Article 11
Obligations of aided undertakings - Penalties

1. In case of abandonment of the investment at the stage of implementation, for which the completion time limit, initially specified in the decision on eligibil-ity, has expired, and the exclusive six-month time limit of para. 7, article 6 has also expired, without submis-sion of a request for a further extension, it shall be deemed ipso jure that the decision on eligibility was never issued, and any paid grant shall be immediately due and payable in its entirety. In case that, upon ex-piry of any approved two-year extension period for the investment implemented, no application is submitted for the performance of a completion inspection, or ap-plication for additional extension of the completion time limit, for reasons of proven force majeure, the competent department shall remind the investment organisation, by way of a document delivered by court bailiff, that if provable reasons of force majeure apply, it has the possibility to submit a relevant request for extension. By way of the same document, the compe-tent department shall also set a time limit of fifteen (15) days from the expiry of the above exclusive time limit, within which the investment organisation shall be obliged to submit a request for the performance of an inspection for the completion of the investment thereof.
In case the organisation shall not proceed to any of the above actions, it shall be deemed ipso jure that the decision on eligibility was never issued, and any paid grant shall be immediately due and payable in its entirety.
2. If new organisations of para. 1, article 2, invest-ments and/or equipment leasing programs thereof have been made eligible for a grant and interest sub-sidy and/or leasing subsidy, in accordance with the rule of para. 2a of the same article, and shall not fall within the exceptions of para. 3 of the same article, during the implementation of their investments and/or programs and until the lapse of five years from the is-sue of the decision certifying the commencement of their productive operation, are merged or absorbed by another company or private undertaking constituting an old organisation, in accordance with paragraph 1, article 2, or absorb another company or private under-taking, or a branch of another company or undertak-ing, that also constitutes an old organisation, or a branch that, according to the aforementioned has been aided, is detached and incorporated into an old organisation, it shall be deemed ipso jure that the de-cision on eligibility was never issued, and any paid grant and interest subsidy and/or leasing subsidy shall be immediately due and payable in its entirety.
3. If, upon expiry of the equipment leasing term, the equipment does not become property of the undertak-ing made eligible for the equipment leasing subsidy, or if the undertaking transfers the equipment prior to the lapse of a five year period from the issue date of the decision certifying the commencement of the pro-ductive operation, the paid leasing subsidy corre-sponding to the specific equipment shall be due and payable in its entirety ipso jure. The same applies to cases of contract termination and return of the equip-ment to the leasing company, and until the expiry of the above five-year period. The above provisions shall not apply if the equipment transferred is replaced by another of equal value and same kind, within six months, on condition that: i) the competent depart-ment shall be notified prior to the replacement thereof, and ii) within a reasonable time period from the re-placement, the competent department will be notified on the relevant data concerning the transfer and re-placement.
4. If the undertaking made eligible for the grant and interest subsidy and/or leasing subsidy for invest-ments and/or equipment leasing programs or business plan, for any reason transfers fixed assets that have received a grant and/or subsidy, during their implementation and until the lapse of a five year period from the issue date of the decision certifying the commencement of their productive operation, it shall be deemed ipso jure that the decision on eligibility was never issued, and any paid grant and interest subsidy or leasing subsidy shall be immediately due and payable in its entirety.
The above provisions shall not apply if the trans-ferred fixed assets are replaced by others of equal value and same kind, within six months, on condition that: i) the competent department shall be notified prior to the replacement thereof, and ii) within a rea-sonable time period from the replacement, the compe-tent department will be notified on the relevant data concerning the transfer and replacement.
5. An undertaking eligible for the grant and/or inter-est subsidy and/or leasing subsidy for investments, and/or leasing program, or business plan, may, within five years from the issue date of the decision certifying the commencement of the productive operation, lease the aided investment, either in its entirety, or lease part of the fixed assets that have been aided, following the approval of the competent body for the issue of the decision on eligibility. In case of lease without such approval, the paid grant shall be due and payable ipso jure, either in its entirety, with regard to a lease of the entire investment or equipment acquired through leas-ing, or part thereof, equivalent to the leased part of the investment or leased equipment.
