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COVID-19 Finance Update: Lockdown Revenue-Compensation

11/09/2020 - Reading time: 4 minutes

Author

Florian Kranebitter

Partner

In accordance with the ordinance of the Federal Minister of Finance pursuant to Sec 3b para. 3 ABBAG Act concerning guidelines on the granting of a lockdown revenue-compensation by the COVID-19 Finanzierungsagentur des Bundes GmbH (COFAG) entrepreneurs which are directly (and their sector directly) affected by the official closures by the second lockdown can apply since 6 November 2020 and until 15 December 2020 at the latest for compensation for revenue via FinanzOnline.

Entitled are companies and entrepreneurs who (a) are on the one hand directly affected by the restrictions of the COVID 19 protective measures ordinance of 2 November 2020 (these are essentially the prescribed restrictions on the use of cable cars and rack railroads, in the hospitality industry and for accommodation facilities, sports facilities and certain leisure facilities as well as for sports events and other events) and (b) whose industry is directly affected by such ordinance (see list of affected branches: https://www.umsatzersatz.at/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Liste-der-direkt-betroffenen-Branchen-1.pdf).

As it is the case in respect to all COVID-19 support measures, the companies and entrepreneurs must have their headquarters or permanent establishments in Austria and must have an operational activity in Austria. The companies and entrepreneurs must be an operating companies and therefore having achieved revenues before 1 November 2020, whereby the revenue replacement is granted independent of the business form.

Lockdown revenue-compensation is excluded in case of certain tax and financial offences or fraud. Further excluded are entrepreneurs whose assets are subject to insolvency proceedings (reorganization proceedings pursuant to Section 167 et seq. Austrian Insolvency Act are harmless, however), entrepreneurs who give notice for termination to employees in the period from 3 November 2020 to 30 November 2020, as well as associations (Vereine) that are not entrepreneurially active within the meaning of the Austrian VAT Act.

The compensation per entrepreneur amounts to 80 percent of the sales generated in the comparison period September 2019 and is limited to a maximum amount of EUR 800,000 (only above this threshold other COVIDE-19 aids, but not the fixed cost subsidy from the phase 1, are to be offset) and amounts to at least EUR 2,300.

The revenue for the comparison period November 2019 is determined by the financial administration alternatively by reference to (a) the revenue stated in the advance VAT return November 2019 (alternatively by the sum of the advance VAT returns for the fourth quarter of 2019) (alternatively by the sum of the advance VAT returns for the fourth quarter of 2019 divided by three if no VAT return existed for November 2019); (b) the sum of the turnover stated in the last assessed annual VAT return, if this annual VAT return relates to the assessment for 2019, 2018, 2017 or 2016, divided by twelve; (c) the total of the sales revenues reported in the last validly assessed or determined corporate income tax, income tax or assessment return, if the respective tax return relates to the assessment or determination in 2019, 2018, 2017 or 2016, divided by twelve; or (d) the total of the sales reve-nues reported in the advance VAT returns 2020 divided by the number of months covered by the advance VAT returns.

In principle, there is no repayment obligation on the part of the recipient of the lockdown revenue-compensation; exceptions to this principle apply in particular if the entrepreneur has violated duties of information or due diligence in course of the application.

The application for the granting of a lockdown revenue-compensation is to be made exclusively to COFAG, whereby the technical interface for the submission of applications is FinanzOnline. The applicant can be represented by an authorized tax consultant, auditor or accountant when submitting an application via FinanzOnline; however, it is not mandatory to involve such a representative.
 

Author

Florian Kranebitter

Partner