Scheme for Special Aid Areas

a. Commercial company,

b. Cooperative,

c. Social Cooperative Enterprises (SCEs), Agricultural Cooperatives (ACs), Producer Groups (PGs), Urban Cooperatives, Agricultural Corporate Partnerships (ACPs),

d. Companies under merger, with the obligation to have completed publicity procedures before the start of operations of the investment plan,

e. joint ventures engaged in commercial activity,

f. public and municipal enterprises and their subsidiaries, provided that:

• they have not been assigned the provision of a public service,
• the provision of services has not been exclusively assigned to them by the state,
• their operation is not subsidized by public funds for the duration of the long-term obligations.

Excluded from aid and inclusion in this scheme are:

• undertakings against which a recovery procedure for aid is pending at the time of submitting the investment plan application (Deggendorf principle),
• undertakings in difficulty, if at least one of the conditions set out in paragraph 18 of Article 2 of the GBER is met. The check for undertakings in difficulty is carried out both at the level of the applicant undertaking and at the level of the group of undertakings,
• undertakings which, during the two (2) years preceding the submission of the aid application:
• Have relocated the business establishment where the initial investment for which aid is requested is to be made, or
• refuse to commit not to relocate the aforementioned business establishment for a period of two (2) years after the completion of the initial investment,
• undertakings implementing investment plans carried out on the initiative and on behalf of the Public Sector, based on a relevant contract for project execution, concession, or service provision.

• Creation of a new establishment (new unit).
• Expansion of the production capacity of an existing establishment (unit).
• Diversification of production of an existing establishment (unit) into products never produced or services never provided by it, provided that the eligible expenditure exceeds by at least two hundred percent (200%) the book value of the assets reused, as recorded in the tax year preceding the application for inclusion of the investment plan.
• Fundamental change in the overall production process of an existing unit. For large enterprises, it is also required that the eligible investment expenditure exceeds the depreciation of the last 3 tax years of the assets linked to the activity to be modernized. If the depreciation of assets linked to the activity is not clearly reflected, the above condition is considered not to be met.

• Tax exemption,
• Grant,
• Financial leasing subsidy,
• Subsidy for the cost of job creation,
• Fast-track licensing incentive,

For large enterprises, aid includes the above incentives except for grants.

The investment body, in order to avoid revocation of the inclusion decision, must implement at least 10% of the eligible cost of the investment plan, as approved by the inclusion decision, within twenty-four (24) months from the publication of the summary of the inclusion decision.

The investment plan is completed with the implementation of the physical and financial scope and the start of productive operation of the investment, within the deadline set in the inclusion decision, which cannot exceed three (3) years from the date of publication of the summary of the inclusion decision.

The deadline for completing the investment plan provided for in the inclusion decision may be extended once for up to two (2) years, provided that the following conditions are cumulatively met:

a. Electronic submission of the relevant request before the expiry of the completion deadline, as originally defined in the inclusion decision,

b. implementation of fifty percent (50%) or sixty-five percent (65%) of the physical and financial scope.

The above completion deadline also includes any horizontal statutory extensions.

Tangible assets

• The construction, expansion, and modernization of building facilities, as well as special and auxiliary building installations, and constructions to ensure accessibility for people with disabilities and people with reduced mobility, as well as landscaping of the surrounding area. These expenses cumulatively cannot exceed forty-five percent (45%) of the total eligible regional expenditure. The above rate is set at seventy percent (70%) for investment plans in third-party supply chain management transport services (logistics – activity code: 52.29.19.03) and eighty percent (80%) for investment plans implemented in buildings classified as preserved.

These expenses are also eligible if they are incurred on constructions which, at the time of submitting the application for inclusion in the aid schemes herein, have been subject to Law 1337/1983 (A' 33) or Law 4178/2013 (A' 174) or Law 4495/2017 (A' 167). The payment of aid cannot commence if the approved physical scope of the investment includes constructions for which the aforementioned legalization or regularization procedure has not been completed.

