Export Market Development Grant now open

The Grant opened on 1 July and is a key Australian Government financial assistance program for current and aspiring exporters, supporting a wide range of industries.

The scheme reimburses up to 50% of eligible expenses above $5,000 provided that the total expenses are at least $15,000. Each eligible applicant is entitled to eight annual grants (these do not need to be in consecutive years).

EMDG supports eight categories of promotional activities, including:

• Overseas representatives (up to $200,000 per application)
• Marketing consultants (up to $50,000 per application)
• Marketing visits (airfares and an allowance of $350 per day, capped at 21 days per trip)
• Free samples (up to $15,000 per application)
• IP registration (up to $50,000 per application)
• Trade fairs, seminars, in-store promotions (all reasonable expenditure)
• Promotional literature and advertising (all reasonable expenditure)
• Overseas buyers (a total of $7,500 per buyer per visit, totalling $45,000 per application)

To be able to claim for any of the above activities:

• you must have spent the funds to seek out, create, or increase demand for your product in an export market;
• you must be the intended principal in export transactions, i.e. not an agent (exemptions apply for manufacturers or Approved Body applicants, events promoters, suppliers to inbound tour operators or in situations where a company closely related to the applicant owns the product intended for export);
• the expense must have been paid by you during the claim year (i.e. it must be taken up as an expense in your books of account, not just in consolidated accounts or in the accounts of a related entity). If this is your first grant application, these expenses may have been incurred during the preceding two financial years being the claim years;
• the item paid for must have been provided to you; and
• you must have evidence of the expense and what it was incurred for (i.e. invoices, bank statements etc.).

Grant funding

The maximum grant available for eligible applicants is up to $150,000, subject to the availability of funds in scheme.   Members of related company groups may apply individually. The maximum payable to a group of related companies is $250,000 per annum.

Grants will be paid under a split-payment system in two rounds:

• Round 1: An initial payment of grant entitlements up to the initial payment ceiling amount.
• Round 2: A second-tranche payment of grant entitlements above the initial payment ceiling amount.

Any grant received is regarded as assessable income for tax purposes.

Who Can Apply?

Eligible applicants include any Australian individual, partnership, company, association, co-operative, statutory corporation or trust that has carried out export promotional activities during the year for which they seek. The applicant must have:

• carried on business in Australia;
• income of no more than $50 million in the grant year;
• incurred at least $15,000 of eligible expenses under the scheme (first-time applicants can combine two years expenses).
• principal status in the export business;
• have promoted one of the following:

a) The export of goods or most services;
b) Inbound tourism;
c) The export of intellectual property and know-how outside Australia; or
d) Conferences and events held in Australia.

Eligible Activities

Eligible products must be one of the following:

• A good made in Australia;
• A good made outside Australia where Australia will derive a significant net benefit from its sale overseas;
• A service except those specified as ineligible in the EMDG Regulations;
• A tourism service;
• An event held in Australia;
• An intellectual property right you own or have exclusive rights to, that mainly resulted from work done in Australia;
• A trade mark owned, assigned or first used in Australia, or which has significantly increased in value from its use in Australia; or
• Know-how that mainly resulted from work done in Australia.

Applications close on 2 December 2019 with an extension to 3 March 2020 for applications lodged under the EMDG Consultant Quality Incentive Program.

If you have incurred marketing or promotional expenses that were directed to markets outside Australia with the intent to, or in support of export, you may qualify for an Export Market Development Grant.  Contact your usual Mazars Adviser or alternatively contact our Grant Specialists, Angela Winton or Jarryd Lazzarini, for a complimentary grant eligibility assessment, on +61 7 3218 3900.

Please note that this publication is intended to provide a general summary and should not be relied upon as a substitute for personal advice.