VQA WINE SUPPORT PROGRAM PROGRAM GUIDELINES 2016 17
Program Overview The VQA Wine Support Program supports Ontario wineries to help increase competitiveness and innovation while growing the sale of Ontario VQA wines at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO). The Program will provide grants to help wineries invest in growing their VQA wine business, including export and tourism development activities. The Program will be delivered by Agricorp, an agency of the Ontario government. The VQA Wine Support Program is part of the Ontario government s five year, beginning in 2015, renewed Wine and Grape Strategy to help increase the sales of Ontario wines in and out-of province, and enhance the marketing of Ontario s wine regions as tourist destinations. NEW for 2016/17, as explained in the 2015/16 guidelines, eligible applicants may apply for grants for up to 50% of eligible expenditures incurred between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2016 up to the amount of the Maximum Available Grant for that winery. 2
Program Definitions Affiliated Licensed Wineries means a group of wineries where: one of the them is the subsidiary of the other, or they are subsidiaries of the same body corporate, or each of them is controlled by the same person. Funding Year means April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017 and is the period when grant applications are submitted and Grant Payments are issued. Grant Payment means the amount of Program funding provided to an applicant, based on the value of receipts for up to 50% of eligible expenditures incurred in the Project Year, up to the applicant s Maximum Available Grant. Intake Period means June 10, 2016 to July 15, 2016 and is the period during which grant applications will be accepted for the Funding Year. Licensed Winery means a winery with a valid Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) manufacturer s license. Maximum Available Grant means the maximum payment available to an eligible applicant based on VQA Table Wine sales data, overall Program funding, and the total number of eligible Licensed Wineries that participate in the Program in accordance with these Guidelines. Program means the VQA Wine Support Program as administered by Agricorp. Project Year means April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016 and is the period when eligible expenditures were incurred. Supplier Quote means the value of the volume in litres of VQA Table Wine sold through the LCBO, as compiled and provided by the LCBO to the Program. 3
VQA Table Wines means VQA wines including sparkling wines sold through the LCBO, excluding: ice wines, and all non-vqa wines including fruit wines wines sold through channels other than the LCBO (e.g. on or off-site wine stores and duty free stores, wines sold under the LCBO s direct delivery program). VQA Table Wine Sales Data means the LCBO store sales of VQA Table Wines for the period of April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016, compiled by LCBO and provided to Agricorp for the purposes of delivering the Program. Applicant Eligibility To be eligible to apply for funding, applicants are required to meet ALL of the following criteria: be a sole proprietor, corporation, partnership or unincorporated association. Articles of Incorporation or other acceptable proof of legal name and status must be made available to Agricorp upon request; be a Licensed Winery or a corporation with a controlling interest in one or more Licensed Wineries; have production and sales of VQA Table Wines in Ontario, including sales of VQA Table Wines through the LCBO in the Project year; submit a completed application form by the date indicated in these Guidelines; agree to comply with the terms and conditions of the Program as set out in these Guidelines; be in compliance with and remain in compliance with all applicable laws; and must participate in the annual benchmarking survey of wine and grape businesses that is conducted by Deloitte as part of the Ontario Wine and Grape Strategy. Affiliated Licensed Wineries Only one licensed winery of a group of affiliated wineries may apply for the Program in a Funding Year. Incorporated Licensed Wineries that are affiliated body corporates within the meaning of the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) will be considered to be one entity for the purpose of applying for the Program in a Funding Year, regardless of the number of AGCO manufacturers licenses held by the affiliated Licensed Wineries. 4
Application Process Timelines Funding Year April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017 Project Year (Period of Eligible Expenditures) April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016 Application Intake Period June 10, 2016 to July 15, 2016 Process Prior to the Intake Period, Agricorp will send application forms to eligible applicants, along with their VQA Table Wine Sales Data. Applicants must complete and submit the application form during the Intake Period. Applicants must submit a completed application with details of eligible business development projects and associated eligible expenditures incurred during the Project Year. Receipts for all eligible expenditures must be submitted with the application. The completed application will be reviewed by Agricorp to determine if the Program criteria have been met. If the application submitted is incomplete, Agricorp reserves the right to deem it ineligible. Determination of Maximum Available Grant Agricorp will determine the applicant s Maximum Available Grant by calculating the value of up to 30 per cent of the Supplier Quote of the eligible applicant s VQA Table Wine sold during the Project Year as provided to the Program by LCBO. Agricorp will calculate Maximum Available Grants for all eligible applicants in 25,000 litre tier increments, i.e. tier 1: 0 25,000L; tier 2: 25,000 50,000L; tier 3: 50,000 75,000L; tier 4: 75,000 100,000L. Note that once the Program calculation enters the tier which causes it to exceed its budget, Agricorp will allocate available grant funds remaining among the eligible applicants with sales in that tier to determine the Maximum Available Grant for those applicants. 5
Eligible Expenditures Eligible and Ineligible Expenditures Applicants must submit receipts for eligible expenditures, which must be related to business development and must have been incurred within the Project Year to be considered eligible. Eligible expenditures include: purchase of new production machinery and equipment or a new technology purchase of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) equipment, software or services costs associated with the development of business and marketing strategies, including export development and tourism development costs associated with the introduction of a new product to the domestic or export market salaries and wages that directly contribute to eligible project activities, e.g. implementation and set-up of new equipment, technology, systems, or business and marketing strategies all marketing and promotion related expenditures consistent with Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario Liquor Advertising Guidelines: Liquor Sales Licensees and Manufacturers, including salaries and wages directly related to sales, marketing and promotion activities in all markets (www.agco.on.ca/pdfs/en/guides/3099 a.pdf). Ineligible expenditures include: expenditures claimed under any other government program(s) harmonized sales tax payments to shareholders payments or rewards to owners/management any costs associated with government relations or advocacy efforts travel expenses not directly related to business development entertainment, meals and alcoholic beverages salaries, wages, materials (such as inputs and packaging) and overhead costs associated with ongoing operations equipment depreciation and maintenance general working capital requirements, including debt services and taxes purchase of land or buildings 6