• The purchase of all or part of existing fixed assets, such as buildings, machinery, and other equipment of a business establishment (under conditions)
• The purchase and installation of new modern machinery and other equipment, including technical installations and transport means operating within the premises of the included unit.
• Lease payments for financial leasing of new modern machinery and other equipment, the use of which is acquired, provided that the financial leasing contract stipulates that the equipment becomes the property of the lessee at the end of the contract.
• The modernization of special installations not related to buildings, and mechanical installations.
• Expenses for ensuring accessibility for people with disabilities.

Intangible assets

• Technology transfer, through the acquisition of intellectual property rights, exploitation licenses, patents, know-how, and unpatented technical knowledge,
• quality assurance and control systems, certifications, procurement and installation of software, and business organization systems.

For large enterprises, eligible expenditure for intangible assets cannot exceed thirty percent (30%) of the total eligible regional aid expenditure. For SMEs, the maximum percentage is fifty percent (50%).

Wage Costs

The wage cost of new jobs created as a result of the investment plan is calculated for two (2) years from the creation of each position. The above wage cost is an eligible expense only independently and not in combination with sub-paragraphs A and/or B.

Conditions for wage cost aid:

• The investment project entails a net increase in the number of employees, reflected in Annual Work Units (AWU) at the business establishment and, correspondingly, in the enterprise, compared to the AWU of the preceding twelve-month period from the date of submission of the inclusion application,
• all job positions are filled within three (3) years from the date of completion and start of productive operation of the investment, and
• each job created through the investment is maintained at the specific aided establishment for a period of 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 of its first filling.

• Expenditure for consulting services to SMEs
• Expenditure for innovation in SMEs
• Expenditure for process and organizational innovation for SMEs and Large Enterprises
• Expenditure for energy efficiency measures, excluding energy efficiency measures in buildings,
• Expenditure for efficient use of resources and for supporting the transition to a circular economy
• Expenditure for high-efficiency cogeneration from RES of paragraph 8, and energy production from Renewable Energy Sources
• Expenditure for remediation of environmental damage, restoration of natural habitats and ecosystems, protection or restoration of biodiversity, or implementation of nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation and mitigation
• Expenditure for vocational training
• Expenditure for hiring disadvantaged workers

Expenditure for ensuring accessibility for people with disabilities

Aid intensity rates for eligible expenditure of initial investments are granted as follows:

• For micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, aid intensity rates for all types of incentives, except grants, are granted at the maximum rate of the Regional Aid Map. The grant incentive is granted at eighty percent (80%) of the maximum limit of the Regional Aid Map. Specifically for investment plans belonging to special aid categories, the grant incentive is granted at one hundred percent (100%) of the maximum limit, except for sub-paragraph b) which is granted at ninety percent (90%).
• For large enterprises, aid intensity rates for all types of incentives are granted at eighty percent (80%) of the maximum limit of the Regional Aid Map. Specifically for investment plans belonging to special aid categories, the above incentives are granted at one hundred percent (100%) of the maximum limit, except for sub-paragraph b) which is granted at ninety percent (90%).

1. Increased aid rates are granted for investment plans implemented in:

• Mountainous areas, according to ELSTAT classification, excluding municipal units that are part of the urban complex of Athens,
• areas located up to thirty (30) kilometers from the borders,
• islands with a population of less than three thousand one hundred (3,100) inhabitants,

2. Implemented: in buildings classified as preserved.
3. Relate to the reactivation of industrial units (business establishments) that have ceased operations. The value of the fixed equipment of the industrial unit to be reactivated must cover at least fifty percent (50%) of the eligible cost of the investment plan.

The amount of aid granted to each investment plan under this scheme does not exceed the limit of twenty million (20,000,000) euros, subject to Article 4 of the GBER.

For inclusion in this scheme, a minimum eligible cost of the investment plan is required, amounting to two million (€2,000,000) euros.

Each entity participates in the cost of the investment plan either with own funds or with external financing (or a combination thereof).

Twenty-five percent (25%) of the eligible cost of the investment plan must not include state aid, public support, or provision.

The start date for submitting applications for inclusion of investment plans in this scheme is April 17, 2026, and the deadline is June 30, 2026.