Expected Development Law

Large Investments – Development Law 4887/2022

Status: Expected
Opening: Not announced
Deadline: Not announced
Investment: +150.000.000

Large Investments - Development Law 4887/2022

The purpose of the "Large Investments" scheme is to support large investment plans in sectors of the economy so that, once implemented, they bring significant results to local economies.

Large Investments - Who it concerns

The "Large Investments" scheme covers investment plans whose total budget of eligible expenses exceeds fifteen million (15,000,000) euros, except for those that fall under the aid schemes for:

agri-food - primary production and processing of agricultural products - fisheries
support for tourism investments and
alternative forms of tourism

Investment plans must have the character of a complete initial investment.

This scheme, "Large Investments", may also include investment plans that do not meet the condition of a complete initial investment, provided that they include expenses that fall into the following categories:

a. expenses for research, development and innovation,
b. expenses for environmental protection,
c. expenses for vocational training,
d. expenses under aid to SMEs,
e. expenses for consulting services to SMEs
f. expenses for innovation in SMEs
g. expenses for process and organisational innovation for small and medium-sized enterprises and large enterprises
h. expenses for energy efficiency measures
i. expenses for high-efficiency cogeneration from Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and for the production of energy from renewable sources
j. expenses for installing efficient district heating and cooling systems
k. expenses for waste recycling and re-use
l. expenses for recruiting disadvantaged workers and workers with disabilities

Large Investments - Eligible enterprises

Eligible enterprises are those that are established or have a branch in Greece at the time work on the investment plan starts and have one of the following forms:

commercial company,
cooperative,
Social Cooperative Enterprises (Koin.S.Ep.) of Law 4430/2016 (A' 205), Agricultural Cooperatives (AS), Producer Groups (OP), Agricultural Corporate Partnerships (AES) of Law 4384/2016 (A' 78),
companies being established or merged, on condition that they have completed the publication formalities before work on the investment plan starts,
joint ventures that carry out a commercial activity
public and municipal enterprises and their subsidiaries, provided that:
- they have not been entrusted with serving a public purpose,
- the State has not entrusted the provision of services exclusively to them,
- their operation is not subsidised with public funds for the period of compliance with the
  long-term obligations of Article 22.

Large Investments - Non-eligible enterprises

The following are not considered beneficiaries and are excluded from the aid of this "Large Investments" scheme:

enterprises against which a procedure for the recovery of aid is pending when the investment plan application is submitted (Deggendorf principle),
undertakings in difficulty, as defined in paragraph 18 of Article 2 GBER (Article 1(4)(c) GBER),
enterprises that, in the two (2) years before submitting the aid application, relocated to the establishment where the initial investment for which aid is requested will take place, or that do not commit not to do so within two (2) years after completing the initial investment for which aid is requested,
enterprises implementing investment plans carried out at the initiative and on behalf of the State, under a relevant works, concession or services contract.

Large Investments - Program budget

The entity's contribution to the total eligible cost of the investment plan may be made either through own funds or through external financing, provided that twenty-five per cent (25%) of it contains no state aid, public support or grant (Article 14(14) GBER).

The own contribution may also consist of external financing. The alternative ways of covering own funds are:

Increase of share or company capital through new cash contributions
Capitalisation of existing taxed reserves and retained earnings
Use of existing taxed reserves and retained earnings
Sale of assets
Bank loan

Amount of subsidy

The minimum eligible size of an investment plan for inclusion in this "European Value Chains" aid scheme is set according to the size of the entity, namely:

for large enterprises, at one million (1,000,000) euros,
for medium-sized enterprises, at five hundred thousand (500,000) euros,
for small enterprises, at two hundred and fifty thousand (250,000) euros,
for micro enterprises, at one hundred thousand (100,000) euros,
for Social Cooperative Enterprises (Koin.S.Ep.) of Law 4430/2016 (A' 205), as well as Agricultural Cooperatives (AS), Producer Groups (OP) and Agricultural Corporate Partnerships (AES) of Law 4384/2016 (A' 78), at fifty thousand (50,000) euros.

Types of aid

Tax exemption
Grant
Leasing subsidy
Subsidy for the cost of the jobs created

For medium-sized and large enterprises the aid includes all the above incentives except the grant.

The aid rates for the eligible expenses of initial investments are granted on the basis of the maximum intensities of the Regional Aid Map, as follows:

a. For micro and small enterprises, the aid rates for all types of incentive, except the grant, are granted at the maximum rate of the Regional Aid Map.

The grant incentive is given at eighty per cent (80%) of the maximum limit of the Regional Aid Map.

An increased grant rate (at the maximum rate of the Regional Aid Map) is given to investment plans that are implemented in the following areas:

Mountainous areas, according to the ELSTAT classification, except for the municipal units that are part of the Athens urban area,
areas located up to thirty (30) kilometres from the border,
islands with a population of fewer than three thousand one hundred (3,100) inhabitants.
buildings classified as listed,
areas that have been hit by natural disasters, according to a decision of the Government Committee for State Relief.

b. For medium-sized and large enterprises the aid rates for all types of incentive, except the grant, are granted at eighty per cent (80%) of the maximum limit of the Regional Aid Map.

