Louise O'Reilly
Question:229. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Finance if the temporary business energy support scheme has been approved by the European Commission. [59095/22]
View answerTuesday, 29 November 2022
Questions (229, 230, 235, 237)
Louise O'Reilly
Question:230. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Finance the way that businesses that have changed energy provider recently, and as a result have commenced new energy bills, will qualify for the temporary business energy support scheme given that there will be no continuity in their relevant energy bills. [59096/22]
View answer
Marian Harkin
Question:235. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Finance if an organisation (details supplied) will qualify for the temporary business energy support scheme; if not, the reason; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59329/22]
View answerLouise O'Reilly
Question:237. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Finance the reason that oil has been excluded from the temporary business energy support scheme. [59439/22]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 229, 230, 235 and 237 together.
Details of the new Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) are set out in Finance Bill 2022. The scheme will provide support to qualifying businesses in respect of energy costs relating to the period from 1 September 2022 to 28 February 2023 and will be available to tax compliant businesses carrying on a trade or profession the profits of which are chargeable to tax under Case I or Case II of Schedule D where they meet the eligibility criteria. The scheme is being administered by Revenue and opened for registration on Revenue’s Online Service (ROS) on 26 November 2022. Businesses will be able to make claims for TBESS using ROS from 5 December 2022 and payments will commence under the scheme later in December after the Finance Bill has been enacted.
I can confirm that the European Commission gave State Aid approval for the TBESS on 24 November.
The TBESS operates by reference to bills for the metered supply of natural gas and electricity. The scheme is designed around determining increases in unit prices and actual consumption for the period in which a claim is made compared with a reference period that is 12 months prior to the claim period concerned. It is aimed at businesses whose average unit gas or electricity price has risen by over 50% for the relevant billing period between September 2022 and February 2023, as compared with their average unit gas or electricity price in for the corresponding reference period in the previous year. The scheme is based on information made available through electricity and gas meters, identifiable by a Meter Point Reference Number (MPRN) in the case of electricity, or a Gas Point Reference Number (GPRN) in the case of gas.
For energy sources such as oil and LPG which are not provided through a metered supply, it would not be possible to accurately determine the actual usage for each monthly claim period, the relevant unit price for each claim period, or the actual increase in that unit price and usage over the same period in the reference period.
Where a business has changed energy providers, the business will continue to be a qualifying business under the scheme so long as its energy costs meet the energy costs threshold and the other eligibility criteria are met. Where a business changes its energy provider, its MPRN and GPRN remain the same. When making a claim, the business will simply enter on ROS the details from the bills it receives from its new energy provider in the same way as it entered bill details from its previous energy provider.
Payments will be made on the basis of 40% of the amount of the increase in eligible electricity or natural gas costs between the bill amount which is the subject of the claim and the bill amount in the corresponding reference period in the previous year, subject to a monthly cap on payments of €10,000 per trade or profession. The monthly cap may be increased where a business carries on its trade or profession from more than one location, as identified by the business having multiple electricity accounts/ MPRNs in different locations. The cap may be increased by €10,000 per electricity account/ MPRN, subject to an overall monthly cap of €30,000 per trade or profession. The increased cap is available in relation to both electricity and natural gas costs relating to the trade or profession. An overall cap on the amount of support that a business can claim will also apply in line with requirements of the European Commission’s Temporary Crisis Framework.
Social projects such as the ones included in the details supplied with question 59329 are not-for-profit organisations rather than businesses that are carrying on a trade or profession the profits of which are chargeable to tax under Case I or Case II of Schedule D. They would not therefore be within the scope of the TBESS and would not be eligible to apply for support under the scheme. Charities that carry on activities that would be chargeable to tax as trading income, but for an available tax exemption, are within the scope of the scheme.
Revenue has published comprehensive guidelines on the operation of the scheme, which includes information on eligibility for the scheme and how to register. The guidelines are available on the Revenue website (starting-a-business > documents >tbess-guidelines.pdf).
Questions Nos. 230, 235 and 237 answered with Question No. 229.