The coronavirus pandemic continues to affect many fields of business, which is why the Ministry of Trade and Industry has prepared the third proclamation in the context of the COVID Rent program. Applications for support in the context of the 3rd proclamation will be accepted from 1. 2. 2021 and will be accepted until 1. 4. 2021. The applicable period is 1. 10. 2020 – 31. 12. 2020 (October, November, December or, more precisely, the 4th Quarter 2020).
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What is new in the third proclamation?
Besides facilities which had to be closed due to government measures, applications can also be made by retailers who fall into the exceptions expressly stated in points I. 1. a) to 1. 1. af) of Ruling No. 1376 from 23rd December 2020 and prove that their outlets incurred a loss in turnover and sales of goods or provision of services by at least 66 % due to enacted special and crisis measures for the applicable period in comparison to the same period in 2019. For instance, laundries, cleaners, florists, pet stores, tea sellers etc. are at issue.
Newly, the rental relationship entered into between affiliated persons is newly not an obstacle for submission of an application. Thus support can be provided also to those who have an agreement entered into with a related party, controlling or controlled person or with a person belonging to a consolidation group. The only condition in this direction is that the individual tenant and landlord cannot be identical.
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Simplifications in contrast to the previous COVID Rent Program proclamation
The manner for filing the application is via the information system accessible from the Portál AIS MPO portal. Note! Prior to commencing work in the portal, one has to secure an active individual identity (account), a so-called eIdentitu (tr. eldentity). Applications can be filed, adjusted and evaluated; release of subsidy funds, however, will be possible only after conferral of the program by the European Commission, which is still underway. All necessary confirmation and forms have been prepared for the applicant in the information system.
If the applicant applied successfully in the second proclamation, the system will offer an automatic import of both their user data and all data for all their facilities. If no facts have changed for the applicant, they can simply copy the successful application from the second proclamation and file it within a matter of minutes. The landlord’s affidavit no longer has to have an officially verified signature.
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Who is an authorized applicant?
An authorized applicant is an entrepreneur – an individual or corporation performing entrepreneurial activity on the basis of Act No. 455/1991 Coll. on self-employment (Industrial Code) as amended, or in a similar manner.
The program is determined for an applicant who in the applicable period (4th Quarter 2020) used facilities not in their ownership, on the basis of an existing rental agreement valid and effective in the applicable period. The condition is that the rental relationship of the applicant in the given facilities was valid and effective before 1st October 2020.
A further condition is that either (i) the applicant has been forbidden to perform retail business activity in the facility on the basis of the government Ruling No. 1376 from 23rd December 2020, or (ii) with respect to facilities subject to exceptions stated in points I. 1. a) to I. 1. af) Ruling No. 1376 from 23rd December 2020, the applicant’s sales have decreased in these facilities by at least 66 % in comparison to the same period in 2019 as a result of special and crisis measures.
A condition for drawing is payment of at least 50 % of the applicable rent by the support applicant prior to filing the application. If deferral of rent payment by the support applicant occurred on the basis of Act No. 210/2020 Coll. or by an agreement between the support applicant and the landlord, the condition is considered fulfilled if at least 50 % of the applicable rent had been paid by the support applicant prior to filing the application for provision of support.
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What is the maximum support amount?
Identically to the second proclamation, this will be 50 % of the rent. The maximum support amount is CZK 10M for all the facilities per single applicant. (For this purpose, support recognized in individual COVID – Rent proclamations are not added.)