Any business may seek cost support

The government on Thursday issued a decree on the sectors that can apply for support without providing further justification.

If a company does not operate in one of the sectors in the decree, it must justify the need for support and provide an account of the loss of turnover due to COVID-19, said the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in a press release.

The decree includes the sectors where turnover has fallen by at least 10% between 1 November 2020 and 28 February 2021, compared with the corresponding figure of turnover in the same period of 2019 to 2020.

The decrease in companies’ turnover will also be calculated based on these reference periods.

The State Treasury will accept applications for the third round of business cost support from 27 April 2021. The deadline for application is 23 June.

The third application round for business cost support covers 180 sectors, whereas 220 sectors were listed in the second round. The sectors now include travel agencies and tour operators, organisers of trade fairs and congresses, hotels and other accommodation services, restaurants, and cultural and entertainment businesses.

However, the State Treasury may also grant business cost support to companies in other sectors on a discretionary basis, if the company’s turnover has decreased by more than 30% during the support period.

The grounds for discretionary aid will be specified in the State Treasury’s application instructions in order to help companies to assess and explain in their applications why their turnover had decreased.

New companies are also eligible for business cost support, if they operate in the sectors defined in the decree. Companies established on or after 1 January 2020 are considered new companies.

They may be granted support based on changes in the average turnover of the sector. However, new companies will not be eligible for discretionary aid if they cannot demonstrate a change in the company’s turnover.

The state has earmarked a total of EUR 356 million for the third application round of business cost support.