According to today's announcement by the European Commission, the Greek subsidy programme of EUR 800 million has been approved. under EU state aid rules to support tourism businesses in the tourism sector affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

The scheme is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and will be open to companies of all sizes that experienced a decrease in turnover of more than 30% in 2020, compared to 2019.

The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Framework, according to a Commission communication. Executive Vice President, Margarete Vestager, responsible for Competition Policy, noted that "this Greek scheme of €800 million is a very important step in the right direction. will facilitate access to liquidity for businesses operating in the tourism sector. These businesses have been severely affected by the pandemic and this scheme will help them to continue their economic activity in these difficult times."

Following this communication, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in the meeting he had with the representatives of tourism businesses on the support of the industry during the first months of restarting their operation stated that: "We have just received the relevant approval from the European Commission, so we can also proceed with the official announcement of a new Support Programme for the tourism industry, up to €420 million. Working capital, a subsidy which will be up to 400,000 euros per VAT number. It will be addressed to the whole range of tourism businesses, hotels, accommodation, rooms to let and camping, but also to agencies and tourist buses. We are talking primarily about support directed at small and medium-sized enterprises."

Action to subsidize tourism businesses up to 400,000 euros per VAT number

Details of the action to support tourism businesses:

The action is funded through the Operational Program "Competitiveness- Entrepreneurship-Innovation" (EPAnEK) of the NSRF 2021-2027 and concerns small and medium-sized (300 million euros) and large (50 million euros) tourism enterprises:

• Hotels, accommodation, rooms to let
• Tourist offices / agencies
• Tourist bus operators

Franchise companies are also included, provided that certain regulatory criteria of the NSRF are met.

The amount of the aid amounts to 5% for accommodation and 2.5% for other businesses on the turnover of the main CAR or CAR with the largest revenues of 2019.

For enterprises established in 2019 or 2020 the aid amount is defined as follows: [(turnover 2019 or 2020)/number of days of operation ]3655%.

The maximum amount of aid is set at EUR 400 000 per VAT number.

Conditions for participation in the Action

The criteria for inclusion in the action for tourism enterprises are:

A) Legal operation of the business
B) Substantial activity in the above activities (main Nace Code or Nace Code with the largest revenues in the tourism sector)
C) Reduction of annual turnover 2020 compared to 2019 greater than or equal to 30%
D) Staff for the year 2019 at least equal to 1 Annual Work Unit (AWU) of paid employment
E) Obligation to submit VAT returns (Normal VAT Regime)

Please note that:

• For tourism businesses established in 2019, an equal number of days of operation in 2020 is calculated for the turnover drop
• Businesses established in 2020 with non-zero turnover are automatically included in the action
• Business. that were under construction in 2019 and started to have revenues in 2020 are treated as established in 2020

Application procedure for support for tourist operations

Applications will be submitted to the State Aid Information System (SIPS) of the Ministry of Development and Investment, at the following address: https://www.ependyseis.gr/mis/ . The start of applications is set for June and applications can be submitted until 30 September 2021.

The evaluation will be immediate. The disbursement of the grant will take place immediately after the approval and inclusion in the action, i.e. without the need to submit a new application.

The tourism enterprises included in the action are obliged to:

• Consume the grant until 31-12-2021. The check will be made on the basis of the declared expenses in the periodic VAT returns (Fields 361, 363, 364, 365)
• Employ in 2021 at least 0.5 Annual Labour Unit (ALU) of paid labour. The verification will be based on data from the ERGANI Information System .

Please note that:

A) The amount of aid to be granted by the action should not exceed 70% of the sum of the amounts of Codes 361, 363, 364 and 365 of the periodic VAT return form for the period 1/4/2021 – 31/12/2021.

B) The sum of the amount of public funding from this action and the amount of public funding in the context of the actions to support businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic of the Regional Operational Programs of the NSRF throughout Greece, may not exceed 100% of the sum of the amounts indicated in Code 367 of the form of the periodic VAT returns for the year 2021.

If either (A) and/or (B) applies, then the excess amount of public funding of the last grant awarded in time shall be charged as unduly paid and reimbursed by the aid recipient.

More detailed information on the application process and the required documents for participation in the Action for tourism businesses will be given when the Call for Action is published, which is expected in the coming days