Businesses Request Third-aid Package and Arrest Sheriffs – It May Be Too Late to Think Later

New pandemics will be needed if the pandemic continues

Andrius Romanovskis, president of the Lithuanian Business Confederation (LVK), told the Delfi Tema program that the current business situation is ambiguous. According to him, those who can work are doing better, but whose activities are still limited, the situation is sad.

“There are certain businesses that are lucky and have started economic activities and there are some that are still completely closed and that are probably the most difficult. Whether it’s bars, event organizers, or a non-food retail sector, the moods are complicated and sometimes sad.

Today there are no resources to keep a business afloat, but I would say that this is not a question of support, but a philosophical one: how will we live?

I (supported-ed.) I would not even call it the word support, I would say compensation, because it is not sponsorship, it is a reward for not being able to function, but we have to think about how we should start operating in a pandemic economy, because we are going to talk about the third package. It’s not the answer, “he said.

According to A. Romanovskis, it must be admitted that if there were no state compensation for the suspended economy, part of the business would cease to exist.

“On the other hand, we must recognize that support and compensation affect different business sectors differently. Sectors that have not recovered, tourism, do not help them to survive, but, on the other hand, sectors that are somehow in a position to operate, for them this compensation and support alleviates their economic situation ”, said a representative of LVK.

He said he understood that at this moment, with the majority criticizing the speed in the distribution of state aid, public services today are between the hammer and the anvil.

“We, as companies, say that support must be faster, more efficient, more accurate, and other institutions that supervise it are pressuring employees to see that money is not being delivered to people who do not need it.

Then we come to a situation where we build a huge fence through which companies and employees have to climb. Obviously, there is a plethora of criteria in the debate over the first package, which is not yet gaining momentum, and the state says we chose the model to measure 9 times at first, only then cut back.

Another model says that we first compensate and then extract those who can cheat. Obviously, the premium model causes a slow movement because it will not jump the fence of the 10 criteria at once, ”he said.

According to A. Romanovskis, it must now be agreed when the company can return to its activities and, if the quarantine is prolonged, think about additional support measures.

We see that now those regulations are sometimes really very illogical, and the latter, by forcing entrepreneurs to withdraw their statements from the Records Center and count square meters, rather than regulating customer flows and volumes, it would be important to agree on that.

Of course, if the pandemic continues, it is obvious that the relief measures will not be enough and it will be necessary to discuss new packages and other measures, “said R. Romanovskis on the program.

Unsatisfied support, asks to stop bailiffs

Nijolė Uinskienė, representative of the Council of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises of Lithuania, also stated that she was not satisfied with the support provided to small businesses.

It must be said that there are additional subsidies for the self-employed and 100%. of the GPM paid in 2019. There was talk of at least 1 MMA and now a floor of 100 Eur is offered.

It has also been said that the subsidies will compensate all those affected, more precisely, now it is the businesses that have suffered the most, but it can be said that our entire economy has suffered and is not distributed in a very responsible way, “he said. The added support will make their own decisions and even bankruptcies.

According to N. Uinskienė, today there are also big problems with the activities of the bailiffs.

“It must be said that all state institutions are working seriously in a normal developing economy, but we must understand that some processes must be stopped, specifically the bailiffs.

Today, the bailiffs must be detained as soon as possible, because even now, where people had some obligations to the state or others, we in business cannot enforce the judicial decisions handed down by the bailiffs. The bailiffs will tell the employer that that employee is working and we have to make deductions. We can’t do that, and if we don’t, the bailiff will take the company to court and the manager will be charged for not counting the bailiff’s money at € 300. It’s more than strange, “he said.

“Small entrepreneurs have moved and today they no longer operate, or are trying to move to another place, because although the situation in other countries is not so good due to the pandemic, there are different conditions.

If the business worked and he paid the state, he received support today, but not 257 euros, like working with a business license, “he said.

Request a third package

Mark Adam Harold, head of the Vilnius Night Alliance, also criticized the government and the distribution of support, which on Saturday also contributed to the bar’s protest aimed at drawing the government’s attention to the sector’s problems.

