Anti-Crisis Shield and support for Warsaw - how to use it step by step

Covid-19 Act

The Covid-19 Act has been introduced and although the government has announced work on its amendment, the fact remains that today mainly micro-entrepreneurs (exempt from ZUS, one-off payment) or companies affected by downtime can apply for assistance in two variants.

The most important information for entrepreneurs on how to apply for support can be found on the government websites at the addresses below (please read them carefully) https://tiny.pl/7h7zh

In accordance with the provisions of Articles 15 zzd, 15zzb, 15 zzc and 15 zze of the COVID-19 Act aimed at protecting workplaces a call for applications has been announced for:

  1. Low-interest loans for micro-entrepreneurs
  2. Co-financing of part of the costs of employee salaries and social security contributions due on salaries – for: micro-entrepreneurs, small and medium-sized enterprises.
  3. Co-financing of part of the costs of running a business activity – for entrepreneurs, individuals running a business activity without employees
  4. Co-financing of part of the costs of employee salaries and social security contributions due on these salaries – for non-governmental organisations

Applications can be submitted here, and instructions for completing them here

Contact to the Employment Office of the Capital City of Warsaw
Tel: 22 836 83 28, 693 397 108
e-mail: tarcza@up.warszawa.pl

Anti-crisis guide for entrepreneurs (with examples!) here

PFR Financial Shield for Companies and Employees

On April 9, 2020, Prime Minister Morawiecki announced the PFR Anti-Crisis Shield program for Companies and Employees, which is aimed at micro-entrepreneurs, small and medium-sized enterprises, and large companies.
  • Financial Shield for micro-enterprises: for those employing from 1 to 9 employees – financing in the form of simple, interest-free preferential loans serviced by banks
  • Financial Shield for SMEs: for companies employing 50 to 250 employees – financing in the form of simple, interest-free preferential loans serviced by banks
  • Financial Shield for large companies: for companies employing over 250 employees – individually agreed investment financing, liquidity financing or interest-free preferential loans serviced directly by PFR

More details available here.

 

Support for Warsaw

The City of Warsaw is constantly supplementing its support package for entrepreneurs, including tourism and tourism-related businesses. We have received assurances from Deputy Mayor Michał Olszewski that the support postulates submitted by WOT members are being constantly analyzed and work is underway to implement its further elements. Here is the current form of the support offer that WOT members can use:

In addition, let us add that the Warsaw City Hall offers entrepreneurs a deferral of payments for perpetual usufruct fees for up to three months, even until June 30, 2020. A letter in this matter has already been sent to all districts to use this form of support for local companies. The possibility of deferring payment of the fee is provided for in the act voted on by the Sejm on March 28, 2020.

The Mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, sent a request to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to extend the government's support to the demands of Warsaw entrepreneurs. (download the letter here).

Additional information:

  1. The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage is working on solutions for the cultural sector, including the launch of the Minister's Programmes in the area of:
  • Expanding the scope of activities to include the presentation of artistic works on the Internet (the initially planned budget of the Programme is approximately PLN 20 million), operated by the National Centre for Culture
  • Compensating losses for culture in connection with the epidemic after it ends (The program will be launched after the rigors of the epidemic threat are relaxed in order to activate the cultural sector and compensate for part of the losses currently incurred).

The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage also announces that it will take into account the specificity of the current situation in the case of assessment of the implementation and settlement of tasks in the Minister's Programs. The National Institute of Freedom declares similar support in the scope of supporting non-governmental organizations. Information on specific activities and support mechanisms covering the culture sector will be published at the time of their implementation on the website of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. I therefore encourage you to familiarize yourself with the proposed solutions. The above information comes from a letter from Secretary of State Jarosław Sellin from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage addressed to WOT - the letter is available here. The website of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage contains guidelines for museums, art galleries and other cultural institutions operating in the area of memory policy and heritage protection, in connection with the planned opening during the COVID-19 epidemic (https://tiny.pl/7xvfk).

  1. The Ministry of Development is developing infographics that will clearly illustrate the operation of the anti-crisis shield for the tourism industry. These graphics will be published on the MR website and will also be sent to Regional and Local Tourism Organizations. Once we receive them, we will share them with you immediately.
  2. The Ministry of Development also declares its assistance to entrepreneurs in answering questions regarding the shield.
  3. The most frequently asked questions can be found in the "questions and answers" section of the website gov.pl. You can also use the help center on the website www.biznes.gov.pl https://www.biznes.gov.pl/pl/centrum-pomocy .
  4. Please be advised that the Polish Tourist Organisation has also launched a special e-mail address. koronawirus@pot.gov.pl where entrepreneurs reported requests for assistance and questions regarding mediation between Polish and foreign partners. Currently, more strictly legal questions are being asked regarding the anti-crisis shield. POT declares assistance in answering these questions.
  5. In turn, on the IGHP website https://www.ighp.pl/current information relevant to the hotel industry is presented.
  6. The Central Statistical Office has published the report "Tourism in Poland in the face of the COVID pandemic", which includes information on the degree of use of accommodation facilities in March 2020 and the estimated expenditure of domestic and foreign tourists in the first two quarters of 2020. You can read the full report here.

We also invite you to use our presentation on the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on Warsaw tourism, which is available in the current version here.