(for applications submitted up to 29 January 2010)
Note 1: It should be noted that the following remarks concern only those subsidy applications submitted up to and including 29 January 2010. Since a large number of subsidies and other forms of support were granted on the basis of the aforementioned law, the need for observation and explanation of these provisions still exists. However, it must be explicitly pointed out that, according to the current provisions of Law 3908/2011, photovoltaic installations are no longer subsidized. The support for these installations has been explicitly excluded by law.
The goal of the new Greek Development Law / Investment Law 3299/2004, according to Article 1, is “to strengthen balanced economic development, increase employment, improve the competitiveness of the economy, support entrepreneurial activities, promote new technologies, protect the environment, save energy and achieve regional convergence.” Depending on the type and scope of an investment, state grants, leasing subsidies, tax exemptions, and cost subsidies for newly created jobs are provided.
A key focus of Investment Law 3299/2004 is the development and use of alternative energy sources. Further incentives for investment in Greece, particularly in the solar energy sector (photovoltaics, PV systems, solar technology, solar parks) and wind energy (generators, wind farms), are offered by Law 3468, passed in June 2006, regarding renewable energy sources (RES), which guarantees, inter alia, long-term lucrative minimum prices for injected electrical energy.
The excerpt below from the Greek Investment Law 3299/2004 refers to the geographical classification of aid areas in Greece and the scope of funding for investments in the renewable energy sector.
Note 2: This article is also available as a Download in PDF format under the title Investment promotion in Greece under Development Law – Investment Law 3299.
The Greek Development Law – Investment Law (3299/2004)
Excerpt of Articles 2 and 4
(The complete text of the Greek Investment Law 3299/2004 is available as a download on the website of the Greek Ministry of Economy)
Article 2: Division of the National Territory – Aid Zones
1. For the purpose of applying the provisions of this law, the national territory is divided into four (4) zones as follows:
Zone D includes the prefectures of the administrative regions of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, the Industrial and Business Parks (Biomihanikes Epihirimatikes Periohes – B.E.PE) of the administrative region of Epirus, the islands of the Greek territory with a population of up to 3,100 inhabitants according to the 1991 census, the North Aegean islands, the island of Thassos, the Prefecture of Dodecanese (excluding the area defined by the Ministerial Decree regarding the general urban plan of the city of Rhodes) and, in the mainland area, the border area in the zone of 20 kilometers from the border, including the cities and municipalities whose administrative areas are traversed by this zone.
Zone D is subdivided into sub-zones D1, D2 and D3 as follows:
Zone D1 includes the border areas of the mainland part of Central and Western Macedonia in a zone of 20 kilometers from the border, including the cities and municipalities whose administrative areas are traversed by this zone, the Prefecture of Dodecanese (excluding the area defined by the Ministerial Decree regarding the general urban plan of the city of Rhodes), the islands of the administrative regions of Central Macedonia, Thessaly, Ionian Islands, Mainland, Attica, South Aegean and Crete with a population of up to 3,100 inhabitants according to the 1991 census.
Zone D2 includes the border zone of the mainland part of Eastern Macedonia and Epirus in a depth of 20 kilometers from the border, including the cities and municipalities whose administrative areas are traversed by this zone, the B.E.PE. of the administrative region of Epirus, the islands of the administrative region of North Aegean, the island of Thassos and the islands of Eastern Macedonia, Epirus, Western Greece and Peloponnese with a population of up to 3,100 inhabitants according to the 1991 census.
Zone D3 includes the administrative regions of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace.
Zone C includes the Lavrio Zone of the Prefecture of Attica, as defined by the joint decision 37349/5.11.1991 (FEK B’950) of the Ministers of Environment, Spatial Planning and Public Works, Economy and Internal Affairs, as well as the districts, prefectures or parts of prefectures of the mainland that do not fall under Zones D, B and A.