“We can no longer wait for the subsidy packages. We needed to have that help yesterday. It is difficult for the bars to even ask for help from the first package, as it is not possible to complete the questionnaire because it is not yet available to the companies involved. The second one package has just been approved, so we still cannot claim it, and our debts are huge, the owners ask us: where is the money? ”he said.

When asked how bars survive without receiving money today, Mark Adam Harold said that renting a bar in Vilnius Old Town alone costs the bar a few thousand every month.

“And we did not get any income during the second quarantine, it is still accumulating debt for rent. This is our main problem, but the government has decided to abolish compensation for rental costs and says there will be subsidies, but we have not received subsidies yet. This is now a big hole.

Now we are grateful to the owners for not kicking us out, but I think it will start soon, ”he said.

It is true, the head of the alliance assured that the summer was not very bad for the bars, but the second quarantine began almost 4 months ago.

“That is why we need both the first package and the second money now, and even if we get them, we will need the third package in April, because I don’t think there is a word that we can act in April. We will have to wait any longer.

That is, if April comes around and there is no third package, there is not even a plan for it, and suddenly the ministry will realize that it is necessary, then what is it? It seems to me that she is really asleep and they need to think about it now, ”said the head of the alliance.

He said allowing the bars to at least run outdoors would ease the situation a bit and help, but it wouldn’t save the business from debt.

“It would definitely be better, but that we can pay the debts is not. It would help maintain the team, the morale, we could communicate with the clients and they would not forget us, ”he said.

Vice Minister: nobody uses, work in progress

Vincas Jurgutis, Vice Minister of Economy and Innovation, who visited the “Delfi Tema” program, said that he saw many fraudulent companies speaking of commercial criticism for the slow distribution of support, so, as he said, companies should be inspected.

“I am glad that when entrepreneurs speak up, they assess the situation appropriately. On the one hand, we have to help the business, but on the other hand, we obtain data from that support that was given last year and that now demands it. And there are companies that have grown, are profitable, pay dividends, and not the smallest ones, and in one way or another they are able to meet the criteria and ask for support, “he said, assuring that the state now provides 330 million for subsidies. and soft loans .Eur, as well as the possibility of tax deferral, to compensate for employee downtime.

“What we did with that subsidy from the first package, where companies could claim from January 20, we allow companies to declare a drop in their billing and for January, before it ends, not to mention that the tax office will see the data of the returns for a week., has accelerated (division-ed.) and has already disbursed almost 21 million. Euro grants, which are distributed almost 10 thousand. companies, allowing them to declare in advance.

Of course, the documents have to be presented as well, because otherwise the state has an unrestricted bag of money that it distributes to everyone without much scrutiny, and then you have a year to get that money back. There are signs of this abuse and it is necessary to review it, ”he said.

When speaking of the first business support package, the vice minister assured that a total of 17 thousand people requested support. companies, of which 3 thousand. did not meet the criteria, and the remaining 14 thousand. almost 10 thousand. has already received support.

Another thing, because the aid is subject to certain European Commission regulations, we can no longer provide the simplified aid that the previous government provided last year, because it has already exhausted the simplified aid limits under the authorizations of the European Union. , so a Now a little more bureaucratic is needed, but part of the business, I want to believe that already this week applications can be submitted that have not been able to submit until now.

I mean affiliates. Some more detailed evaluations are needed and these are not only things invented by Lithuania, but also EC regulations, and this required the STI to adapt the electronic declaration system, technical programming work.

As far as I know, it will finally be possible to apply to the companies involved, “he said, adding that it would be possible to do so this Friday.

“That work is being done, but I want it all the time, also faster, but I can assure you that no one is using it and the work is being done,” said the vice minister.

When asked if the third support package can be expected, V. Jurgutis said it has yet to be discussed.

“Today we are working on the work we have planned, which means starting applications for related companies, intensively combining other support measures, support for freelancers and the most affected companies, and a certain test tool to facilitate companies the open.

We hope that, in parallel, we will be able to find algorithms on how companies can start working and earn money. Now we are doing the work where we are doing, we will discuss hypothetical situations when the moment is right, “he said.