State aid and EU funds
As one of the largest net beneficiaries of EU funds, Poland offers numerous investment incentives in the form of grants (national and local) and tax relief (SEZ/Support of New Investments Act, R&D release). Entrepreneurs who benefit from such incentives may also be subject to new obligations, such as maintaining the sustainability of a projects or obtaining the consent of the European Commission for receiving public assistance.
SSW has advised on numerous investments involving state aid and EU grants. We help clients to ensure compliance with the sometimes overly-complex rules and avoid being subjected to fines. We advise on all aspects of settling and reporting state aid, including corporate restructurings and transformations of entities which benefit from state aid and EU structural funds.
How can we help?
If you plan to undertake a new investment or conduct research and development activities:
- we can identify available aid sources (R&D tax relief, public grants, tax relief as part of investment support – SEZ, local tax relief) and your activities which qualify for aid/R&D relief,
- we help you structure a to maximize the amount of aid you receive
- we guide you on everything from initial aid applications, to acquiring tax interpretations in the event of any project-related ambiguities, settling and reporting the aid and completing the investment
- we train those your employees whose work involves them dealing with state aid
- we provide regular support during your project – e.g. regarding R&D release settlements, distributions between SEZ and other activities, calculating release limits, ensuring compliance with aid decisions/permits etc.
- we conduct comprehensive tax reviews of settlements regarding SEZ regulations/new investment support or R&D relief
If you are a beneficiary of an EU grant and:
- You plan to transform your company – we can help you retain the grant in compliance with rules on project sustainability, properly structuring a transaction and applying for any necessary consents;
- You are uncertain about the status of Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SME) – we can examine your situation and advise you on how to maintain such status in light of changes in your organisation
EU law
Public aid is subject not only to decisions adopted by the Polish authorities, but primarily to decisions adopted by the European Commission. Our considerable experience in representing the beneficiaries of EU grants before the European Commission enables us to assist clients on any aid-related problems they may encounter, including:
- assessing the EU law compliance of state aid received by an entrepreneur from the Polish public authorities (central and local);
- assessing whether the receipt of aid must be notified to the European Commission
- preparing aid notifications to the European Commission and representation clients before the Commission in the event of any dispute;
- preparing claims that a client’s competitor has received unlawful state aid and representing the client before the European Commission;
- reviewing the existence of public aid in relations with state authorities or local authorities (Private Investor/Creditor Test)
Porta KMI Polska | Paged | Spedimex | Cinkciarz
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