PROJECT APPLICATION PROCEDURE AND DECISION MAKING BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA:
1. The interested investor (family-run farm), domestic or foreign legal entity registered in the territory of the Republic of Croatia, legal entity founded by the Republic of Croatia or local and regional self-government unit applies for the project at the competent administrative body based on the strategic project declaration to the and using the official Strategic Project application form:
MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
Ulica grada Vukovara 78
10 000 Zagreb
Phone: +385 1 6106 944
Fax: +385 1 6109 118
E-mail: sip-strateski@mingo.hr
2. Content of the application:
Along with the application, the investor must enclose a study containing the following:
a) The project description and conceptual design prepared by a chartered architect, or chartered civil engineer in the case of infrastructure buildings, containing a project description within the scope of the project, along with clearly defined buildings outside the scope of project (traffic and other infrastructure) and also a statement on project compliance in terms of adhering to the physical plan and a list of land registry plots on which the project will be implemented,
b) Location information for all land registry plots on which the project is planned for implementation that must be include according to respective regulation but the information must not be older than six months from the application date, including a confirmation of whether a request for restitution of former owners has been submitted, pursuant to the law on compensation regulating property confiscated from previous owners by Yugoslav communist authorities and a statement from the company Hrvatske šume d.o.o. whether the property is covered by the forest management plan, and this too not older than six months from the day of submitting the request,
c) An investment plan for a period of at least five years including information on sources and methods for financing the strategic project and which must include a balance sheet, profit and loss statement, cash flow statement, statistical and dynamic estimates of the investment project and a risk analysis,
d) Evidence of financial capacity, which must include an audited annual financial report for the year preceding the application year if the investor is the subject of mandatory audits, or an annual report on the prescribed forms for non-auditable investors, financial statements for the quarter preceding the submission of the project application, using BON-1 (creditworthiness information) and BON-2 (solvency information) forms not older than 30 days,
e) In the event that the investor has established a special purpose vehicle (SPV) operating in the territory of the Republic of Croatia for the requirements of the project, and the investor is not able to prove its financial capacity to implement the project, the founder of the special purpose vehicle (SPV) as a legal entity is required to provide the information concerning its financial capacity, certified by the competent authority in the country where the investor is domiciled, in particular: audited financial report for the last two years of operation, solvency data certified by the competent banking and/or financial institution, and basic financial-business performance indicators for the last two years, as well as a binding letter of intent from the company, and
f) A detailed company profile, including related companies and a reference list, and finally
g) A certificate that the company has fulfilled obligations in paying due taxes, pension and health insurance obligations and other public benefits, as well as salaries and other material rights for workers as agreed in the respective collective agreement, employment contract or employment rules, where such information must not be older than 30 days.
Items d) to g) do not apply to public investment projects.
3. The competent administrative authority shall do an administrative verification of the received application.
Central state administration bodies are obliged, within their given scope of authority, and at request of central state administration body competent for the economy, to provide their expert opinion on the received application and relevant documentation and written positive or negative assessment of the strategic proposal project within ten days from the day of receiving the application, in order to assess acceptability of strategic project and submit the application to Commission for consideration.
The competent administrative body shall send the proper and complete application together with collected expert opinions and assessments on acceptability of the strategic project proposal to the Commission for the procedure involving the Evaluation and Ascertaining of Strategic Project Proposals.
4. The Commission evaluates the strategic project proposal and forwards its recommendations to the central state administration body competent for the economy to make its decision on listing the proposal in the List of Strategic Projects.
The Commission will make an official decision on establishing an Operational Group for preparation and implementation of a particular project and an official decision on appointment of a leader for the Operational Group.
5. Tasks of the Operational Group:
a) Determining the prescribed procedures necessary for preparing and implementing each project and informing investors of the matter,
b) Project implementation, comprehensive overview of administrative and other procedures and activities necessary for project implementation and creating a list of actions necessary for such implementation, within period of one year of the project being listed in the List of Strategic Projects,
c) Interdepartmental harmonization and coordination of activities in preparation and drafting of project implementation acts and deadlines for their execution, and
d) Determines proposed elements of the Croatian Government Decision on Declaring the Strategic Project for the Republic of Croatia that it submits to the Commission.
6. The Commission proposes to the Government of the Republic of Croatia the adoption of the Decision on Declaring the Strategic Project for the Republic of Croatia.
7. Private or public-private investors, in order to prove their intention to implement the applied project, are obliged to submit to the Ministry of Economy within seven days prior to signing the Agreement, the following:
a) Confirmation from a domestic bank proving that the investor which has submitted the application, has a special company account securing financial resources designated for project implementation amounting to at least 5 % of the total value of the applied project, and/or,
b) In case the investor has established a special purpose vehicle operating in territory of the Republic of Croatia, confirmation from a bank proving that the special account for the company is intended for project implementation and has the secured financial resources amounting to at least 5% of the total value of the applied project, and/or
c) Proof of the amount of previously invested funds in project realization to at least 5% of total value of the applied project, based on a confirmation from a chartered auditor on the investment amount, and/or
d) A binding letter of intent from a domestic bank proving its readiness to finance the project.
8. The agreement on preparation and implementation of the strategic project with a private, public or public-private investor shall be concluded by the head of the central state administration body competent for the economy, prior to the decision of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.
9. The Government of the Republic of Croatia will adopt the Decision on Declaring the Strategic Project for the Republic of Croatia which is then published in the Official Gazette.
