SME Definition

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) represent 99% of all businesses in the EU. Moreover, the vast majority of SMEs in Malta are micro-enterprises. The definition of an SME is important for access to finance and EU support programmes targeted specifically at these enterprises.

What is an SME?

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are defined in the European Commission’s Recommendation 2003/361 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

The main factors determining whether an enterprise is an SME are:

1. staff headcount
2. either turnover or balance sheet total

These ceilings apply to the figures for individual firms only. A firm that is part of a larger group may need to include staff headcount/turnover/balance sheet data from that group too.

Further guidance on how to assess/declare your enterprise:

• The European Commission’s revised user guide to the SME definition (2020) English Malti
• Declaring your enterprise to be an SME (the form is available in all languages as an annex in the revised user guide – link provided above)
• The European Commission’s SME self-assessment tool which you can use to determine whether your organisation qualifies as a small and medium-sized enterprise

Source: European Commission (link)