The state aid scheme for HoReCa has been rectified in Parliament
Beneficiaries of the state aid intended for HoReCa companies will have the obligation to maintain their activity for at least 6 months or 12 months, and not for 1 year or 2 years, as the Government had previously provided.
Additionally, organizers of events, conferences, fairs, and exhibitions will be able to benefit from funding, and the eligibility of expenses and the verification of their link to the activity for which they are applying will be eliminated from the criteria for obtaining state aid. At the same time, commercial banks may be selected by the authorities as partners in the program, in the hope that they will be able to grant, from their own sources, additional loans to the scheme’s beneficiaries.
All these changes have now been adopted through the final vote of the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body of Parliament in this field, and will enter into force after their promulgation by the head of state.
In order to grant the state aid, only the following will continue to be verified:
- a) fulfillment of the eligibility conditions provided in the implementation procedure of the state aid scheme;
- b) the existence of the accounting expertise report, electronically signed by the chartered accountant, or the audit report, electronically signed by the financial auditor;
- c) the correspondence between the annual calculation base obtained from the eligible activity for the years 2019 and 2020, declared on their own responsibility by the applicant in the registration form, with the values calculated, certified, and assumed by the chartered accountant or the financial auditor;
d) that they do not record outstanding tax obligations and other budgetary claims administered by the central tax body defined according to art. 1, point 31 of Law 207/2015 on the Fiscal Procedure Code, with subsequent amendments and completions. In this regard, the state aid provider will automatically extract the tax attestation certificates through the PATRIMVEN IT application. If such outstanding obligations are recorded, the beneficiary undertakes to pay them from the aid granted within the program.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long must HoReCa businesses maintain their activity?
Beneficiaries are now required to maintain activity for 6 or 12 months, a reduction from the previously proposed 1 or 2-year periods.
Are event organizers eligible for this aid?
Yes, the rectified scheme now includes organizers of events, conferences, fairs, and exhibitions as eligible beneficiaries.
Can companies with tax debts apply for the aid?
Yes, but any outstanding tax obligations must be paid using the funds received from the state aid program.