9. In regulation 10 (meaning of “qualifying enterprise”), for paragraph (2) substitute—
“(2) For the purpose of paragraph (1)(a), a “small or medium-sized enterprise” means a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise as defined in Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6th May 2003(1) (“the Recommendation”, references to the Annex being references to the Annex to the Recommendation), subject to the qualification set out in paragraph (3).
(3) If a company (“C”) is a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise, disregarding any partner enterprise or linked enterprise, and, taken alone, it would satisfy the employee limit and a least one of the financial limits, but—
(a)the number of employees, annual turnover or annual balance sheet total (as the case may be) of a partner enterprise or linked enterprise to which it is related has been taken into account in determining whether the employee limit or the financial limits have been exceeded, and
(b)a partner enterprise or linked enterprise to which C is related would, disregarding the number of employees, and the annual turnover and balance sheet totals of C, exceed the employee limit or both of the financial limits,
Article 4(2) of the Annex shall be disregarded in determining whether C is a small or medium-sized enterprise for an accounting period in which it exceeds the employee or financial limits.
(4) For the purpose of paragraph (3), references to the employee limit and the financial limits are to the limits respectively on the number of employees, and the annual turnover and balance sheet totals, contained in Article 2(1) of the Annex.”