The Hungarian Government has announced that, from 1 July 2026, the registration of film productions eligible for Hungarian film rebate has resumed. As a result, the National Film Office is once again accepting support applications without limitation. As we noted in our December newsletter, according to a government decree published on 23 December 2025, there had been a semiannual cap set for registration of new film productions in the amount of HUF 140 billion for the first half of 2026 whereas the situation for the second half of the year was left undecided.
According to the newly announced position of the competent authorities, the registration cap was interpreted to apply only for the first half of 2026 and, as the authorities have decided not to introduce a new registration cap for the second half of 2026, it ceased to have effect as of 1 July 2026. As a result, the decision is also due to the noticeable slowdown in industry activity. As a result, applications submitted after 1 July 2026 will no longer be suspended, as well as the Film Office is expected to resume processing those applications that had previously been placed on hold.
That said, applicants should continue to expect extended processing times. A substantial backlog has accumulated over recent months, and obtaining production registration is therefore still likely to take several months at least. In our view, the Film Office is expected to gradually eliminate the backlog by the end of the year the earliest.
It is also important to note that no other provisions of the Film Act have been amended. Accordingly, new applications may continue to be submitted under the same legal framework and procedural rules that have applied to date. Likewise, the annual amount collection account, from which the rebate monies are disbursed periodically, remains unchanged, i.e. HUF 70 billion.
We, at Andersen, continue to closely monitor the government decree and will report on new developments as soon as they are known. Our related services>>.