On Saturday, 28 November 2020, the Act Determining the Intervention Measures to Mitigate the Consequences of the Second Wave of COVID-19 Epidemic (ZIUOPDVE), also called PKP 6, entered into force, extending certain already existing measures and introducing some new measures to mitigate and eliminate the consequences of the COVID-19 epidemic. The key measure in this legislative package is a partial subsidy of fixed expenses for companies. This form of aid will be available in the period from 1 October to 31 December 2020 to businesses who meet the conditions described below. The Government may extend this period for additional six months.
Any natural and legal person who has been registered to carry out economic activity by 1 September 2020 at the latest and has at least one employee on the day the Act enterd into force, or is self-employed or a partner-manager covered by the mandatory pension and disability insurance scheme on the day of entry into force of the PKP 6, is entitled to a partial subsidy of fixed expenses under this Act.
The condition for receiving the aid is that the company, which is unable to carry out its activity due to the epidemic or is carrying it out to a significantly reduced extent, estimates that its sales revenues in 2020 will fall by at least 30 percent compared to 2019. The company must also ensure that uncovered fixed costs are not covered by other sources, such as insurance, temporary aid measures or support from other sources.
The Act provides for two different amounts of aid:
- companies with a revenue decline of 30 to 70% will receive a reimbursement of 1.8 percent of annual revenue for the entire last quarter,
- companies with a decline in revenues of more than 70% will receive a reimbursement of 3.6 percent of annual revenues for the entire last quarter.
The maximum amount of the subsidy may not exceed EUR 1.000,00 per employee per month, which means that the maximum amount of the subsidy for the entire period is EUR 3.000,00 per employee.
In addition, the amount of the subsidy may not exceed 70 percent of the net loss for a medium-sized or large enterprise, or 90 percent of the net loss for a micro or small enterprise. For companies incorporated after 1 October 2019, the total amount of state aids received should not exceed EUR 800.000,00.
Companies that were already companies in difficulty on 31 December 2019 are not eligible for aid. The following undertakings are also excluded:
- direct or indirect users of the state or municipal budget (with the share of revenues from public sources higher than 70 percent in 2019),
- employers carrying out a financial or insurance activity belonging to group K according to the standard classification of activities and having more than ten employees on the day of application, and
- foreign diplomatic missions and consulates, international organizations, missions of international organizations and institutions, bodies and agencies of the European Union in the Republic of Slovenia.
The deadline for the submission of a statement via the FURS information system is 31 December 2020. The subsidy will be paid in a lump sum by 21 January 2021 at the latest.
Changes in the reimbursement of fixed costs under the PKP 7
PKP 7 (Act Determining Intervention Measures to Assist in Mitigating the Consequences of the Second Wave of COVID-19 Epidemic, Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 203/20 - ZIUPOPDVE) introduces some changes regarding the measure of subsidizing fixed costs.
The cap on the payment of the maximum amount of reimbursement of fixed costs relating to employees is increased to EUR 2,000 per month per employee or self-employed person or company member, shareholder or founder of a cooperative or institution in cases where the beneficiary shows more than 70% decrease in income in the eligible period. However, the limit of EUR 1000 remains for beneficiaries who show a decrease in revenue between 30 and 70% in the eligible period.
Another novelty is the definition of employees that are taken into account when calculating the limit. Namely, the average number of employees is taken into account, which is calculated as the number of working hours in the period from 1 December 2019 to 30 November 2020, for which employees received a salary and salary compensation at the expense of the employer. For applications submitted by beneficiaries before the entry into force of the ZIUPOPDVE, the said change shall be taken into account if it is more favorable for the beneficiaries. Beneficiaries claim more favorable treatment by supplementing the application (correction of the application in eDavki), which is expected to be available from 5 January 2021. The deadline for submission is 15 January 2021. More detailed information on the correction of the declaration and the submission of the first declaration on the basis of the changes from PKP7 is available in Slovene here.
ZIUPOPDVE also provides for the possibility that when calculating the decline in sales revenue, sales revenue in the eligible period may be taken into account in relation to the average number of employees or sales revenue in relation to the value of fixed assets, excluding land, if such sales revenue is more favorable for the beneficiary.
