Dotační program podpory pro velkoodběratele energií a daňové souvislosti

Subsidy programme for large energy consumers and tax implications

Last week the government approved support for large electricity and gas consumers affected by high energy prices. A total of up to CZK 30 billion in support will be available.

The subsidy programme is intended to help entities in the agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining and quarrying and manufacturing sectors that can prove they have a gas supply contract with an annual consumption of more than 630 MWh or, in the case of electricity, are connected to high or very high voltage.

Entities that are in an operating loss for the period from 1 February to 31 December 2022, where at least 50 % of that operating loss is due to an increase in eligible gas and electricity costs, are eligible to apply. Operating loss is defined as negative EBITDA, i.e. earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Thus, companies with high depreciation of assets may not qualify for the aid at all.

At the same time, the question arises as to whether companies that are considered to be limited risk entity from a transfer pricing perspective and are contractually remunerated on the basis of costs (i.e. including energy costs) increased by a mark-up can qualify for the subsidy. These companies may realise an operating loss during the year, but this is usually subsequently recovered under the TP adjustment. In addition, the actual amount of the operating loss realised within a given year can be significantly affected by the setting of the transfer prices prior the TP adjustment is made.         

If you have any questions, please contact the authors of this article or other members of the EY team with whom you work.

Authors:

Ondřej Janeček

Lucie Karpíšková