TAX REBATE

From January 2012 Croatia is introducing a Cash Rebate for film and television productions made in Croatia.

Type of Incentive?

Cash Rebate.

How much is the benefit worth?

Projects can derive a benefit of up to 25% of their qualifying expenditure.

Is there a cap on the amount that can be raised?

Yes, there is a ceiling of 20m HRK (cca €2.65m) on qualifying local expenditure per project. The minimum local spend per project is HRK 2m (cca €265,000) for Feature Films, HRK 300.000,00 (cca €40,000) for Documentaries, HRK 500.000,00 (cca €66,000) for Animations, HRK 1m (cca €133,000) for TV films, HRK 750.000,00 (cca €100,000) for each TV episode.

What type of projects qualify?

The Rebate applies to Feature Films, Documentaries, Short Films, Television Drama and Animation. The Rebate does not apply to Commercials, Reality tv, Game Shows and Soaps.

What constitutes qualifying expenditure?

The benefit is based on the cost of Croatian cast and crew working in Croatia, as well as goods and services purchased in Croatia.

How it works from the foreign producer’s point of view?

The foreign producer must team up with a local Croatian co-producer or production service provider. The Croatian company applies to the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC) for a provisional certificate before the start of production, and for a final certificate upon completion of the production in Croatia. The Croatian partner is responsible for compliance with prescribed formal requirements. The Croatian partner provides the full range of production services including locations scouting, scheduling, budgeting, casting, crewing and takes full responsibility for all production services carried out in the State throughout the life-span of the production.

When is it paid?

The net benefit will be made available on completion of production, audit of the final cost statement and evidence that all the requirements have been met.

Is there a cultural test a project must pass or some other criteria it must meet?

Yes. The Croatian cultural test comprises three categories: ‘cultural content’, ‘creative talents’ and  ‘production’.

Source: Croatian Audiovisual Centre, 2013.

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