Development Law

The purpose of the Development Law is to promote the economic development of the country by granting incentives to specific activities and sectors, in order to achieve the digital and technological transformation of businesses, the green transition, the creation of economies of scale, the support of innovative investments and those seeking to introduce new technologies of "Industry 4.0", robotics and artificial intelligence, the enhancement of employment with qualified personnel, and the support of new entrepreneurship.

The main objective is to provide a comprehensive framework of incentives with the key objective of creating business initiatives for existing, start-up or incipient enterprises intending to make an initial investment in one of the following eligible ways:

Create a new unit
Capacity expansion of an existing unit
Diversification of the production of an establishment into products that have never been produced or services that have not been provided by it, provided that the aided expenditure exceeds by at least 200% the book value of the assets re-used
Fundamental change of the entire production process of an existing unit. For large enterprises, it is also required that the aided investment expenses exceed the depreciation of the assets related to the activity to be modernized over the three previous tax years

Aid schemes

The object is the establishment of schemes for the granting of state aid to investment projects, which may fall into the following categories:

Digital and technological business transformation
Green transition – Environmental upgrading of enterprises
New Business
Fair Development Transition Regime
Research and applied innovation
Agri-food – primary production and processing of agricultural products, fisheries and aquaculture
Manufacturing – Supply chain
Business extroversion
Strengthening tourism investment
Alternative forms of tourism
Large investments
European value chains
Entrepreneurship 360°

Who it concerns

Eligible are companies that are established or have a branch in Greek territory at the time of commencement of the investment project and have one of the following forms:

Sole proprietorship (max eligible cost of €200,000 only for the agri-food scheme)
Trading company
Cooperative
Social Cooperative Enterprises, Agricultural Cooperatives, Producer Groups, Agricultural Corporate Partnerships
Companies being formed or merged, with the obligation to have completed disclosure procedures before the start of work on the investment project
Joint ventures engaged in commercial activities
Public and municipal undertakings and their subsidiaries, provided they are not entrusted with serving a public purpose and do not receive subsidies from public funds during the commitment period

The following are not eligible and are excluded from aid under this scheme:

Undertakings subject to pending aid recovery proceedings at the time of application (Deggendorf principle)
Firms in difficulty as defined in the General Tax Code
Enterprises which, during the two years preceding the application, have relocated to the premises where the investment will take place
Enterprises implementing investment projects carried out on behalf of the State under a contract for execution, concession, or provision of services

Beneficiaries – Eligible activities

Hotels and camping of at least 3-star category
Health tourism and medical tourism
Manufacturing / Industry
Agri-Nutrition
Energy
Supply Chain / Logistics
Tourist ports / Seaplane bases
Special Tourist Infrastructure: conference centres, golf courses, ski resorts, theme parks, spa facilities, sports tourism training centres, mountain refuges
Sports facilities and swimming pools
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

Types of aid

Tax exemption: Exemption from the payment of income tax on pre-tax profits, usable within fifteen (15) tax years from the year in which the right to use the benefit is established.

Leasing subsidy: The State covers part of the leasing instalments paid for the acquisition of new machinery and other equipment, for a period not exceeding seven (7) years. The subsidy is paid semi-annually after each instalment payment by the investor.

Grant: Free provision by the State of a sum of money to cover part of the supported costs of the investment project, determined as a percentage of those costs.

Aid rates

Map of Regional Aid in Greece (from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2027):

Definition of enterprise size

Medium-sized enterprise: employs fewer than 250 persons and has an annual turnover of less than €50 million or a balance sheet total of less than €43 million.

Small enterprise: employs fewer than 50 persons and has an annual turnover or balance sheet total not exceeding €10 million.

Very small enterprise: employs fewer than 10 persons and has an annual turnover or balance sheet total not exceeding €2 million.

Restrictions

The total amount of aid per submitted investment project can reach up to €10,000,000 for an individual enterprise and €30,000,000 for all related and cooperating undertakings
These restrictions apply to investment projects for a period of three (3) years from the date of submission
The ceilings are increased by 50% where the aid is granted in the form of a tax exemption

Minimum investment amounts

€1,000,000 for large companies
€500,000 for medium-sized enterprises
€250,000 for small businesses
€100,000 for micro enterprises

Evaluation criteria

The scoring criteria are divided into four groups:

A. Maturity of the Investment Plan: 0–10 points
B. Evaluation of the Financial Scheme: 0–25 points
C. Evaluation of the Investment Plan Entity: 0–25 points
D. Investment Plan Assessment: 0–40 points

The minimum score required for an investment project to be included in the ranking tables is 50 points.

Implementation of approved investment projects

Requests for verification/certification of expenditure may be submitted at the following stages:

Up to 25% of the approved grant may be paid upon implementation of at least 25% of the total investment cost
Certification of the implementation of 50% of the physical and financial scope of the investment project
Certification of the implementation of 65% of the physical and financial scope of the investment project
Certification of completion and start of productive operation of the investment