Revenue published guidelines on the operation of the Business Resumption Support Scheme (BRSS). The BRSS is a targeted support for businesses impacted by public health restrictions, particularly those businesses that continue to be significantly impacted even after an easing of public health restrictions. Claims under the scheme can be made between 1 September and 30 November 2021.
Section 5 of the Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021 provides for the BRSS.
A qualifying person can make a claim under the BRSS for a single payment, known as an “Advanced Credit for Trading Expenses (“ACTE”)”, in an amount equal to three times the sum of:
10 percent of their average weekly turnover up to €20,000; and
5 percent of any excess of average weekly turnover above €20,000,
subject to a maximum payment of €15,000.
Eligibility
The BRSS is available to eligible businesses carrying on a relevant business activity, which can include companies, sole-traders, self-employed individuals, partnerships, charities and approved supporting bodies.
To be eligible for BRSS, the business must carry on a relevant business activity, i.e., profits of the trade, or trading activities of the business, must be chargeable to tax under Case 1 of Schedule D.
Qualifying criteria
To qualify for the BRSS, the claimant must be able to demonstrate that, in respect of the relevant business activity, the turnover amount for the specified period will be no more than 25 percent of the reference turnover amount.
The turnover amount for the specified period is the amount of turnover of the relevant business activity during the period 1 September 2020 to 31 August 2021.
The reference turnover amount will be calculated based on an extrapolation of the average weekly turnover (VAT exclusive) for the relevant business activity in a defined comparable prior period.
For the calculation of the average weekly turnover, the reference period for businesses established:
before 26 December 2019 is from 1 January (or when the business commenced) to 31 December 2019;
between 26 December 2019 and 9 March 2020, is from 26 December 2019 (or when the business commenced) to 15 March 2020; and
between 10 March 2020 and 26 August 2020, is from 10 March 2020 (or when the business commenced) to 31 August 2020.
The claimant must also be able to demonstrate that the business:
has complied with obligations in relation to registering and accounting for VAT;
is actively trading and intends to continue to do so; and
is not eligible to make a claim for the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) for any week that includes 1 September 2021.
Treatment of the ACTE for tax purposes
The ACTE will reduce the amount of trading expenses deductible in computing the taxable profits of a business. It will not result in an additional tax liability unless the business has trading profits for the year. Where the business is in a loss-making position, the ACTE will reduce the amount of trading losses available for offset against future or previous profits of the business.
Making a claim
The ROS portal for registering and making a claim for the BRSS will open in early September. The qualifying person will need to register for BRSS on ROS and complete a claim. The scheme is operated on a self-assessment basis, so supporting documentation is not required when making a claim, however a qualifying person should retain evidence supporting the basis of their claim, which may be requested by Revenue under future eligibility criteria checks.
Further information is available in the Guidelines on the operation of the BRSS. Updates will be made to these guidelines to provide further details on how to register and make a claim.