Applying for an investment allowance (large company)

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Summary

You are a large company;
Your company owns, or is creating, a business unit in Wallonia;
You are planning to make investments in a development zone.

Wallonia may grant you an investment allowance, which shall vary depending on the criteria below:

creation and quality of jobs;
the scope of the investment programme (field of activity, initial location in Wallonia, etc.);
appeal of the activity for the region (innovative nature, research and development efforts, etc.);
impact of the investment programme on the environment;
the circular economy approach;
economic benefits of the investment programme.

Under certain conditions, you may also benefit from the exemption from property tax.

Key points

You must file an approval request form to begin an investment programme before starting the first commitments related to the investments (purchase order, etc.). You are also advised to wait until you receive approval to start, so that you have confirmation that the basic criteria have been satisfied.
You must file a request for a Company passport before completing the intervention application form.
You must start the investment programme within six months of the first application and complete it within four years of this date.
You must maintain and use the investment for the established purposes, and under the established conditions, for five years after the programme is finalised.

In detail

Target audience – details

Large companies (LC)

Conditions

In order to benefit from this allowance, you must satisfy all the following conditions as a minimum:

be planning to make an initial investment in a new activity in a development zone in Wallonia, namely:

creating a new establishment (site, place of business, branch, etc.);
diversifying the activity of an existing establishment (the new activity may not be identical or similar to the activity that was previously carried out within this establishment – a different four-figure NACE code);
taking over an establishment that has closed, or which would have closed but for this acquisition, and which is purchased by an investor with no connection to the seller, provided that the new activity carried out using the assets acquired is not identical or similar to the activity that was carried out within the establishment before the takeover.

In type-a development zones, namely, the Province of Luxembourg for the 2022-2027 period and Hainaut for applications received from 01/01/2024, all types of projects are admissible: creating a business, capacity expansions, diversifying products or the business and fundamental changes in the production process.

perform an activity in one of the permissible sectors;
present an admissible investment programme representing at least €1,000,000;
submit its application before making any firm commitments regarding the investments (purchase orders, etc.) and indicate the amount of assistance required by the project;
not be a company experiencing financial difficulty.

It should be noted that the allowance is limited to a maximum of 10%, 15% or 20% depending on the zone and €75,000 per job created, or €100,000 per job created if significant benefits are recognised by the Walloon government. If the job is maintained, it is also necessary to request recognition from the Walloon Government of the major benefit of the project for the sustainable development of the region.

Procedure

You will find the various steps to take to validate your case file below:

You must submit an approval request form to begin an investment programme via My Space. When you are validating the request, you receive acknowledgement of receipt by email with a reference number.

The date on which the application is sent to the administration is important: this is the date from which the works corresponding to the programme may start. The start of the works is defined as the start of the construction works linked to the investment, that is, the first legally binding order for equipment, or any other commitment that makes the investment irreversible, depending on which event occurs first.

You must submit an application for a "Company passport" before completing the intervention application form.

Your application for a "Company passport" must be completed via an online form available via My Space. When you are validating the request, you receive acknowledgement of receipt by email with a reference number.

You must complete the investment assistance application form no later than six months from the authorisation date to begin. You indicate the reference number or the decision number of the "Company passport" on it.
Your application is analysed by the relevant department. On the basis of this analysis, you shall receive the decision by mail.
You may submit an application for the payment of the allowance.

The supporting documents to be provided by the user are mentioned on the intervention application form and the explanatory notes (which can be downloaded in the "Useful documents" section of this procedure).

Appeal procedures are always provided if the assistance is refused. There are no costs associated with applying for the assistance.

Every effort is made to process applications within a reasonable period, which may vary depending on the potential complexity of the case file, requests for additional information and, where necessary, requests for the opinions required to assess the allowance and the available budget of the assistance scheme.

You may contact the Administration directly for help with your administrative processes.

All applications for assistance must be completed in French or German.

Legal references