Revenue has published guidelines on the operation of the Business Resumption Support Scheme (BRSS).

The BRSS is targeted support for businesses impacted by the public health restrictions, particularly those businesses that continue to be significantly impacted even after an easing of restrictions.

Claims under the scheme can be made between 1st September and 30th November 2021.  Section 5 of the Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021 provides for the insertion of section 485A TCA 1997, which provides for the BRSS.

A qualifying person can make a claim under the Business Resumption Support Scheme (BRSS) for a single payment, known as an ‘Advanced Credit for Trading Expenses (‘ACTE’)’, in an amount equal to three times the sum of:

• 10% of their average weekly turnover up to €20,000; and
• 5% of any excess of average weekly turnover above €20,000

Subject to a maximum payment of €15,000.

Eligibility

The Business Resumption Support Scheme BRSS is available to eligible businesses carrying on a relevant business activity, which can include companies, sole-traders, self employed individuals, partnerships, charities and approved supporting bodies.

To be eligible for BRSS, the business must carry on a relevant business activity, i.e. profits of the trade, or trading activities of the business, must be chargeable to tax under Case 1 of Schedule D.

Qualifying criteria

To qualify for the BRSS, the claimant must be able to demonstrate that in respect of the relevant business activity, the turnover amount for the specified period will be no more than 25% of the reference turnover amount.

The turnover amount for the specified period is the amount of turnover of the relevant business activity during the period 1st September 2020 to 31st August 2021.

The reference turnover amount will be calculated based on an extrapolation of the average weekly turnover (VAT exclusive) for the relevant business activity in a defined comparable prior period.

For the calculation of the average weekly turnover, the reference period for businesses established:

• before 26th December 2019 is from 1st January (or when the business commenced) to 31st December 2019;
• between 26th December 2019 and 9th March 2020, is from 26th December 2019 (or when the business commenced) to 15th March 2020; and
• between 10th March 2020 and 26th August 2020, is from 10th March 2020 (or when the business commenced) to 31st August 2020.

The claimant must also be able to demonstrate that the business:

• has complied with obligations in relation to registering and accounting for VAT;
• is actively trading and intends to continue to do so; and
• is not eligible to make a claim for the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) for any week that includes 1st September 2021.

Treatment of the ACTE for tax purposes

The ACTE will reduce the amount of trading expenses deductible in computing the taxable profits of a business. It will not result in an additional tax liability unless the business has trading profits for the year.  Where the business is in a loss-making position, the ACTE will reduce the amount of trading losses available for offset against future or previous profits of the business.

Making a claim

The ROS portal for registering and making a claim for the Business Resumption Support Scheme BRSS will open in early September.  The qualifying person will need to register for BRSS on ROS and complete a claim.  The scheme is operated on a self-assessment basis, so supporting documentation is not required when making a claim.

However, a qualifying person should retain evidence supporting the basis of their claim, which may be requested by Revenue under future eligibility criteria checks.

Further information is available in the Guidelines on the operation of the BRSS.  Updates will be made to these guidelines to provide further details on how to register and make a claim.

If you have any questions about the above, please contact us by phone at (021) 480 6316 or email enquiries@hjk.ie