The fixed costs support scheme for companies is extended!

The fixed costs support scheme was set up at the beginning of 2021 to alleviate the financial burdens of those companies fragilized by the health crisis. It provides financial support in addition to those granted by the solidarity fund. Initially planned to support the uncovered fixed costs of companies incurred during the 1st half of 2021 and extended to cover the losses incurred in July and August 2021, the scheme is now extended to cover the losses incurred in September 2021. The conditions for benefiting from the scheme mostly remain unchanged. Let’s see how it is applied.

Amount of the financial support

The financial support provided under this scheme varies according to the size of the company: for companies with more than 50 employees, 70% of the amount of the uncovered fixed costs and, for companies with fewer than 50 employees, 90% of the uncovered fixed costs. The aid may be requested on monthly or bimonthly, or even semi-annually basis, depending on the option chosen by the company.

Qualifying criteria for the extended fixed costs support scheme

First, it must be noted that the fixed costs support scheme is intended for companies that attain, on average, at least 1 million euros in monthly turnover.

Besides, the scheme is reserved to companies that:

- the government’s health measures didn’t allow to open during the month of September 2021.

or

- belong to one of the sectors severely affected by the crisis (S1 sectors) or to one of the sectors related to them (S1 bis sectors).

New: Businesses located in ski resorts as well as those located in shopping malls, which had been receiving grants under the previous fixed costs support scheme, are now excluded from the extended scheme.

Furthermore, the extended fixed costs support scheme benefits only companies already qualified for receiving grants under the solidarity fund for September 2021 and which have incurred at least 50% turnover loss in September 2021 and a sharp decline in their gross operating profit during the same period.

However, the fixed costs support scheme may also be granted to smaller businesses, without being subjected to any turnover criteria, if they have very high fixed costs and belong to one of the following sectors: hotels, traditional catering and tourist residences in mountain resorts, sports halls, indoor leisure centres, zoological gardens, spa establishments, amusement parks and theme parks, rental of leisure and sports goods or retail sale of sporting goods in specialized stores when at least 50% of the turnover is made in the retail sale of skis and ski boots, discotheques.

In practice: For the month of September 2021, the application to benefit from the fixed costs support scheme must be submitted within 45 days as of the date on which the solidarity fund for the month of September 2021 is received.