As we highlighted in our previous newsletter, in order for the Hungarian rebate process to return back to normal, it is inevitable to have a new government decree regulating the decision-making process of the National Film Office in light of the annual cap on registrations enacted by another government decree in early June. This is also prescribed by the Act on Motion Pictures amended by the Parliament soon afterwards.
Originally it was planned that the new decree would be issued by the end of June, but due to other priorities of the government it has not been put on the agenda for the time being. Now, with the start of the holiday season, it is unlikely that it would be decided any time before September 2025.
In the unlikely event that the government decree would not be made in 2025, productions can still submit applications for registration that would be then decided in 2026. This is so because the Film Office has the right to suspend registration procedures for six months maximum and can eventually accomplish the process in 2026, once the limitation on registrations is no longer in force.
At the moment it is unclear if there would be a similar cap introduced also for 2026 (or for any future years) or this was a one off attempt to slow down the industry from overheating.
As the Film Office will review and approve applications on a first come first serve basis, one thing is certain that those productions already submitted their applications in July 2025 will be the first ones having their applications approved and any productions applying later will be decided only afterwards and only if budget limitations still allow that. It is also important to emphasise that the 30% rebate is guaranteed by the Act on Motion Pictures and it cannot be overturned by any decree, so the present and future administrative measures made by the government can only slow down the process, but would not eliminate the right to the rebate.
We, at Andersen, continue to closely monitor the status of the government decree and will report on new developments as soon as they are known.