Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 February 2021
199. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Finance the measures being taken to ensure new businesses established in 2020 have access to the Covid restrictions support scheme (details supplied); if the scheme will be reviewed to ensure these businesses have access to appropriate support; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10026/21]
View answerThe CRSS is a targeted support for businesses significantly impacted by restrictions introduced by the Government under public health regulations to combat the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The support is available to companies, self-employed individuals and partnerships who carry on a trade or trading activities, the profits from which are chargeable to tax under Case I of Schedule D, from a business premises located in a region subject to restrictions introduced in line with the Living with Covid-19 Plan.
Details of CRSS are set out in Finance Act 2020 and detailed operational guidelines, which are based on the terms and conditions of the scheme as set out in the legislation, have been published on the Revenue website at: https://www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/press-office/budget-information/2021/crss-guidelines.pdf
To qualify under the scheme a business must, under specific terms of the Covid restrictions, be required to either prohibit or significantly restrict, customers from accessing their business premises to acquire goods or services, with the result that the business either has to temporarily close or to operate at a significantly reduced level. A business must be able to demonstrate that, because of the Covid restrictions, the turnover of the qualifying activity (“relevant business activity”) during the period of restrictions will be no more than 25% of the “relevant turnover amount”.
The “relevant turnover amount” is calculated by reference to a business’s average weekly turnover for the relevant business activity in a prior period, the identification of which period depends on whether the business is an “established business” or a “new business”. An established business is a business that commenced trading prior to 26 December 2019. The relevant turnover amount for a “new business”, i.e. a business commenced by a person between 26 December 2019 and 12 October 2020, is based on the average weekly turnover of the business in the period from commencement to 12 October 2020.
A new business who was prohibited from operating due to Government restrictions in a week or weeks in the period from commencement to 12 October, and who can demonstrate to Revenue that the business received no turnover in that week or weeks, can exclude the week or weeks when calculating the average weekly turnover. This ensures periods in 2020, during which a business was unable to operate because of public health restrictions, do not impact negatively on the business’s average weekly turnover and, therefore, on its entitlements under the scheme.
