On 30/06/2025, the 1st Announcement for applications for the inclusion of investment projects under the “Large Investments” scheme of the New Development Law 4887/2022 was published.
Contents
Purpose
The purpose of the new scheme is to support large investment projects in various sectors of the economy, aiming to generate significant positive effects on local economies through their implementation.
Submission Timeline
The submission period for applications to include investment projects under this scheme starts on July 1, 2025.
The deadline for submission is set for October 10, 2025 (following an extension).
Budget
The total budget for the “Large Investments” scheme for 2025 amounts to one hundred and fifty million euros (€150,000,000), of which seventy-five million euros (€75,000,000) relate to tax exemption aid.
The remaining seventy-five million euros (€75,000,000) cover other types of aid, including grants, leasing subsidies, and wage cost subsidies for newly created jobs. These funds derive from the Public Investment Budget of the Ministry of Development.
Eligible Investment Projects
Investment projects must exceed €15,000,000, constitute initial investments, and specifically must meet the following criteria:
Investment in tangible and intangible assets related to one or more of the following:
-
Establishment of a new facility (new unit)
-
Expansion of the production capacity of an existing facility (unit)
-
Diversification of the production of an existing facility into products or services never previously produced or provided, provided that the eligible costs exceed at least 200% of the net book value of the reused assets as recorded in the tax year preceding the application.
-
Fundamental change in the entire production process of an existing unit. For large enterprises, the eligible investment costs must also exceed the depreciation of the assets linked to the activity to be modernized over the last three fiscal years. If these linked depreciations are not clearly documented, the condition is deemed not met.
Replacement of equipment alone does not constitute an initial investment, nor does the acquisition of shares in another company.
Beneficiaries
Eligible beneficiaries include the following business types:
-
Commercial companies
-
Cooperatives
-
Social Cooperative Enterprises, Agricultural Cooperatives, Producer Groups, Civil Cooperatives, Agricultural Corporate Partnerships
-
Consortia engaged in commercial activities
-
Public and municipal enterprises and their subsidiaries
Eligible Expenditures for Regional Aid
Eligible expenditures for regional aid include:
- Construction, expansion and modernization of building facilities, as well as special and auxiliary facilities of buildings, and for constructions to ensure accessibility for disabled and handicapped people, as well as the development of the surrounding area. These costs in total cannot exceed forty-five percent (45%) of the total eligible regional costs. The above coefficient is set at seventy percent (70%) for investment projects of transport services with supply chain management to third parties (logistics – activity code: 52.29.19.03).
- Purchase of all or part of the existing fixed assets, such as buildings, machinery and other equipment of a business establishment (subject to conditions).
- Purchase and installation of new modern machinery and other equipment, including technical installations and means of transport moving within the premises of the integrated unit.
- Leases of new modern machinery and other equipment.
- Modernization of special and mechanical installations.
- Technology transfer, through the purchase of intellectual property rights, licenses, patents, know-how and unpatented technical knowledge.
- Quality assurance and control systems, certifications, supply and installation of software and business organization systems.
For large enterprises, the eligible costs for intangible assets cannot exceed thirty percent (30%) of the total eligible costs of regional aid. For SMEs, the maximum rate is fifty percent (50%).
The labor cost created as a result of the implementation of the investment project 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 the a’ and/or b’ and provided that an initial investment is implemented.
Aid Conditions:
- The investment project entails a net increase in the number of employees reflected in Annual Work Units (AWU) in the business establishment and respectively in the enterprise, compared to the AWU. of the previous twelve months from the date of submission of the application for inclusion,
- the filling of all jobs takes place within three (3) years from the date of completion and commencement of production operation of the investment,
- each job created through the investment is maintained in the specific supported 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.
Eligible Expenditures Outside Regional Aid
-
Consulting fees for SMEs, as defined in Annex B, paragraph 1 of Law 4887/2022 and Article 18 of the GBER, concerning studies and consultancy services for investment plans of newly established SMEs. These must not be part of continuous or periodic activities or linked to the company’s usual operational expenses.
