The Deputación extends the deadline for joining MercaNaVila…

The Provincial Council of A Coruña has extended until November 20, 2026, at 9:00 AM the deadline for businesses to join the provincial support program for local commerce in municipalities with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants, known as MercaNaVila_2026. The decision was adopted via a Presidential resolution and published in the Official Gazette of the Province of A Coruña number 204, dated October 26, 2026, under announcement number 2026/6868. Until now, the registration deadline ended on October 20 at 9:00 AM.

The framework: a five-million-euro program

The extension is based on the provisions of Base 10.2 of the program’s regulatory bases, approved by Presidential resolution number 2026/40562, dated September 18, 2026, and published in BOP number 189, dated October 2, 2026. That same base already provided that the joining date could be modified by Presidential resolution when organizational reasons or other factors so advised, provided appropriate publicity was given.

The program has a budget of 5,000,000 euros, charged to budget application 0520/4391/481 of the provincial budget, and its call is registered in the National Grants Database with the identifier BDNS 933217. Management is the responsibility of the Territorial Development, Productive Sectors, Sustainable Employment, and Ecological Transition Service of the Council, while the delivery and distribution of funds are carried out through the collaborating entity ABANCA CORPORACION BANCARIA, S.A., selected by Presidential resolution number 2026/33238, dated July 23, 2026.

The scope of application covers the 82 municipalities in the province with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants; one of the criteria taken into account to choose the collaborating entity was precisely that it maintained offices or ATMs in those municipalities.

What changes for the establishments

The resolution limits the change to a single issue: the deadline for registration in the program. The rest of the conditions established in the regulatory bases and the call remain unchanged. The new date is:

November 20, 2026, at 9:00 AM: end of the deadline for businesses to join.
October 20, 2026, at 9:00 AM: the date being replaced.

To be able to join, establishments must meet these requirements:

Have at least one commercial establishment open in any municipality in the province with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants.
Be registered in any of the groups or headings of the Economic Activities Tax (IAE) listed in Annex 2 of the bases.
Be exempt from the payment of the IAE by application of article 82.1.c) of the revised text of the Law regulating local treasuries.

Registration is carried out on the website www.mercanavila.gal, and businesses that participated in the previous call can reactivate their accounts using their username and password. The trade names and locations of those joined are published on the same page, and establishments receive weekly the amount equivalent to the discounts exchanged.

Vouchers of up to 100 euros per person

The other side of the program consists of discount vouchers for consumers. Each beneficiary, over 18 years of age and regardless of their place of residence, has a single voucher of up to 100 euros, which is reduced according to the purchase amount:

10 euros discount on purchases between 20 and 30 euros.
20 euros on purchases between 30 and 50 euros.
30 euros on purchases equal to or greater than 50 euros.

All amounts include VAT. The vouchers are downloaded in digital format with a QR code and can be used from October 20 to November 20, 2026, or until the discounts effectively applied reach 5,000,000 euros. They are not valid for online purchases nor for acquiring gift cards, vouchers, or similar coupons.

Organizational reasons and small-scale commerce

The resolution justifies the extension based on “organizational reasons” and the objective of facilitating the participation of the largest possible number of establishments, “especially those of small size that present greater difficulties in accessing the digital tools used in the registration process.” The text was signed in A Coruña, on October 20, 2026, by president Valentín González Formoso and secretary Miguel Iglesias Martínez.

The regulatory bases frame the program within the decline of the commercial fabric in rural areas, caused by the lack of generational renewal, the aging of the population, territorial dispersion, and competition from online sales and large retail stores. The call received from the Department of Employment, Trade and Emigration a declaration of compatibility with the regional regulatory framework regarding internal trade.

Impact for readers

The extension gives small businesses in the rural municipalities of the province one more month to join a program endowed with five million euros, so that establishments that have not yet registered can do so until November 20 at 9:00 AM and benefit from the discounts that consumers will exchange at their checkouts throughout the campaign.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of A Coruña, number 204, October 26, 2026, Local Administration (official reference: 2026/6868).