Thousands of merchants have been left out: this is the first time in a decade that they have seen such injustice

Thousands of merchants cannot benefit from the support

Zita Sorokienė, President of the Lithuanian Association of Small Entrepreneurs and Traders, told Delfi that the procedure established by the government to grant partial rent compensation includes only rent for buildings or premises, but does not include rent for markets .

The description of the measure “Partial rental compensation for companies most affected by COVID-19” states that rental compensation can be provided for the services that cover the rental of premises and the rental costs specified in the lease.

According to the CEO of INVEGA, Kęstutis Motiejūnas, the facilities must be intended for economic activities and are understood as a specific object, i. and. The space of the building, which has its own unique number, is limited by walls and other partitions, etc., because specific leases are entered into, which are recorded at the Records Center.

“If the markets have such premises or are located in premises for which leases have been concluded, which are registered in the Registration Center, and the applicant complies with the concepts of entrepreneur, company or group of companies as described in the measure , you can apply for rent compensation. Unfortunately, according to the currently established procedure, the markets are not considered local, “says the head of INVEGA.

Z. Sorokienė points out that there are around 150 markets in Lithuania, so thousands of traders cannot use this support measure.

“Most markets have trading venues with kiosks, temporary equipment, small pavilions, and merchants rent them for a long time. They do not enter into any contracts because they are not bound by them. Therefore they were not included in the description.” says Z. Sorokienė.

According to the head of the Lithuanian Markets and Markets Association, Vytenis Butkevičius, during the summer season there are around 80 thousand people in the Lithuanian markets. small merchants, in winter they fall to 50 thousand. Currently, many people cannot benefit from state support for rent compensation.

“When the weather is nice, there are around 10,000 people in Gariūnai. Merchants, at the moment, I would say 8,000. In the ordeal market in good times – 5,000, and currently – 3,000. In other markets, various We estimate that in the summer about 80,000 people trade in the Lithuanian markets, there may be around 50,000 in the winter, “he notes, adding that the associations are currently preparing explanatory notes to help these people.

“This is the most vulnerable segment of society among entrepreneurs. Some people did not have the opportunity to buy for basic necessities because their activities stopped, they did not have large financial reserves.

Markets are a place where you can buy a product first-hand, so we fight with our teeth and nails to get the most compensation possible for small businesses. “An entrepreneur will not” marinate “that money when he receives it, he will immediately put it into circulation, and the money will flow into the Lithuanian economy: one person will buy and contract other services, and large companies already have large reserves,” says V. Butkevičius .

According to the interlocutor, the merchants do not have leases, but according to Lithuanian law, they do not have to be: “The market can rent a counter space or a place for a car without a contract, a verbal agreement is sufficient. The issued document is a cash register receipt. Another option is monthly tickets, where the merchant can buy the seat for a month, but the contract is not necessary either. “

Market revenue fell 80 percent.

Asta Pačekajūtė, director of the Central Market of Panevėžys, says that the life of the market is recovering: all the merchants have returned. There are a few hundred regular traders here alone, and many more that trade for weeks. Depending on the season and weather conditions, there are different vendors here every day, they can change up to 1.5 thousand throughout the season.

“Both we and the vendors have jobs,” says the interviewee. – But very sad for us, the administration and the merchants of cruel injustice when we don’t see the state helping us in these difficult times. “

A. Pačekajūtė says the market applied 50 percent to small merchants and, in April, 80 percent. Discounts As a result, market revenue fell, as it only lives on rentals.

“All the markets in Lithuania actually applied percentages significantly higher than those requested by the state. It is very sad that we are not getting anything for that,” says the interlocutor.

At the central market in Panevėžys, the place can be rented from € 30 per month. It is true that, depending on the location, its size, the closed or open space, the rental price can reach several hundred euros. The interlocutor emphasizes that the market has several spaces: merchants work both indoors and in the yard.

Due to the fact that most merchants pay the rent for the commercial space and not the premises, they cannot benefit from state support. However, even more difficult is that many of them work without the leases necessary to obtain compensation.

“There are markets in Lithuania where people work without leases, in the past no one has been forced to sign an agreement with tenants. If the two parties agree, the money is paid on time, there are no complaints, he comes, he pays, he receives a check for the place and he changes. Others only trade one day or weekend. The market is adapted to smaller companies, the simplest form of trade, “explains A. Pačekajūtė.

Not only that, there is currently a great demand in the markets: “I know that all markets implement everything: disinfectant liquids are not cheap, they have to be paid for. In our market, employees had to receive training on how to manage flows, vendors also had to receive training on how they would have to continue working to meet all the requirements, because not everyone understands government resolutions. All facilities need to be sprayed and disinfected, there are definitely costs. ”

Market traders receive a € 257 subsidy from the state as self-employed, but it is definitely not enough to survive.

“The worst thing is that the big companies, the big supermarkets, were able to exchange clothes and shoes with food, in order to adapt. Our market merchants had bought products for the winter, the spring season. To buy other products, they have to sell the Previous products: winter, spring, but due to prohibited trade they were unable to sell, which left the money frozen.
They need to buy new products, shoes, sweaters, etc. Where do they get their money from? That support, 257 euros, is the value of the gold that can be invested in goods to be able to offer new goods to a buyer who will soon go to buy summer clothing, “says the interlocutor.

According to her, merchants jokingly believe that “the government does not love them”: they pay taxes in advance, but receive no help.

“This is the first time in 10 years in the labor market such an injustice. Some companies are marginalized and do not understand why,” she says.

A bureaucratic jungle too big

The head of the Lithuanian Markets and Markets Association says that the procedure is too complicated for small businesses today: it is extremely difficult for an ordinary person with a business to get support.

“It is very difficult for small businesses to receive support. Our arguments are ignored because we do not want to help small businesses. We believe that small businesses, as always, will continue to be disadvantaged.

The current procedure is not suitable for the average user. The person who needs money the most will get nothing. Instead of taking the example of other countries, such as the United States, where money is thrown at people from helicopters, we are creating a bureaucratic jungle. “A person has to read letters to get money, he sees that it is not worth much, because he wastes a lot of time and will receive little support,” he says.

Not a single euro was used for compensation

The INVEGA website publicly announces that to date 2,024 applications have been submitted for 2.2 million. 100 million euros in rental compensation, but of the 100 million euros provided for this measure. Eur used – 0 Eur.
According to INVEGA, in the provided statistics, in the case of the rent compensation measure, the system counts all the requests: both began to be completed, completed and sent. Therefore, it can be seen from the submitted applications that the applications are still being prepared.

According to INVEGA’s Friday data, there are 1,759 applications in the application preparation stage, 116 applications have been fully completed. The manager notes that only when the application is finally complete does it begin to be evaluated. The first compensation is expected to be paid in the near future.