For Development

Development Law 2022

 

The new development law includes five different types of state aid for investment in 13 cutting-edge industries. The bill drafted by the Ministry of Development and Investment was put to a public consultation, which ended on November 17, with the participants already expressing their views and comments on the articles in the multi-page text.

The bill, as noted by the Minister of Development and Investment Adonis Georgiadis and the Deputy Minister Nikos Papathanasis, promotes the economic development of the country through the incentives for targeted activities for digital business transformation, green transition, support for innovative investments and investments in line with Industry 4.0 priorities, boosting employment, supporting new entrepreneurship, and strengthening areas included in the Fair Development Plan. In addition, the aim is to improve and accelerate the procedures for integrating investment plans into the established state aid schemes.

Less bureaucracy

The points that stand out are the aim of limiting the bureaucratic procedures during the evaluation of the investment plans that apply for their inclusion in the aid schemes of the new development law. Thus, specific time limits are set for the evaluation of applications.

According to the provisions of the bill, the evaluation is carried out by the method of comparative evaluation or by the method of direct evaluation, according to the provisions of the relevant announcement of aid schemes.

The evaluation of the investment plans starts from the date of submission of the application and is completed, with the result of the evaluation control by the Evaluation Committee, within 45 days from the end of the status for the cases of the comparative evaluation and within 30 days for the cases of immediate evaluation.

Evaluation of projects

In addition, the bill provides for participation in the evaluation of investment plans and chartered accountants. The new framework stipulates that the control of investment plans amounting to more than 700,000 euros, for the certification of 50% or 65% of the physical and financial object of the investment plan or the completion and commencement of the productive operation of the investment is carried out by a certified auditor, who must be registered in the relevant register (NTUA).

The motives

The forms of aid are divided into five:

1. Tax exemption, which consists of the exemption from the payment of income tax on pre-tax profits, which arise under the relevant tax legislation, from all the activities of the company, deducting the tax of the legal entity or legal entity proportional to the profits thatdistributed or undertaken by the partners. The amount of the tax exemption is calculated as a percentage of the value of the supported costs of the investment plan or the value of the new mechanical and other equipment, which is acquired by leasing and constitutes an equal reserve, which is kept in a separate account in the financial their situations.

2. Grant, which consists of the free provision by the State of a sum of money to cover part of the supported costs of the investment plan and is determined as a percentage of them.
3. Leasing subsidy, which consists of the coverage by the State of the paid installments of the leasing, which is concluded for the acquisition of new mechanical and other equipment, is determined as a percentage of the value of their acquisition and installments paid. The lease subsidy cannot exceed 7 years and the deadline starts from the date of completion of the investment.

4. Subsidy of the cost of the created employment, which consists in the coverage by the State part of the salary cost of thenew jobs created and linked to the investment plan and for which no other state aid is received.

5. Risk financing related to the “New Business” regime.

The special regimes

In addition, the bill creates 13 special schemes which provide specific terms and conditions for the inclusion of investment plans and the forms of incentives that will be granted:

1. Digital and technological transformation of enterprises: The purpose of this scheme is to strengthen all investment projects that promote digital and technological transformation, the use oftechnologies of “Industry 4.0” and upgrade the relevant skills of human resources.

2. Green transition – Environmental business upgrade: Concerns the strengthening of investment projects related to activities in the circular economy and sustainable development and adopt technologies that contribute to the protection of the environment and the energy upgrade of business units.

3. “New Business“: Young entrepreneurs who are active in specific sectors of the economy are supported and the coverage of the costs of setting up companies, research activities and the costs of implementing initial investments.

4. Fair Development Transition Scheme: Investment projects implemented in the areas of the Territorial Fair Transition Plans are included in order to support the employment and development of the areas most affected by the transition to a climate-neutral economy.

5. Research and applied innovation: The aim of the scheme is to strengthen all investment projects that promote research and promote the development and implementation of ideas and technologies that improve goods and services and make production more efficient.

6. Agri-food – primary production and processing of agricultural products – fisheries: Business activities of primary agricultural production, processing of agricultural products and fisheries are strengthened.

7. Processing – Supply chain: Investment projects belonging to the processing sector, excluding the processing of agricultural products for which a special regime is established, and investment projects in the supply chain sector, with the object of technological, productive, administrative and organizational upgrade, as well as the innovativeand extroverted growth and growth, with the aim of strengthening the competitive position of companies in the domestic and international market.

8. Business Extroversion: Incentives are provided to companies that aim to penetrate new foreign markets by exporting their products or services.

9. Support for tourism investments: The purpose of the scheme is to provide aid to a wide range of tourism investments, mainly related to the creation, expansion, modernization of an integrated form of tourist accommodation throughout the country in order to upgrade the quality of the tourism product.

10. Alternative forms of tourism: Aims to support tourism investments related to alternative forms of tourism and aim at utilizing and highlighting the special characteristics of the regions of the country, such as geographical, social, cultural, religious.

11. Large investments: It concerns large investment projects in sectors of the economy with significant effects on local economies.

12. European value chains: The aim is to strengthen all investment projects in the sectors that are European value chains, in order to achieve economies of scale, to improve the quality of products produced and suppliedservices, to make supply chain coordination more effective and to create conditions for enhancing extroversion.

13. 360 °Entrepreneurship: It concerns investment projects that are subject to the development law, except for specific categories for which special schemes are established. These are initial investments and additional costs are supported for the benefit of business initiatives and the national economy.

(To BHMA)