Albania: Guidance on law providing direct and indirect tax incentives for technological and scientific parks
Developers and users of the parks benefit from tax and legal incentives
Developers and users of the parks benefit from tax and legal incentives
The Albanian Council of Minister approved a series of Decisions (DCM no. 337 dated 31 May 2023 and DCM nos. 416, 417 and 148 dated 7 July 2023)—effective immediately upon publication in the official gazette—implementing the provisions of Law no. 58/2022, which provides various tax and legal incentives for the development of technological and scientific parks for high-tech and innovation industries, research and development (R&D) of new and improved products and services, and scientific and technology professionals.
Under Law no. 58/2022, developers and users of the parks benefit from the following tax and legal incentives:
- Application for permits and licenses will be processed within 15 - 30 working days.
- The government will construct the general infrastructure up to the park borders.
- The supply of Albanian goods to be used in the parks are treated as an export and subject to a 0% tax rate.
- Corporate income tax at a 0% rate applies for 15 consecutive years from the beginning of activity.
- R&D personnel are exempt from all taxes applicable for a period of 10 years.
- R&D personnel pay health and social insurance contributions at the level of the national minimum monthly salary, regardless of the declared gross salary.
- The supply of goods, equipment, and services used in the parks for the purposes of development of innovative products are VAT exempt.
- Constructions in the parks are exempt from the tax on infrastructure.
- Buildings in the parks are exempt from the real estate tax for a period of 10 years.
- Training costs for R&D personnel may be refunded by the government.
- Income generated by the intellectual property developed in the parks and duly registered with the competent Albanian authorities may qualify for further tax benefits for a period of five years.
- The parks are treated as customs free zones.
Developers are eligible to benefit from the above incentives only after obtaining approval for development of the parks and the start of economic activity. The transfer of an existing activity in the Albanian territory to the parks for the purposes of benefiting from the incentives is strictly prohibited.
Read an August 2023 report prepared by the KPMG member firm in Albania
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