In addition to the 35% cash rebate on qualified expenditure, productions explicitly promoting Romania, with a minimum local spend of 20% of the total budget of the production, can also apply for a rebate of 10%. In effect, a production that meets all these requirements could claim a rebate of up to 45%.
The minimum limit of qualified expenses is 100,000 EUR. The scheme is open to feature films, medium and short fiction films, TV series, direct-to-video, internet and any other support films, documentaries and animated films. The rebate cannot exceed 10 m EUR per project (or per season, for TV series).
The scheme will work on first come first served basis and will require the international production to have a production services or coproduction contract with a Romanian production company.
The scheme, for which Castel Film Studios has lobbied intensely lately, will apply to the National Commission for Prognosis, which has ten days after the publication of the Government decision in the official journal of Romania Monitorul Oficial to approve the guidelines together with the cultural eligibility test.
“Even without knowing the details regarding the way it will be implemented, it is a great opportunity to get our filmmaking community more visibility. Besides the Romanian actors, filmmakers and technicians involved directly in the film business, the rebate will give a boost to cultural exchanges and tourism. It will be a great tool for international coproductions and it will create more space for diversity in the type of productions made in Romania. All in all, implemented wisely it will raise the profile of the Romanian contribution to the world cinema”, producer Ada Solomon told FNE.
“It is a measure very much welcomed by the industry that advocated for it, for a very long period of time. Next it is extremely important to see how the authority will write the guidelines, as the efficiency of the rebate scheme depends on the clarity of the text", Alex Trăilă, EU affairs and foreign relations at the Romanian Film Centre, told FNE.
The exact date when the scheme will begin has not been announced, but sources told FNE that it is expected to be fully functional by the end of July 2018.
