

    Period: during 2023

  • The City Council offers tools and accompaniment for retailers who have signed up to the Green Trade programme. The goal is to raise customer awareness and promote sustainable food produce.

    Includes:

    • Short F2F or online training course lasting 1 hr 30 min
    • Personalised advice for 60 retailers
    • Virtual accompaniment by periodically sending out useful information

    Period: up to April 2023

Regulatory changes and tax rebates

Barcelona is responding to the current situation of inflation and rising costs – electricity and food, for example – with an expansionary budget and a proposal to freeze public rates and prices for 2023, despite the increase in the CPI. It is also bringing in regulatory and administrative changes to simplify procedures for the public and economic sectors and which will facilitate economic activity.

  • Big e-commerce companies, which make thousands of home deliveries in the city and make special use of the public domain, produce congestion and increase pollution. That, moreover, gives them an unfair advantage over local traders. Hence it was felt necessary to develop a fiscal instrument that would enable this special use of the public domain to be subject to tax.

    The tax will be applied to postal operators with gross annual billing revenues of more than 1 million euros obtained from deliveries to the final destinations indicated by consumers in Barcelona. The amount of the rate is set according to a percentage of the gross income invoiced by the company, once the operations exempted from tax have been excluded. The amount to be paid by all the operators may not exceed the limit set for public domain use, quantified as 2.6 million euros.

    Period: during 2023

  • The 75% rebate on the tax for using the public domain for terraces and outdoor tables which was applied during the Covid-19 pandemic is being maintained.

    Period: solely for the 2023 tax year

  • The City Council offers different rebates on the tax for business activities.

    Rebates for cooperatives

    Cooperatives and cooperative unions, federations and confederations can request an IAE rebate provided they present documentary proof that they are registered in the Cooperatives register and meet the requirements set out in the Tax byelaw and Act 20/1990, of 19 December, on the tax system for cooperatives.

    The rebate is for 95% of the amount of the tax levied.

    Tax rebates for increased staff numbers

    Natural or legal persons who pay municipal tax and have increased their staff by 10% or more are eligible for a rebate. The increase must have involved indefinite contracts and taken place during the tax period immediately prior to that in which the subsidy is requested.

    It must be borne in mind that this increase in staff numbers must have occurred in their work centres in the Barcelona municipality.

    Rate reduction for use of renewable energy

    Rebates for natural and legal persons installing systems for harnessing heat or electricity from the sun’s energy, for three consecutive years as from the date of application for the installation’s legalisation or registration.

    Period: specified for each rebate

  • The City Council offers several rebates on the tax on mechanically powered vehicles.

    Period: specified for each rebate

  • Barcelona City Council offers several rebates on the construction, installation and works tax. Rebates on the construction, installation and works tax (ICIO) may be requested for work whose purpose is to construct buildings or put up installations declared to be of special municipal interest or usefulness, because of social, cultural, historical and artistic or work-promoting circumstances or because they incorporate systems for harnessing heat or electricity from solar energy.

    Period: The period needs to be consulted in the corresponding tax byelaw

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