Subsidy (Development Law)

• Law No. 4399/2016

Law No.4399/2016, known as Development Law, foresees support for production of sustainable biofuels (art.9 par.8 Law No. 4399/2016). The support is offered as subsidies, leasing subsidies, and subsidies for the creation of new jobs. In addition, the support can be replaced by other kind of support such as “Tax Regulation Mechanism”.

For biofuels, the level of support varies between 45%-65% of the eligible expenditure and is contingent upon the enterprise size (large, medium or large) (art. 11 par.3 subpar. 2h Law No. 4399/2016). Additional increase between 5%-15% is foreseen, if the investment takes place in certain regions, defined by the Regional Aid maps. It should be noted that the support rates concern the Programmatic Period 2014-2020 defined by the European Commission.

All enterprises based in Greece are eligible for support. More specifically, the following categories are included: private enterprises, commercial companies, cooperatives and social cooperatives (art. 6 Law No. 4399/2016).

A call for application is issued yearly by the Ministry of Development and Investments. Interested plant operators submit their application. After a two-stage assessment (art. 14A &14B law No.4399/2016), a ranking is made and those investment plans that have received the highest scores receive the support. The plant operator receives the support as a lump sum or in instalments, depending on the support category (art. 20 Law No. 4399/2016). Subsidy is validated after 50% of the investment plan is completed. The rest of the sum is granted once the investment is completed. Leasing subsidy is granted once it is validated that the related equipment is leased. Subsidy for the creation of new jobs is granted once the investment plan for the creation of new jobs is validated. The subsidy is paid off twice a year.

• MinDev