Increased aid rates (at the maximum rate of the Regional Aid Map) are given to investment plans that are implemented in the following areas:

Mountainous areas, according to the ELSTAT classification, except for the municipal units that are part of the Athens urban area,
areas located up to thirty (30) kilometres from the border,
islands with a population of fewer than three thousand one hundred (3,100) inhabitants.
buildings classified as listed,
areas that have been hit by natural disasters, according to a decision of the Government Committee for State Relief.

Restrictions

The amount of aid that can be granted to each investment plan of this scheme may not exceed the limit of 10,000,000 euros, except where the aid is granted as a tax exemption, which may not exceed the limit of 20,000,000 euros
The aid granted to each entity, including aid to partner or linked enterprises, may not cumulatively exceed 20 million euros for a single enterprise and 30 million euros for all linked and partner enterprises together, subject to the restrictions of Article 4 GBER.

These restrictions apply to the investment plans included under these provisions and for a period of three (3) years from the entity's application for the inclusion of its investment plan.

European Value Chains - Expenses subsidized

Investment plans included in this scheme can receive aid for eligible expenses:

Of a regional nature for initial investment, either on their own or in combination with non-regional aid under the other sections of the GBER and other European Union Regulations, or
exclusively of a non-regional nature under the other sections of the GBER and other European Union Regulations, in schemes provided for in Part B.

Regional investment aid

Regional aid is granted in accordance with the Regional Aid Map for:

Initial investment:
- Investment in tangible and intangible assets related to setting up a new establishment, extending the capacity of an existing establishment, diversifying the output of an establishment into products never produced in it before, or a fundamental change in the overall production process of an existing establishment.
- The acquisition of assets belonging to an establishment that has closed or would have closed had it not been purchased, and which is bought by an investor unrelated to the seller; the mere acquisition of the shares of an enterprise is excluded.
Initial investment for a new economic activity:
- Investment in tangible and intangible assets related to setting up a new establishment, or to diversifying the activity of an establishment, provided that the new activity is not the same as or similar to the one previously carried out in the establishment.
- The acquisition of the assets belonging to an establishment that has closed and which is bought by an investor unrelated to the seller, provided that the new activity to be carried out using the acquired assets is not the same as or similar to the one carried out in the establishment before the purchase.

Eligible expenses of regional aid

Tangible assets

Construction, extension and modernisation of buildings and of special and auxiliary building installations, and landscaping of the surrounding area. In total they may not exceed 45% of all eligible expenses.
For investment plans in the tourism sector the rate is 60% for building expenses, for investments in the logistics sector it is 70%, again for the building expenses of these investment projects, while for investment plans for crop production in greenhouses the rate is 60%. Finally, for buildings classified as listed, the rate is 80%.
Purchase of all or part of the existing fixed assets of an establishment, such as buildings, machinery and other equipment, under the following conditions, all of which must be met:
- the establishment has closed,
- the purchase is made by the entity of the investment plan, which is unrelated to the seller of the establishment in point i, unless it is a small enterprise acquired by an employee of the original owner,
- the transaction takes place under normal market conditions. The cost of assets that were subsidised in the past under development laws or other aid schemes, before their purchase, is deducted from these eligible expenses.
Purchase and installation of new modern machinery and other equipment, technical installations and means of transport that move within the premises of the unit being included
Lease payments for new modern machinery and other equipment
Modernisation of special installations not related to buildings, and of mechanical installations

Intangible assets

Technology transfer, purchase of intellectual property rights, licences, patents, know-how and unpatented technical knowledge
Quality assurance systems, certifications, supply and installation of software and business organisation systems

For large enterprises, the aided expenses for intangible assets may not exceed thirty per cent (30%) of all aided regional-aid expenses. For SMEs the maximum rate is fifty per cent (50%).

Wage cost

The wage cost of the new jobs created as a result of implementing the investment plan is subsidised, calculated over a period of two (2) years from the creation of each job.

Conditions for wage cost aid

1. A mandatory net increase in the number of Annual Work Units (AWU) compared with the AWU of the twelve months before the date the application for inclusion is submitted
2. The jobs must be filled within 3 years from the date of completion and start of productive operation
3. Each job created through the investment is kept in the specific aided establishment for at least five (5) years for large enterprises, at least four (4) years for medium-sized enterprises and at least three (3) years for small enterprises, from the date it was first filled.

Eligible expenses outside regional aid:

Consultants' fees for SMEs
They are aided only for new small and medium-sized enterprises and for an amount of up to 50,000 euros (up to 5% of the total aided cost)
Expenses for energy efficiency measures
Expenses for high-efficiency cogeneration from RES
Expenses for the production of energy from renewable sources
Expenses for installing efficient district heating and cooling systems
Expenses for the remediation of contaminated sites
Expenses for waste recycling and re-use
Expenses for vocational training
Expenses for the participation of SMEs in trade fairs
Expenses for disadvantaged workers and workers with disabilities
Expenses for research and development
Expenses for innovation for SMEs
Expenses for process and organisational innovation for SMEs and large enterprises