The amendment to the Investment Incentives Act, which we have already informed you about, is currently awaiting publication in the Collection of Laws. The President signed it on 14 December 2023. The amendment can be expected to take effect at the beginning of 2024.

The main changes introduced by the amendment can be summarised as follows:

• Simplification of the process of granting and obtaining investment incentives, whereby all applications for the promise of an investment incentive will no longer be submitted to the government for approval. This will remove the possible “arbitrariness” of the government regarding this matter and taxpayers will again gain legal certainty that they should be explicitly entitled to the incentive once the required conditions are met. However, the government will continue to decide on strategic investment actions under the Investment Incentives Act.
• The option to use investment incentives for other large projects according to other EU regulations (application for an individual exemption from the ban on public aid), e.g. in the following areas:
  • aid to help the economic development of areas with a particularly low standard of living or high unemployment, taking account of their structural, economic and social situation;
  • aid to help carry out a major project of common European interest or to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State;
  • aid to facilitate the development of certain economic activities or of certain economic areas, where such aid does not adversely affect trading conditions to an extent contrary to the common interest;
  • aid intended to promote culture and heritage conservation, provided that it does not affect trading conditions and competition in the Union to an extent contrary to the common interest;
  • other categories of aid to be determined by decision of the Council on a proposal from the Commission.

Furthermore, in November, the Government of the Czech Republic approved an amendment to the Regulation on the permissible level of public aid in cohesion regions. This new Regulation will be effective from 1 January 2024. The Regulation adjusts the limit for approval of major projects by the European Commission from the current EUR 100 million to EUR 110 million. Furthermore, the Regulation introduces a maximum amount of public aid in relation to the cohesion region for these large projects, and if this amount is exceeded, it is again necessary to seek approval from the European Commission.

If you have any questions about investment incentives, please do not hesitate to contact your Grant Thornton contact person or the authors of this article directly.