Financial aid programs in Bulgaria and the EU to support businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Under discussion is the allocation of state credit for affected European companies that is up to 5% of their annual turnover
The initiative of the European Commission for financial aid has not yet been finalized because the regulator on competition in the EU expects the opinion to the relevant national authorities.
The loan is expected to cover up to 40% of the employer’s salary costs.
The EU has already eased the rules on state aid. Trillions of euros in aid have been released to save the businesses most affected by the pandemic.
Working programs for financial assistance to support Bulgarian business
Operational Program “Innovation and Competitiveness” (OPIC)
OPIC has already launched its project “Support to micro and small enterprises to overcome the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
OPIC’s Management Board wants to provide operating capital to the affected small and medium-sized enterprises in the country in order to cope with the pandemic crisis.
The amount of the subsidy:
Minimum subsidy: BGN 3,000.
Maximum subsidy: BGN 10,000 (maximum amount is expected to be increased).
The first to submit their application documents will have priority in the evaluation.
Conditions for application:
- Participants may be legal entities or Sole proprietors (in Bulgarian – ET), registered before January 1, 2019. There must be existing data on business activity in 2018 and 2019. Applicants must meet the definition of a small or medium enterprise according to the law of the same name.
- They must have a reported decrease of at least 20% in a turnover for the month preceding the month in which the aid application is submitted. The arithmetic mean turnover from 2019 is taken as a basis.
- The difficulties must have occurred after 1 January 2020 and must be the result of a coronavirus pandemic.
“60 to 40” Program
The “60 to 40” Program were launched by the Council of Ministers to compensate companies affected by the closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic. After much controversy and discussion, the original version of the program was revised. The range of businesses that could benefit was greatly expanded.
Outside the program are enterprises engaged in agriculture; finance and insurance; education; government. And also: activities of extraterritorial organizations and services; human health and social work; activities of households as employers.
All other companies and businesses can apply for the program. If the company has stopped working due to the coronavirus pandemic, workers and employees have the opportunity to be paid compensation to maintain their employment in the company.
Businesses whose activities are directly prohibited by restrictive measures do not need to prove a reduction in their revenues. Those for whom there is no direct ban on stopping work can apply if their income in the month preceding the application decreased by 20% compared to the same month in 2019.
In the final version of the program from 2.04.2020 there are 3 different options for applying for compensation:
Option I: Due to a ban on a state body to perform the activity – Model 1.
Opt. II: Due to reduced revenues – Model 2.
Opt. III: In case of part-time work – Model 3.
Obtaining interest-free loans
The Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) has launched a program for granting interest-free loans of up to BGN 4,500 to individuals. They are designed to help people who, due to the coronavirus pandemic, are unable to practice their profession. These are mainly self-employed and employees on unpaid leave.
12 banks applied under the program, and BDB has already signed agreements with the first 4 of them: Municipal Bank, Fibank, Investbank, International Asset Bank. All four banks are already accepting applications for interest-free loans.
(How to open a bank account in Bulgaria?)
Detailed requirements, necessary documents and ASSISTANCE when applying for financial aid programs
If you or your company are interested in participating in any of the listed programs (or another program in Bulgaria or the EU related to overcoming the financial consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic), call us (+ 359-884-127525; + 359- 2-4260393)!
VD&A Law Firm has extensive experience in the areas of Commercial Law, Tax Law, Investment, European Investment, Administrative Law and others. Our experienced experts will help you prepare all the necessary documents and comply with the requirements in a way that will ensure maximum success when applying.
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