A LIMITED number of government grants of up to
$100 000 (R600 000) are being made available to companies wanting to improve their ability to compete in the local and global market place.
The grant can be paid by way of reimbursement of 50% of certain costs (excluding VAT) incurred in the search for global competitiveness, says Lise Claassen, tax manager at Deloitte & Touche.
Applications for grants may only be made by private companies.
The applications must be made and agreed in advance of the proposed activity and its expense being incurred.
Retrospective applications will not be eligible for the grant, she says. The approval decision will be made within one month of submission of a completed application form and communicated with the applicant within one week of its decision.
All grants will be paid retrospectively following completion of the approved activity against adequate evidence of completion and payment. The responsibility to claim payments rests with the beneficiary company.
The grant will be subject to income tax.
Some costs of activities that could qualify for the reimbursive grant include:
l Market research
l International market visits
l Advertising and
promotion
l Development of a website
l Quality management improvement
l Acquisition of quality
standards
l Product development
l Product testing
l Packaging design
l Training to build
competitiveness
As only a limited fund has been established for these reimbursive grants, it is advisable to submit your applications rather sooner than later, as the fund could be exhausted relatively soon by the applications, she says.
By Ed Richardson
Copyright Now Media (Pty) Ltd
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