In the Journal of Laws on September 4th, 2018, the Regulation of the Council of Ministers of August 28th, 2018 on state aid granted to some entrepreneurs for the implementation of new investments (item 1713); (hereinafter: Regulation) was published and it entered into force on the day following the day of announcement. This means that in fact all of Poland has become a Special Economic Zone. Starting September 5th, you can apply for a decision to support the investment – the basis for using the income tax exemption (PIT and CIT).

Quantitative criterion

To obtain a decision to support the investment, the taxpayer will have to meet two criteria. The first of them is so-called “quantitative criterion” – the minimum amount of expenditures that one undertakes to incur. It differs depending the size of the entrepreneur (micro, small, medium or large) and the level of unemployment at the region where the investment is located. For the research and development (R&D) and investments in the sectors of specific services, preferences are provided. The minimum amount of expenditures is shown in the table below.

Unemployment rate (% compared to medium national rate)
Entrepreneur size Equal to or lower than 60% Higher than 60%, up to 100% Higher than 100%, up to 130% Higher than 130%, up to 160% Higher than 160%, up to 200% Higher than 200%, up to 250% Higher than 250%
Micro 2 000* 1 600 1 200 800 400 300 200
Small 5 000 4 000 3 000 2 000 1 000 750 500
Medium 20 000 16 000 12 000 8 000 4 000 3 000 2 000
Chosen services/ R&D activities 5 000 4 000 3 000 2 000 1 000 750 500
Other 100 000 80 000 60 000 40 000 20 000 15 000 10 000

* All amounts in PLN 1000 (e. g .PLN 2 000 = PLN 2 000 000)

Quality criterion

The introduction of the so-called quality criterion is a novelty. The regulation specifies 10 conditions that must be met in order to receive points (one criterion = 1 point). They differ depending on whether the investment is carried out in the Services or Industrial” sector.

The criteria are divided into two categories (Sustained economic development and Sustained social development), 5 points each. In principle, to obtain a decision to support the investment, one needs to “get” 6 points. Locating investments in some areas may “lower” this threshold to 5 or even 4 points. In each case, however, the entrepreneur must get at least one point from each of the two categories (the applicant will not receive a decision on support if e.g. scoring 5 points for the criteria of “sustained social development ” and not a single point for “economic development”).

The decision to support the investment is a way to obtain income tax exemption directly allowed by the legislator. The Regulation indicates that, for many entrepreneurs, meeting the quality criteria may require verification of the business plan. It is worth expertly assessing whether the investment qualifies for a tax relief at the earliest possible planning stage – ideally at the stage of choosing a location.

Author: Łukasz Kempa

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