Zone B includes the Industrial and Business Parks (B.E.PE.), the province of Langadas and the area west of the Axios River of the Prefecture of Thessaloniki and the province of Trizinia of the Prefecture of Attica.
Zone A includes the Prefectures of Attica and Thessaloniki, excluding those parts assigned to the other zones.
Investment plans for the generation of electricity from renewable energy sources, specifically from wind, solar and hydropower, geothermal and biomass, regardless of the installed capacity, as well as investment plans for the parallel generation of electricity and heat, fall under the investments of **Category 4**.
Article 4: Grants Provided
1. For the investment plans of the categories §1 Article 3, the following grants are provided depending on the zone:
(a) Grants or Leasing Subsidy according to the percentages in the table:
| Investment Category | Zone A | Zone B | Zone C | Zone D1 | Zone D2 |
Zone D3 |
| Category 4 | 30% | 30% | 35% | 35% | 40% | 40% |
Excluding investments in zones where the limits of the regional aid plan are exhausted, the above rates increase by an additional total of 5%, provided one or more of the following cases apply:
- Establishment of the companies within Industrial and Business Parks (BI.PE.)
- The company is considered a newly established entity if not more than one year has passed from its founding or the commencement of business activity until the application for its inclusion. Companies that resulted from the transformation of another company or personal business or from the merger of companies or partnerships, or those that absorbed another company or personal business, as well as those that were absorbed by another company, are **not** considered newly established entities.
Or alternatively:
(b) Tax Exemption according to the rates in the table:
| Investment Category | Zone A | Zone B | Zone C | Zone D1 | Zone D2 | Zone D3 |
| Category 4 | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Or alternatively:
(c) Subsidy of Costs for Job Creation according to the rates in the table:
| Investment Category | Zone A | Zone B | Zone C | Zone D1 | Zone D2 | Zone D3 |
| Category 4 | 35% | 35% | 40% | 40% | 45.5% | 48.1% |
2. With respect to the resulting net subsidy, the granted subsidies for the costs of the investment plan may not exceed the rates of the local subsidy plan approved by the EU.
3. Small and medium-sized enterprises, as defined by Community legislation, are granted an additional subsidy rate of up to 15%, excluding transport companies. By joint decision of the Ministers of Economy and Development, based on the criterion of the per capita Gross National Product (GNP) purchasing power according to the last available data (Year 2001) of the National Statistical Authority, the specific rate per prefecture is determined as follows:
- For the border prefectures Drama, Dodecanese, Evros, Thesprotia, Ioannina, Kastoria, Kilkis, Lesbos, Xanthi, Pellas, Rodopi, Samos, Serres, Florina, Chios, as well as for the prefectures with a per capita Gross National Product of less than or equal to sixty-five percent (65%) of the average of the European Community, relative to the same year 2001, an additional grant or leasing subsidy or a subsidy for the costs of created jobs amounting to 15% of the costs of the subsidized investment is provided.
- For prefectures with a per capita Gross National Product exceeding sixty-five percent (65%) of the average of the European Community, relative to the same year 2001, an additional grant or leasing subsidy or a subsidy for the costs of created jobs amounting to 5% of the costs of the subsidized investment is provided.
4. The granted subsidy and funding rates for leasing as well as costs of jobs created by the investment program may in no case exceed the rate of 55%. The subsidy rates for consulting designs may not exceed 50% thereof.
5. For investment plans with a volume exceeding fifty million (50,000,000) Euro, the maximum subsidy rate is restricted as follows:
(a) for the partial amount up to fifty million (50,000,000) Euro, the respective local maximum subsidy rate is granted at 100%,
(b) for the partial amount from fifty million (50,000,000) Euro up to one hundred million (100,000,000) Euro, the respective local maximum subsidy rate is granted at 50%,
(c) for the partial amount exceeding one hundred million (100,000,000) Euro, the respective local maximum subsidy rate is granted at 34%.
(Status: 2006, with the exception of Note 1, which is Status 2011. All information is provided without reservation or guarantee.)