Advance payments for exceptional business aid for December now being made

Advance payments for exceptional business aid for December have begun. As in the case of the exceptional business aid for November, advance payments of up to €50,000 can also be granted for the exceptional business aid for December. Own-account workers can file their applications for up to €5,000 themselves.

The instrument of exceptional business aid for December makes it possible for business owners who continued to be directly or indirectly affected by the closures in December to claim grants of up to 75% of the turnover they generated in the reference period in 2019 as a way of compensation for the damage suffered. Applications for this aid have been accepted from own-account workers since 22 December and from ‘auditing third parties’ (e.g. tax advisers, auditors) since 23 December. Starting today, businesses are now receiving advance payments.

Here is an overview of the essential information on exceptional business aid for the month of December:

• Applications can be made by companies directly or indirectly affected by the temporary closures and in line with the November Assistance Programme rules.
• The December Assistance Programme will in principle again provide pro rata grants of up to 75% of the turnover in December 2019 based on the number of days of closure in December 2020. European State aid law allows for subsidies of up to a current total of €1 million to be paid, without the claimant having to provide specific evidence of damage. To the extent that the companies’ scope under State aid law allows – i.e. taking into account the aid they have already been granted, the vast majority of companies will thus be able tobe paid the subsidy of up to 75% of their turnover for the same month in the preceding year. The provision of grants of between €1 million and €4 million euros under the federal framework for assistance for fixed costs had already been approved by Brussels. In addition, the Federal Government is working with the European Commission to ensure that the maximum amounts applying for small-scale aid and aid for fixed costs under the Temporary Framework are significantly increased. On the subject of grants exceeding €4 million, further coordination with the European Commission is taking place to obtain separate approval based on the provisions on compensation for damage under EU State aid law.
• Applications can be filed via a single IT platform for the whole of Germany at www.ueberbrueckungshilfe-unternehmen.de (in German). Applications can be submitted by tax consultants, auditors or other third parties, as is the case with the November Assistance Programme. Own-account workers applying for a grant of less than €5,000 can submit their applications directly using their ELSTER certificate.