SURVIVAL KIT to South Moravia Information Brochure for Foreign Investors and Expatriates. Dear friends, potential investors and business partners, The Regional Development Agency of South Moravia brings you an updated edition of Survival Kit, which is regularly published since 2002. This set of a basic information has become a useful means of assistance to foreign investors, an important vehicle of promotion of the South Moravian Region and an inspiration to other regions in the Czech Republic and abroad. Throughout its existence, the content of the Survival Kit has evolved, from the provision of necessary basic information for companies that wished to locate their production and development centres in South Moravia to the existing form where the texts are oriented more towards employees of foreign companies and opportunities for partnership with research and development institutions of the South Moravian Region. This is an area where we see great potential, particularly due to the long-term focus of the South Moravian Region on innovation, intensified by newly built science and research centres of both regional and European relevance. Given the high degree of specialisation of the texts, we work in the long term with a number of partners – professionals who guarantee that the individual texts and chapters provide reliable information and experience. In conclusion, I would like to add that we welcome all comments on the content and structure of these texts. If you have any tips or ideas you would like to direct to us, we, and others who use the Survival Kit, will be very pleased to receive them. Vladimír Gašpar Director, Regional Development Agency of South Moravia 1 Regional Development Agency of South Moravia The purpose of the Regional Development Agency of South Moravia (RRAJM) is to support the regional development on the territory of the South Moravian region. RRAJM therefore provides services to public sector bodies (putting emphasis on entities in the South Moravian region) as well as to other parties needing consultations concerning regional development. Our Services Include • Subsidies and EU projects – consulting and application writing • Educational events on regional development, structural policy and project management • General grant advisory • Advisory in preparing entrepreneurial zones and properties, management of their portfolio • Assistance in implementation of smart solutions in the area of management of municipal property, water management and transportation (SMART JMK) • Services and writing strategic and programme regional development documents • Writing feasibility studies and cost-benefit analyses for prepared projects • Assistance to investors (locality selection, organisation of visits, help with establishing a company, after care) • Support of brownfield regeneration • Advisory in EU innovation activities Support for Investors • Providing information on local conditions for entrepreneurial activities, tailor-made situation analyses • Selecting of suitable localities respecting particular requirements • Mediating contacts to land/property owners, labour offices, universities and local institutions involved in research and development; negotiations with local and regional bodies and institutions • Organising and planning visits Since 2000, when we started offering assistance to foreign investors, we managed to place nearly 50 foreign companies. Our “clients”, who have successfully established themselves in South Moravia include Honeywell, IBM, Daido Metal, Daikin, Alps Electric or FEI Company. Regional Development Agency of South Moravia Královopolská 139, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic, www.rrajm.cz Jan Hladík, tel.: (+420) 723 422 036, e-mail: [email protected] Michaela Hrózová, tel.: (+420) 606 551 509, e-mail: [email protected] 2 The Survival Kit has been realized with financial support from the South Moravian Region. 3 CONTENT I. South Moravia: Geography, Labour Force, Economy 6 I. 01 Introduction 6 I. 02 Universities 7 I. 03 Economic Branches 8 I. 04 Labour Force 11 I. 05 Unemployment 12 I. 06 Wages 15 II. Legal Regulation of Business Activities, Establishment of Business Entities 19 II. 01 Establishment of a Partnership or Corporation – Key Steps 19 II. 02 Limited Liability Company 25 II. 03 Joint Stock Company 25 II. 04 Establishment of an Enterprise of a Foreign Person or of a Czech Branch of the Enterprise of a Foreign Person 26 III. Accounting and Auditing 28 III. 01 Czech Accounting Legislation 28 III. 02 Changes in Czech Accounting Legislation for Entrepreneurs 28 III. 03 Basic Accounting Principles 31 III. 04 Statutory Financial Statements and Annual Reports 31 III. 05 Consolidation 32 III. 06 Auditing 33 IV. Tax System in the Czech Republic 35 IV. 01 Taxation of Corporations – Corporate Income Tax 35 IV. 02 Taxation of Individuals – Personal Income Tax 39 IV. 03 Value-Added Tax 42 V. Employment and Labour Regulations 50 V. 01 Employment Contract, Commencement and Termination of Employment 50 V. 02 Working Hours 53 V. 03 Salary and Salary Grades 54 V. 04 Social Security and Health Insurance 55 V. 05 Public Holidays, School Year 56 V. 06 Collective Redundancy 57 V. 07 Some Other Important Provisions 58 4 VI. Visa and Integration after Arrival 62 VI. 01 Visa 62 VI. 02 List of States Whose Citizens Are Required to Have Visa 69 VI. 03 Integration after Arrival 70 VII. Co-operation with South Moravian Institutions 75 VII. 01 CEITEC – Central European Institute of Technology 75 VII. 02 Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Brno University of Technology 77 VII. 03 TTO – Technology Transfer Office at the Brno University of Technology 79 VII. 04 AdMaS – Advanced Materials, Structures and Technologies 81 VII. 05 SIX – Centre of Sensor, Information and Communication Systems 83 VII. 06 NETME Centre – New Technologies for Mechanical Engineering 84 VII. 07 CVVOZE – Centre for Research and Utilization of Renewable Energy 85 VII. 08 CMV – Materials Research Centre 86 VII. 09 International Staff Office (ISO) MUNI 88 VII. 10 TTO MU – Technology Transfer Office of Masaryk University 89 VII. 11 JIC – South Moravian Innovation Centre 92 VII. 12 JCMM – South Moravian Centre for International Mobility 95 VII. 13 The Centre for Foreigners JMK 97 VII. 14 ISOB – International School of Brno 99 VII. 15 BEC – Brno Expat Centre 100 VII. 16 International Clinical Research Centre (ICRC) of St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno 102 VIII. Practical Information: Working and Living in South Moravia 105 VIII. 01 Practical Information 105 VIII. 02 Traveling Around the Country and Abroad 109 VIII. 03 Leisure 116 VIII. 04 Social Infrastructure 125 5 I. SOUTH MORAVIA: GEOGRAPHY, LABOUR FORCE, ECONOMY I. 01. Introduction The South Moravian Region (Jihomoravský kraj) spreads over an area of 7,188 sq km, located in the southeast of the Czech Republic and is the country’s fourth largest region. The region consists of the following seven districts: Blansko, Brno-city (Brno-město), Brno- district (Brno-venkov), Břeclav, Hodonín, Vyškov and Znojmo. The neighbouring Czech regions are Zlin Region (Zlínský kraj) to the east and Olomouc Region (Olomoucký kraj) to the northeast, Pardubice Region (Pardubický kraj) to the north and the Vysocina Region (Kraj Vysočina) and the South Bohemian Region (Jihočeský kraj) to the west. South Moravia has also two international borders – with Austria to the south and with Slovakia to the southeast. For the purposes of European regional policy, the South Moravian Region and the Vysocina Region together form the so-called cohesion region NUTS II Southeast. Geography The geographical conditions of the region are fairly diverse and can be divided into three principal types of landscapes. The northern part is characterized by hilly terrains – eastern slopes of the Czech-Moravian Highlands (Českomoravská vrchovina), Moravian Karst (Moravský kras) and the Drahany Highlands (Drahanská vrchovina). This part of the region has a large share of forested areas and very scenic countryside suitable for hiking and cycling and in the Moravian Karst also for caving and rock-climbing. On the contrary, most of the southern part of South Moravia belongs to the Dyje-Svratka Valley (Dyjsko-svratecký úval) which is characterized by mildly undulating landscapes often covered with vineyards or flat but very fertile agricultural landscapes with the warmest climate in the Czech Republic. The lowest point of South Moravia can be found here – the confluence of Dyje and Morava rivers - 150 m above sea level is also the southernmost part of the region. The City of Brno is located right in the place where these two types of landscape meet and thus enjoys a combination of both, a scenic and forested hinterland to the west and north, as well as a pleasant, mild climate and the proximity of wine and fruit producing areas to the south and east. Finally, the White Carpathians (Bílé Kapraty) located in the south-eastern part of South Moravia represent the highest elevation within the region (highest peak is Durda with 842 m above sea level). They form a natural boundary with Slovakia and represent one of the most pristine natural areas in the whole of Czech Republic with terrains suitable for cross-country skiing and also with very interesting lively folk traditions. Population and Settlements With a population of 1,187,777 inhabitants, South Moravia is the fourth most populated region in the Czech Republic. The population density of 165 inhabitants per sq km is somewhat higher than the national average. Tab. 1: Population