Coronavirus protection package for companies

Debt relief, including tax and ZUS contribution payment facilities; instruments to improve the financial liquidity of companies, including guarantee support and loan subsidies; protection and support for the labor market, including solutions for companies forced to downtime - includes a protective package for entrepreneurs. Due to the spread of coronavirus, the Ministry of Economic Development will prepare a draft special act on this matter.

  • Debt relief, including tax and social security contribution payment facilities;
  • Instruments to improve the financial liquidity of companies, including guarantee support and loan subsidies;
  • Protection and support for the labor market, including solutions for companies forced to downtime – will be included in the protective package for entrepreneurs.
  • Due to the spread of the coronavirus, the Ministry of Development will prepare a draft of a special act on this matter.

– Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki obliged me to prepare – together with the Ministry of Finance, Social Insurance Institution, National Insurance, Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, BGK, PFR and ARP – a package of protective solutions for entrepreneurs. As a result of intensive meetings and talks in recent days, we have created a catalogue of actions that can support our companies in the current situation – says Minister Jadwiga Emilewicz.

- That is why the government is taking all possible actions to minimize the effects of the epidemic. The most important thing is human health, limiting the spread of the virus and minimizing the number of cases - continues.

– At the same time, we are also taking all possible actions to limit other negative effects of the epidemic, including those on the Polish economy, our companies and employers – adds.

As the head of the Ministry of Economic Development emphasizes: - Prevention is important to maintain health. It is equally important to prevent undesirable phenomena in the economy. This is the role that the protective package for companies prepared by the government in connection with the spread of coronavirus is to play.

Cover package

The draft of the protective package for entrepreneurs will include proposals for legislative changes. They are to improve the situation of entrepreneurs, among others, by:

  • Debt relief, including tax and social security contribution payment facilities
  • Improving the financial liquidity of companies - financial instruments for companies, including guarantee support and loan subsidies
  • Protection and support for the labor market, including solutions for companies forced to downtime.

This requires, among other things, amendments to the acts on: VAT, granting public aid, including de minimis aid, BGK support, and special solutions related to the protection of jobs.

Payment deferrals

  • facilitating VAT settlement – postponing the entry into force of the new JPK from 01.04.2020 to 01.07.2020
  • facilitating split payment,
  • Postponement from 01.04 to 01.07.2020 of the deadline for companies to enter the Central Register of Beneficial Owners (Act on Combating Money Laundering)
  • earlier VAT refunds,
  • facilitating the suspension of business activities,
  • including in tax costs expenses related to the cancellation of trips in relation to industries affected by the crisis,
  • abolition of the extension fee,
  • change of the public aid scheme, extension for SMEs and large companies.

Improving financial liquidity

  • deducting the loss “backwards” from income (i.e. loss from 2020 from 2019) – the loss incurred from business activity in a given year can be deducted from the income achieved in the next five years
  • guarantee support and loan subsidies – BGK activities
  • granting aid under de minimis aid. Currently, the amount of de minimis guarantees granted by BGK cannot exceed 60% of the credit amount and exceed PLN 3.5 million (individual guarantee) – the postulate is to increase the guarantee to 80% of the credit amount.
  • subsidies for interest on loans - by expanding the scope of the disaster fund to include the epidemic.

Protection and support of the labor market

We will propose an amendment to the act on special solutions related to the protection of workplaces. We want to make it easier for entrepreneurs who are in crisis. We propose shortening the crisis period that entitles you to support from 6 to 3 months. A crisis means a decrease in economic turnover, sales of goods or services by 15%.

In the event of downtime, employees of such an entrepreneur would be entitled to:

  • benefit from the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund up to the amount of 100% unemployment benefit (PLN 823.60) increased by the amount of social insurance contributions
  • and remuneration financed from the entrepreneur's funds in a total amount of at least the minimum wage.

Sickness and care benefits

An entrepreneur with sickness insurance who cannot conduct business activity due to the coronavirus will receive sickness benefit from ZUS on general terms, i.e. if he or she receives a sick leave or a decision of the state sanitary inspector on quarantine or isolation.

An entrepreneur will also receive a care allowance if he or she personally cares for a sick child or other family member (sick leave), a child subject to isolation or quarantine (decision of the Sanitary and Epidemiological Station), or a child up to 8 years of age in the event of the unforeseen closure of a nursery, children's club, kindergarten or school (declaration of the insured person).

If the unforeseen closure of a facility is related to the coronavirus, the adopted special act provides for an additional care allowance for a period not longer than 14 days in this respect.

ZUS – currently available reliefs in repayment or cancellation of contributions

Legal provisions and ZUS actions support entrepreneurs in the face of possible difficulties in running a business in several ways.

Entrepreneurs affected by delays or failure to deliver, payment backlogs, employee absenteeism related to increased illness or activities aimed at ensuring the safety of citizens can count on assistance from ZUS: deferment of the deadline for payment of contributions, instalment arrangement, debt write-off.

Postponement of the payment deadline for contributions – if the entrepreneur has a problem paying current or future contributions within the statutory deadline, the payment deadline of which has not yet expired. The entrepreneur will not pay interest for late payment, but only a prolongation fee.

Installment arrangement – if the entrepreneur has arrears of contributions and cannot repay them in one go, they can submit an application to spread the debt repayment into installments. The entrepreneur will not then pay interest for late payment, but only an extension fee. After signing the arrangement, any enforcement proceedings are suspended.

Debt write-off – if the entrepreneur has suffered material losses as a result of an extraordinary event, which means that paying the contributions could deprive them of the ability to continue their business. Only contributions due for themselves are subject to write-off. The written-off contributions and period will not count when determining the right to benefits.

ZUS branches have advisors on relief and write-offs. They provide information and help with completing and filling out documents. You can talk to an advisor by phone or arrange a meeting.

Source: www.gov.pl