mergers or acquisitions costs incurred outside of the Project Year purchase of grapes, except for product development purposes purchases of livestock or items related to livestock. Applicants will be required to provide invoices or equivalent documentation to support all expenditures submitted. Acceptable documentation for expenditures may be a paper copy, faxed copy, scanned copy or PDF of any of the following: invoice (indicating paid in full) payment receipt cleared cheque (front and rear view) payroll ledger contract bank statement credit card slip/statement proof of on-line payment other documentation that supports the expenditure. Additional information may be required at Agricorp s request, if needed, to support the determination of whether the expenditure qualifies as an eligible expenditure. The determination of whether an expenditure is eligible for the purpose of the Program is in the sole discretion of Agricorp. Additional Requirements for Grant Recipients As a condition of funding, recipients must provide accurate, timely and complete information to Agricorp when requested, including, without limitation, supporting documentation as required to verify the eligibility of the applicant or to verify the accuracy of the Grant Payment to the applicant. All project expenses must be supported by documentation as specified in these Guidelines. Any applicant who provides false or misleading information to Agricorp and/or its agent(s) may be disqualified and required to repay any payments received under the Program. Annual Benchmarking Survey As a condition of funding, recipients must agree to participate in an annual benchmarking survey of wine and grape businesses that will be conducted by Deloitte as part of the Ontario Wine and Grape Strategy. 7
Record Maintenance and Review Each Program applicant shall keep and maintain: a) all financial records (including invoices) relating to the Grant Payment or otherwise to the project for which Grant Payment was provided in a manner consistent with generally accepted accounting principles; and b) all non-financial documents and records relating to the Grant Payment or otherwise to the project, for which Grant Payment was provided, including all documents substantiating its competitive purchasing. Agricorp may conduct an audit or investigation of any applicant in respect of the expenditure of the Grant Payment and/or the project for which Grant Payment was provided. As a condition of funding, recipients must agree to provide information related to the Grant Payment and the project, as requested, and must also agree to permit access for audits, which may include site inspections, to be conducted by Agricorp and/or other persons as specified by Agricorp. Agricorp reserves the right to recover any debts to Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario. Any overpayments and other program debt will be recovered in a manner consistent with Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario s collections practice and in consideration of applicable Government of Ontario legislation and directives. Should a recipient have any pre-existing debts owing to Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario, Agricorp may recover against that pre-existing debt through a set-off against any payments a recipient may be eligible to receive under the Program. Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Please note that Agricorp, as an agency of the Government of Ontario, is subject to the Freedom of information and Protection of Privacy Act (Ontario). The Act provides every person with a right of access to information in the custody or under the control of Agricorp, subject to a limited set of exemptions. Section 17 of the Act provides a limited exemption for third party information that reveals a trade secret or scientific, commercial, technical, financial or labour relations information supplied in confidence where disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to result in certain harms. Any trade secret or any scientific, technical, commercial, financial or labour relations information submitted to Agricorp in confidence should be clearly marked as such before submitting it to Agricorp. Before granting access to a record that is marked in that way, Agricorp will notify the applicable Program applicant before granting access to that record so that the applicant may make representations to Agricorp concerning its disclosure. As a condition of funding, recipients acknowledge that Agricorp, OMAFRA and the LCBO may disclose and use reported VQA Table Wine Sales Data information for the purpose of determining Grant Payments under the Program. The names and addresses of grant recipients, the amount of the Grant Payment, and the purpose for which Grant Payments are awarded is information that OMAFRA may make public. 8
Compliance As a condition of funding, recipients are responsible for complying with all applicable laws, including federal, provincial and municipal laws and regulations. Failure to comply in any material respect with applicable laws and regulations may result in the termination of the Program application and approval process and termination of the Program payments, and may require the repayment of any funds received under the Program. Agricorp and the Government of Ontario, including its ministries and public bodies, are not legally responsible for the consequences if the Program recipient fails to comply with any applicable laws and regulations. Other Considerations for Grant Recipients Agricorp reserves the right to require repayment of funds provided pursuant to the Program that were obtained by ineligible participants or used for ineligible expenditures. All Program payments are considered taxable income. OMAFRA and Agricorp reserve the right to revise these Guidelines from time to time. It is recommended that applicants confirm with Agricorp that they have the most recent version of the Guidelines prior to making an application. The Program is a discretionary non-entitlement program. OMAFRA and its agent, Agricorp, make no guarantees that all or any eligible applicants will receive funding under the Program. Applying to the Program does not create any legal or other right to payment under the Program. Other Sources of Funding The Program applicants will not receive grant funding under any program financed in part or in whole by the Government of Ontario for the same expenditure. Accordingly, applicants should take care not to receive or apply for funding for the same expenditure submitted for provincial funding under the Marketing and Vineyard Improvement Program. Applicants are required to declare all other sources of federal, provincial and/or municipal funding, including the program(s) under which the funding is being provided, in relation to their Licensed Winery. As a condition of funding, recipients acknowledge and agree to share, upon request, information on file with the Government of Ontario, or any of its agencies, in relation to any program which the Government of Ontario has funded, in whole or in part, for the purpose of ensuring against funding duplication and identifying funds that may be owing to the Province under any other provincial funding program. 9
For more information about the Program contact Agricorp: Telephone: 1-888-247-4999 Email: vqa@agricorp.com Website: agricorp.com For more information about VQA Table Wine Sales Data contact LCBO: Financial Analysis 416-365-5775 Également disponible en français