Grant approval process
The managing entities (Ministry of Regional Development and Marshall's Offices in the regions) are responsible for establishing detailed procedures for application, collection of applications from beneficiaries, evaluation, granting aid and payments. However the details of application and evaluation procedures have not been published yet.
Capital grants for entrepreneurs
It is to be noted that the Measures and the Priorities described below are taken from preliminary versions of Operating Programmes, which are now at the public consultation stage. Their final versions may change.
Grants for human resources development
- Grants from OP Human Capital are available for training for employees, counselling and advice in the HR area.
- Available for SMEs and large enterprises
Grants for investments
- Investment grants are available from OP Competitive Economy for projects in the areas of R&D, innovation, IT.
- Investment grants from OP Infrastructure and Environment are available for investments in the environment, transport, energy sectors.
- Investment grants from OP Rural Areas Development are available for investments in food processing sector and agriculture.
- Investment grants from the above Programmes are available for SMEs and large enterprises.
Grants for investments in environment protection area
- Preferential loans financed by the National Fund for Environment Protection & Water Management are allocated to objectives set out in the Environmental Law in accordance with priorities established by the National Fund on the basis of: “the State’s Environmental Policy”. Lists of priority undertakings are developed by regional National Fund offices in accordance with the activities schedule as well as the criteria for selecting undertakings. Undertakings which are required as a result of Polish obligations towards the European Union in respect of Poland’s EU membership are treated as top priority.
- The percentage of possible co-financing from the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management: up to 80 % of total costs. In each case a minimum soft loan amount cannot be lower than PLN 1 million. Applications are submitted to the National Fund For Environmental Protection and Water Management continuously, not within fixed application rounds.
- The submitted applications are assessed within 2 – 3 months.
Multiannual Programmes
- In Poland it is possible to obtain state aid for a significant foreign investment project from other than EU sources. The so-called multi-annual programmes are a form in which financial aid from the national budget is granted to key foreign investors.
- Multi-annual programmes are aid packages granted for individual investments. The aid package may consist of: direct funding for an investment from the public budget, tax exemptions for an investor or government commitments to improve local infrastructure at the site of the investment.
- Multi-annual programmes are subject to a decision of the Council of Ministers of Poland. Therefore, this type of support is addressed only to projects of the highest priority.
- A decision to award public aid is taken on the grounds of the national Public Finance Act and the Statute of the Council of Ministers. Following from that, the maximum level of support allowed to be assigned by the Council of Ministers’ decision to any venture is PLN 100 million, as higher amounts are subject to Parliamentary regulation.
- Support awarded in the form of a multi-annual programme each time must comply with Polish and EU regulations on the levels of state aid allowed to be granted to private sector institutions.
