State support: some measures have gained momentum, others are still stagnating

Microenterprise grants and downtime grants have proven their worth.

The president of the LVK points out that the main support measures aimed directly at companies were loans, rent compensation, subsidies for the self-employed, subsidies for micro-enterprises and support for the preservation of employment.

According to him, these measures were the most important in the first stage, since short-term liquidity had to be maintained quickly. As noted, support for microenterprises has been more effective: “STI is the most effective tool when combined with subsidies for microenterprises, a case in which companies received support in a short period of time, they were quickly distributed and mass”.

According to the LVK president, the second measure that worked best and remains the most popular is compensation for downtime.

“We just let us know then, but now that the system is in place, there are no major challenges. At least it is clear that most costs can be covered by work downtime,” says A. Romanovskis.

The amount of the subsidy can be as high as 90 or 70 percent of the salary. The rest: 10 or 30 percent. – to be covered by the employer.

The rent compensation mechanism is more stuck

At that time, the rent compensation is more stuck, as you can see: “There are two things that are stagnant. First of all, technical, because it was managed by the Records Center and was a challenge for him. And the other thing is that not everyone gave discounts on the rent, so they couldn’t benefit from the support. “

With regard to credit support measures, he notes that Invega is a specific service provider and therefore cannot make massive loans.

“I spoke to my fellow entrepreneurs in Switzerland, where loans were granted to companies in one hour through the banking system; all companies applied for and received 10% loans at the rate of their annual turnover. At the time, many of we did not receive it at all, because there are many conditions for Invega to act as a bank.

The state has established conditions, for example, the drop in billing for the initial month should have reached 60% and, if it has, 50%. fall can no longer claim. That threshold was subsequently lowered. At first, the state found many barriers, and then realized that those barriers were simply stopping everything and began to destroy them, “says A. Romanovskis.

According to the LVK president, the credit support measures have moved and the situation has now stabilized. However, he notes that the fastest mechanism has not been found: if there is a second wave of the virus, you may need to react abruptly.

The worst is to tighten the measures.

According to Romanovsky, the worst solution at the moment would be to tighten up the measures that currently work well, especially the downtime compensation mechanism.

“There are doubts in public that someone is abusing me.” However, the Labor Inspectorate announced that only 12 violations were found during quarantine due to downtime, when there were 150,000. lack of time. This is a statistical error that allows the state to take risks, due to such violations it is possible to abandon and maintain the measure, “the interviewee is convinced.

The business representative is considering that if the state adjusts the measures, employers have the option of keeping employees low or firing them: “So far, we see that this is under control: employers use this measure and do not fire people.” .

After quarantine, many companies are still in trouble.

The LVK president notes that although the quarantine has ended, many companies are still in trouble.

“The illusion that summer is over, quarantine is over, everyone walks freely everywhere, having fun, but many companies are still experiencing difficulties.” At the end of the quarantine, catering establishments and points of sale were opened: the situation became easier for them, but there is not even talk of recovery and return to the pre-quarantine level. As for the export sector, in many cases the situation is very bad, because other countries are not as good as Lithuania. “Our economic relations, especially with third world countries, are fully accepted,” says the interlocutor.

According to statistics, the need for seasonal work has almost been cut in half, as there is no need for workers simply due to reduced volumes and uncertainty, says Romanovskis.

“Personally, I know about catering companies in Vilnius and I recently spoke with representatives of the tourism sector that the agency is suspending its activities because it sees that this sector will not recover.”

Many people joked that those who immediately fired people won. Because until other measures came, some companies paid for downtime, but eventually went bankrupt and closed. In Vilnius, I know of restaurants and cafes that have filed for bankruptcy, but for another month they helped people make up for downtime, ”says the president of LVK.

Why is the rent compensation stuck

According to publicly available data from Invega, 7.54 million has been used to date for the rent compensation measure. of EUR 100 million for this measure.

July 16 According to morning data, 843 rental compensation requests were funded, 84 contracts were rejected at the contract signing stage, rejected for not meeting rental compensation requirements, 434 requests were returned to the customer For clarification: 600 applications were evaluated and 1,447 applications were evaluated, specified Invega.

“The implementation of the income compensation measure is based on the principle of evaluating applications, which requires consistent verification of the data: the most important facts declared by the company and the legal basis for granting income compensation. , which takes time.

