Description

The Energy Investment Allowance (EIA) is a tax-relief program. Companies that invest in energy-saving installations, or that make use of sustainable energy, may deduct a certain percentage of the invested sum from their taxable profits from the year in which the goods are purchased.

Contribution

1. Forty-four percent of the relevant expenditures is deductible from the taxable earnings in the year in which the equipment is purchased.
2. The minimum amount of energy-saving investment is EUR 2,200 a year. This amount can consist of several individual investments, but each individual investment must exceed EUR 450. No investment allowance is granted for investments exceeding EUR 113,000,000 in a tax year (figures 2009).

Conditions

EIA is applicable under conductions, such as:

3. The company must have an environmental permit or a building permit.
4. The energy list (see description below) states which types of equipment qualify for the program.
5. The energy advice connected with the purchase can be included in the deduction, as well as additional costs needed to make an asset operational.
6. Any investment grant that was received for the relevant asset must be deducted from the acquisition or production costs. Operating subsidies need not be deducted, however.

Non-deductible costs are 1) costs of assets already used by another party, 2) the costs of the following assets: land, residential properties, passenger cars that are not intended for commercial road transport, vessels used for marketing purposes, securities, receivables, goodwill, permits and any other public law consents.

The energy list

The energy list (in Dutch) shows the assets that qualify for the EIA. The energy list is updated annually. For 2009, the energy list contains more than 130 different assets. New assets can be added to the list each year, and others withdrawn.

The criteria

The Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning & Environment and the Ministry of Finance are involved in drawing up the energy list. The criteria that play a role in the selection of the different assets include the following:

7. Clear, unambiguous definition of the appliance or technology.
8. Substantial contribution to energy conservation or the use of renewable energy.
9. Reasonable cost-effectiveness.
10. Assets in which companies would invest even without the EIA are generally not included.
11. Only those parts of a technology that are technically necessary for the saving of energy are included.
12. The asset must be applicable to a wide range of situations or businesses.

Examples of assets of the energy list are:

13. Heat pumps
14. Cogeneration plants
15. Energy-efficient lighting systems
16. Effective insulation systems.

Within three months of entering into obligations to purchase, an applying company must report to the Investment Schemes and Arbitrary Depreciation Office in Breda:

Bureau investeringsregelingen en willekeurige afschrijvingen (IRWA)
Postbus 3338
4800 DH Breda
fax: (076) 530 43 09

Technical questions on EIA can be answered by the helpdesk at:
SENTERNOVEM
Dr. van Deenweg 108
P.O. Box 10073
8000 GB ZWOLLE
Tel.: (31) 038 455 34 80
Fax.: (31) 038 454 02 25
E-mail: eia@senternovem.nl
Website: Senternovem/eia

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