6. a) If, for any reason, a pause of the productive operation of the investment and/or equipment ac-quired through grant-aided or subsidised lease, sub-ject to the provisions of instance (b) below, is ascer-tained from the date the investment and/or program or business plan was made eligible, until the lapse of five years from the issue date of the decision certifying the commencement of the productive operation, it shall be deemed ipso jure that the decision on eligibility of the investment and/or equipment leasing program or busi-ness plan was never issued, and any paid grant and subsidy shall be immediately due and payable in its entirety.
b) The provisions under instance (a) above, shall not be applicable in the event of a pause of the productive operation of investments and/or equipment acquired through leasing, due to partial or total destruction from fire, flood or other natural events. The obligations of the organisations of the above aided investments and/or programs or business plans, concerning the restoration of the destroyed investment and their pro-ductive re-operation, shall be stipulated by virtue of decision of the Minister of National Economy.
7. From the issue of the decision on eligibility of the investment and/or equipment leasing program or busi-ness plan for the grant and/or interest subsidy, and/or leasing subsidy, until the lapse of a five year period from the issue date of the decision certifying the commencement of the productive operation, or the decision certifying completion with regard to business plans, the total number of stocks or company shares of the organisations of the above investments and/or programs or business plans, shall be blocked and may not be transferred without the approval of the compe-tent body for the issue of the decision on eligibility, in the following cases: a) newly established companies, whether these are in the process of being established, upon submission of the application seeking eligibility, or they have already been established by that time, aiming at the implementation of the specific invest-ment, and b) existing companies, whether these, upon submission of the application seeking eligibility, are exercising only the activity that will be the object of the investment, or are exercising other activities, provided that their own participation in the approved invest-ment, that will derive from the taxable (extraordinary) reserve, or will constitute an increase in the capital stock or company capital, shall be equal to no less than 50% of the company capital existing at the time of the submission of the application seeking eligibility. The above may be effected after the submission of the relevant application to the competent department, on exclusive responsibility of the organisation and its shareholders or partners, and shall not bind the judgement of the Advisory Committee, nor the deci-sion of the Administration, concerning the approval of the transfer application. In case of stock or company share transfer prior to the submission of the relevant application, one per cent of any paid grant shall be re-turned ipso jure.
If a transfer application is rejected, whether this was submitted prior to or after the transfer, a part of the paid grant equivalent to the percentage of stocks or company shares transferred, shall be returned ipso jure. The obligation to return the paid grant shall equally lie upon the shareholders or partners, who transferred their stocks or shares. The above obliga-tion not to transfer stocks or company shares without the approval of the competent body, shall be included in the company statutes as a term which may not be deleted prior to the lapse of a five year period from the issue date of the decision certifying the commence-ment of the productive operation or the decision on completion, with regard to business plans.
The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to undertakings listed in the Athens Stock Exchange, or in the listing process, from the moment their stocks are introduced in the Athens Stock Exchange for trad-ing and for the entire duration they are listed. Fur-thermore, the consequences of this paragraph shall not be imposed in case of transfer due to inheritance.
8. The expediting of the auctioning or any kind of liquidation of an undertaking, made eligible for the provisions of Law 1262/1982, Law 1892/1990 or these presents, prior to the lapse of a ten-year period from the issue date of the decision certifying the com-mencement of the productive operation, with regard to investments of Law 1892/1990, or Law 1262/1982, or a five-year period from the issue date of the decision certifying the commencement of the productive opera-tion, with regard to investments of these presents, or at any time prior to its completion, shall be null and void if the relevant act of attachment and the auction program or the act of appointing a liquidator have not been communicated to the Private Investments De-partment of the Ministry of National Economy, within twenty (20) days from being drawn up.
