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Good News for Film Producers – Tougher Conditions for Incentives Postponed Until 2021

Good News for Film Producers – Tougher Conditions for Incentives Postponed Until 2021

Serbia
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Just as we entered the year of 2020, the Serbian Government enacted the new Regulation on Incentives to Investors for Production of Audio-visual Works in the Republic of Serbia (“Regulation”). The motives for enacting a new Regulation were the encouragement of investments and increasing employment in the field of audiovisual production, as well as the promotion of the potential of the Republic of Serbia in the said field.

In order to qualify for such incentives, the Regulation prescribed certain criteria in terms of funds allocated in the production budget with regards to each specific format. Namely, to be eligible for incentives which come in the form of state grants, the investors must meet the following thresholds: 

  • for feature film and TV film: EUR 300,000;
  • for TV series: EUR 300,000 per episode;
  • for animated series: EUR 150,000 per episode;
  • for an animated film, audio and/or visual postproduction of the audiovisual work: EUR 150,000;
  • for special purpose film: EUR 300,000;
  • for documentary film and documentary TV program: EUR 50,000.

However, the new Regulation prescribed that the thresholds for TV series and special purpose films will enter into effect on 31 August 2020, until which date the thresholds from the previous Regulation will remain applicable: 

  • for TV series: EUR 300,000 in total with at least EUR 100,000 per episode, and
  • for special purpose film: EUR 100,000.

What the Government failed to foresee is the unfortunate COVID-19 pandemic that would soon follow. The investors and producers were actively prevented from starting any projects during the postponement period, rendering the desired effects of the postponement moot.

Due to this reason, on 27 August 2020, the Government enacted Changes and Amendments of the Regulation in order to further delay the effective date of new thresholds until 1 January 2021.

To summarize, the investors for the production of TV series will be eligible for incentives if they allocate EUR 300,000 in total with at least EUR 100,000 per episode within the production budget, while special purpose film production investors will be eligible for incentives if they allocate EUR 100,000 within the production budget, until 1 January 2021. After that, the thresholds will be raised in accordance with the Regulation (see points 2) and 5) above).

The Government’s decision to further extend the period within which the lower thresholds will remain applicable is certainly a welcome one, as the investors will remain encouraged to produce TV series and special purpose films in Serbia during times when everyone is reluctant to start a new project due to the ongoing pandemic. 

This text is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Should you require any additional information, feel free to contact us.

By Milan Samardzic, Partner, and Dragan Martin, Junior Associate, Samardzic, Oreski & Grbovic