Why Corfo rejects R&D Law projects (and how to avoid it)

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Applying under the R&D Law doesn’t guarantee the benefit. According to a University of Chile study based on Corfo data, the certification rate was 54.4% in 2021, and that year only 37% of the amounts applied for were certified. In other words, a significant share of applications are rejected in full or in part.

The good news: the reasons for rejection are well known and mostly avoidable.

1. “It’s a routine improvement”

This is by far the most common reason. With 2015 data, 64% of rejections happened because Corfo considered the project to consist of “routine, repetitive or minor improvements, adaptations and analyses”, one of the law’s express exclusions.

Rejection on NovaTax Blog

Why Corfo rejects R&D Law projects (and how to avoid it)

1. “It’s a routine improvement”