-
Professional training expenses
-
Consulting fees related to professional training projects
-
Personnel costs for trainees and indirect general costs (such as administrative expenses, rent, and overheads) for the hours during which employees participate in training.
-
Investment aid to SMEs
Types of Aid
It consists of the exemption from the payment of income tax on the pre-tax profits, which arise based on the relevant tax legislation, from all the activities of the business, minus the tax of the legal person or legal entity that is proportional to the profits distributed or undertaken by the partners.
The amount of the tax exemption is calculated as a percentage of the value of the supported expenses of the investment plan or the value of the new mechanical and other equipment, which is acquired through leasing and constitutes an equal reserve, which is kept in a separate account in their financial statements.
It consists of the free provision by the State of a sum of money to cover part of the supported expenses of the investment plan and is specified as a percentage thereof.
It consists of the coverage by the State of part of the lease payments, which are concluded for the acquisition of new mechanical and other equipment, determined as a percentage of their acquisition value and included in the paid installments.
The lease subsidy cannot exceed seven (7) years and the period begins from the date of completion of the investment.
It consists of the State covering part of the salary costs of the new jobs created and linked to the investment plan and for which no other state aid is received.
Intensity and Amount of Aid
The aid rates for eligible costs of initial investments are granted based on the maximum intensity limits of the Regional Aid Charter, as approved by the European Commission under document C (2002) 25 final/06-01-2022 and amended by its C (2023) 6801 final/16-10-2023 act.
The current Regional Aid Charter has been posted on the website of the General Secretariat for Private Investments of the Ministry of Development: https://ependyseis.mindev.gov.gr/uploads/photos/chpe.pdf
The aid rates for eligible costs of initial investments are granted based on the maximum intensity limits of the Regional Aid Charter as follows:
- For large enterprises, aid rates for all types of incentives except grants are provided at 80% of the maximum. Under certain conditions, aid can reach 100% of the Regional Aid Map.
- For micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), aid rates for all types of incentives except grants are granted at the maximum rate of the Regional Aid Map. Grants are provided at 80% of this maximum. Additional increases are foreseen for projects implemented in specific disadvantaged areas.
- For large enterprises, aid rates for all types of incentives except grants are provided at 80% of the maximum. Under certain conditions, aid can reach 100% of the Regional Aid Map.
Maximum Aid Amounts
The total aid per investment project cannot exceed €20,000,000 for all types of aid (grant, tax exemption, leasing subsidy, or wage cost subsidy). For groups of cooperating or linked enterprises, the maximum amount is €50,000,000.
Financing Structure of Investment Projects
- Each beneficiary must contribute to the cost of the investment project either with own funds, external financing, or a combination.
- At least 25% of the eligible investment cost must not include state aid, public support, or any public funding.
- The beneficiary’s participation is calculated on the total eligible costs minus the requested grant (if applicable).
- In cases where wage cost subsidies are included, the non-subsidized part may be covered by own funds or external financing.
Evaluation Criteria
The evaluation criteria are grouped into four categories:
-
Maturity of the investment project (0–42 points)
-
Financial capacity of the beneficiary (0–25 points)
-
Sustainability factors (0–18 points)
-
Increase in employment (0–15 points)
The minimum required score for inclusion in the ranking tables is 50 points.
Evaluation Process
- Evaluation starts from the date of submission and must be completed within 90 days from the end of the submission period, with a final result issued by the Evaluation Committee.
- Evaluation includes an assessment of reasonable costs and scoring indicators through comparative evaluation.
Timeline
The beneficiary must implement at least 10% of the eligible cost within 24 months from the inclusion decision.
The investment project must be completed—both physically and financially—and the investment must start operating within the deadline set in the inclusion decision, which cannot exceed three years from the publication of the summary of the inclusion decision.
This completion deadline can be extended once by up to two additional years if:
a. A relevant request is electronically submitted before the original completion deadline.
b. At least 50% or 65% of the physical and financial object has been implemented.