Experts from the law firm HAVEL & PARTNERS led by David Krch, a tax partner, and Kamila Chládková, a tax manager, provided their client, an Indian company, with comprehensive support and procedural guidance in processing an application for an investment incentive. At the end of November 2023, the Government endorsed the investment incentive as one out of only four that have been approved, and the company has now received the final decision.

The Indian company is a top manufacturer of automotive lighting and plans to build a technology centre fitted with state-of-the-art technical equipment for the development of lighting and other technology for motor vehicles in Ostrava. It offers a wide range of comprehensive systems and lighting solutions.

HAVEL & PARTNERS tax partner David Krch commented on the success: “At present, it is extremely difficult to obtain an investment incentive. Even if all conditions were met, the Government always had the final say by the end of the last year, and it approves only a low number of projects. In the past, incentives had not been subject to this regime and had been granted to dozens of investors annually. We assisted the client in this complicated process with the overall preparation of the project, including related documentation and communication with the relevant authorities.”

The investment incentive approval process is expected to be easier since this year onwards. The Chamber of Deputies has approved an amendment to the Investment Incentives Act repealing the obligation to submit every application to the Government for consideration. The decision-making power goes back to the Ministry of Industry and Trade that will grant incentives based on opinions of the ministries concerned, which should speed up the whole process considerably. The Government will henceforth decide on applications relating to strategic investments only. The amendment has entered into effect in January 2024.