9/9/2026
CII accredited: what it means for your projects
Compova is accredited for France’s Innovation Tax Credit (CII). For an SME, subcontracted work can count towards the claim — if the project is genuinely product innovation.
What the CII is
The Crédit d’impôt innovation (CII) is a French tax credit, reserved for SMEs. It covers the design of prototypes or pilot installations for new products — as distinct from research and development, which falls under the research tax credit (CIR).
In practical terms: a company developing a new product, and spending money to take it through to a prototype, can recover part of those costs as a tax credit.
This is a French scheme. It is mainly relevant to SMEs established in France.
The advantage for the client
From 1 January 2025, the mainland France rate is 20 % of eligible expenditure (it was 30 % previously). Eligible costs are capped at €400,000 a year, so the maximum credit is €80,000. The scheme is currently set to run until 31 December 2027.
The CII does not replace a project budget. It can reduce the net cost when the work is genuinely product innovation and properly documented.
Why accreditation matters
When an SME subcontracts part of this work to a provider — a design office, engineering firm, or similar — the invoiced amounts only enter the CII base if that provider is accredited.
Without accreditation, subcontracting is not accepted, even if the project would otherwise qualify.
Compova is CII-accredited. For our SME clients, that makes it possible to include our fees in their claim — provided the project itself falls within the scheme.
What this covers at Compova
At Compova, this mainly concerns design and prototyping of industrial products: parts and assemblies, especially in composites, in naval, wind and other industrial contexts, when the work is truly a new product.
Accreditation is not a blank cheque. Project coordination, in-service support or other work outside product innovation is not eligible simply because Compova is accredited. Eligibility depends on the nature of the work, project by project.
In practice
The simplest approach is to raise it early, when the project is being framed. We can say whether the intended work is likely to sit within a CII approach. Tax advice — the claim base, supporting evidence, the return itself — remains a matter for your accountant or tax adviser.
Rates, caps and conditions can change. This note is indicative; it is not a substitute for a tax analysis.