9. A special legal office shall be created in the Pri-vate Investments Department in order to monitor the above cases.
10. The manner and details for the control of con-formity to the provisions of these presents, and of the act on eligibility for the provisions of these presents, of undertakings which have received a grant or subsidy, or have in any way been aided, based on the provi-sions of these presents, shall be stipulated by virtue of decisions of the Minister of National Economy.
11. i) From the certification date of the commence-ment of the investment's productive operation and for a five-year period, during which the undertaking shall be obliged to maintain a certain number of created new permanent jobs provided for in the decision on eligibility, the grant-aided undertaking shall be obliged to submit, within one (1) month from the end of each semester, starting from the completion of the invest-ment, a statement of the personnel employed during the previous six-month period, attested by the local competent labour inspection authority of the Ministry of Labour, to the competent department of the Ministry of National Economy as well as the regional depart-ment.
ii) In case a reduction is ascertained in the number of created new permanent jobs, as specified in para.2, article 6, and provided that the grant received in rela-tion to the existing jobs exceeds the amount of 15 mil-lion drachmas per job, part of the grant shall be re-turned in order to maintain the above grant amount per job, by virtue of decision of the Minister of National Economy, according to the provisions of the Code of Public Revenue Collection.
iii) Revocation of the tax allowance and payment of taxes due.
(a). The tax-free reserve created under the provi-sions of these presents, shall be added to the under-taking's profits and shall be taxable in the accounting period during which:
1. Fixed assets were sold before the lapse of five (5) years from their purchase, or machinery of which the right to use was acquired through leasing was no longer used and the contract was terminated, for an amount of the tax-free reserve equal to the value of such fixed assets. This provision shall not apply, if the undertaking replaces these fixed assets with new ones of at least equal value, conforming to the condi-tions of the aided expenditure of the investment or leasing, specified in these presents, within six (6) months from the end of the accounting period in which the sale of the assets or the discontinuity of leasing thereof took place.
2. An amount of the tax-free reserve shall be distrib-uted or withdrawn, for such amount.
3. The private undertaking or the company is dis-solved due to death of the owner or a member of the company.
(b) Additionally, the tax-free reserve formed shall be taxable:
1. In case of retirement of a partner, in his name, on the date of retirement and for the amount falling to the share thereof, based on the percentage of his partici-pation in the company.
2. In case of a transfer of company shares, in the name of the person implementing the transfer, on the date of transfer and for the amount falling to the share thereof, based on the percentage of his participation in the company.
3. In case of a withdrawal from the reserve by a partner or the heirs thereof, in the name of the person making the withdrawal, on the date of withdrawal, and for the amount withdrawn.
4. In case of death of a partner and provided that the company continues its lawful operation only among the other partners, in the name of the heir and for the amount corresponding to him, based on the percent-age of his participation in the company.
5. In case the equipment shall not become the prop-erty of the undertaking, after the expiry of the lease.
(c). In case of non completion of the investment and/or failure to acquire the leased equipment within the five-year term specified in para. 27, article 6, the undertaking shall be obliged to submit additional in-come tax returns for each financial year, and for the segment of the profits that were exempted from taxa-tion due to the formation of a tax-free reserve.
The above tax returns shall be considered overdue, and the obligors submitting them, or failing to submit them, or submitting them incorrectly, shall be subject to the penalties of Law 2523/1997 (Government Ga-zette 179 A'). The total amount of income tax or addi-tional tax due according to the tax return under this paragraph, shall be payable in five (5) equal monthly instalments, of which the first shall be payable upon submission of the tax return, and the remaining four, on the last business day of the four months following the submission of the tax return.
12. Grants, interest subsidies and leasing subsidies provided for in these presents, shall be returned ac-cording to the procedure for the collection of public revenues, while the amounts returned shall be in-creased by the amount of legal interest accrued from the date of their payment.
The relevant payment receipts of grants from the State, constitute documents for the certification of debts by the Public Revenue Department. For the col-lection of debts to the State, the provisions on the col-lection of public revenue shall apply.