If we compare it to running, we would equate this measurement to a marathon, but not a sprint. June the income compensation plan was exceeded and rose to 108.8%. According to the statistics declared by Invega, we believe that in July. the plan will also be achieved, ”says Asta Slapšienė, Marketing Manager at Invega, why this support tool is still stagnant.

The rent compensation measure is slated to continue through December this year. According to the public announcement, it is planned to use LTL 15.2 million by August. EUR. The question is whether Invega will be able to distribute the remaining support in five months: 85 million. EUR. However, the Invega representative assures that the unused funds will be redistributed to other instruments.

“The amount planned to be used is planned based on the information currently available in the Invega rental compensation system for all the invoices planned to be submitted in the applications. The total budget of the measure is indicative, so if there are not enough applications, the funds will not be used.

In response to the changing situation and the need for different services, Invega constantly responds flexibly to the situation and informs the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, which decides on changes in the terms of the measures. Therefore, taking into account the situation, it is not ruled out that the unused funds will be reallocated to other measures, “says A. Slapšienė.

The interlocutor points out that the requests for rent compensation are rejected for several reasons, but the most common are the following: leased premises from the same holding company, that is. and. of itself, which is not allowed by the description; although the client declares, the lease is not registered in the Registration Center or such invoices are not registered in the STI; leases concluded after the announcement of quarantine, etc.

It also adds that you can generally reach companies within 30 days requesting rent compensation.

Loan instruments have gained momentum

At that time, the other instrument of Invega, “loans to the companies most affected by COVID-19”, will be in force until July 31. The total amount of 200 million The amount of euros is distributed to financial intermediaries. 2987 companies have already received aid under this measure.

Currently, under the measure “Loans to the companies most affected by Covid-19”, the amount of signed contracts and planned disbursements amounts to 172 million. EUR.

“Applications are evaluated and funding agreements are signed regularly, therefore we plan that the amount of funds provided for the measure will be paid in full,” says the Invega representative.

The most effective tool is subsidies for microenterprises.

Taking into account the criteria established by the Government, the ITS drew up a list of micro-companies, which were personally invited to apply for a subsidy. In total, the ITS has already sent around 40.3 thousand. asks that micro-businesses apply for a grant. More than 33.7 thousand. micro-businesses have already requested it.

The ITS has transferred around 33.3 thousand. almost 89.2 million requests from companies to the Ministry of Economy and Innovation. receive subsidies in euros.

The Ministry of Economy and Innovation will make public the list of micro-companies to which the subsidy has been transferred and its amount. The list is constantly updated during orders. It is published here.

Valdas Buginskis, Director of the ITS Selection and Audit Support Department, points out that the grant awarded to companies that meet the criteria established to receive a grant and have received and sent a call for applications is generally transferred to the specified account on request within two to three business days.

The calls for proposals for micro-enterprises eligible for the grant are scheduled for December 1 or until the total amount of € 100 million has been allocated. EUR for grants.

According to the ITS, the micro-enterprises eligible for a subsidy are evaluated according to the following criteria:

• š. meter. on the 1st of the month the company had at least 1 and a maximum of 9 employees;

• the company is included in the lists of COVID-19 affected companies compiled by the ITS;

• the company in 2019. personal income tax paid to the municipal and state budgets;

• the company is not bankrupt, is being restructured, or is being liquidated.

Companies do not need to assess their own compliance with the established criteria or search for an application form, the STI has done it for them. The call for companies includes a link to the grant application form, which should only be sent through My STI.

Upon receipt of the company’s application, the STI must submit the information to the Ministry of Economy and Innovation in accordance with the information provided by the LVPA regarding the amount of the subsidy owed to it. Following the latter’s positive decision to award a grant, the grant funds allocated to the company are transferred to the National Center for General Functions.

How is the amount of the subsidy calculated?

The subsidy is calculated according to the amount of personal income tax paid by the company in 2019:

• if the GPM paid by the company in 2019 reaches up to 1 thousand. a minimum grant of 500 euros;
• if the GPM paid by the company in 2019 is 1 thousand. up to 2 thousand. 1 thousand euros. the amount of the grant in euros;
• if the GPM paid by the applicant in 2019 amounts to more than 2,000. The grant amount is half the amount of the applicant in 2019. GPM paid.