New measures addressed to businesses and employment

Order 317-B/2021 of 23 December makes the fifth amendment to the Regulation of the APOIAR Programme in order to reduce the economic impact resulting from the measures adopted and the imposition of partial closure during the month of January 2022.

It amends articles 1, 8, 13-B, 13-C, 13-G, 14 and 16 of the APOIAR Programme Regulation. Below, part of these amendments are detailed.

Article 1: Under the APOIAR Programme, the decisions to grant an incentive by the Managing Authority of the Competitiveness and Internationalisation Thematic Operational Programme are adopted until the deadline of 30 June 2010.

Article 8: In the case of companies whose main activity is affected by the legal or administrative calamity situation, decreed by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers Ministers 157/2021 of 27 November, in its current wording, under CAE 56302, 56304 and 56305, 59 and 90, additional support will be granted in an amount equivalent to that calculated under the terms of no. 5, being the maximum limits defined in the previous nos. 5 and 6 modified under the following terms: (a) in the case of companies whose main activity falls under CAE 56302, 56304 and 56305, with a decrease in invoicing reported to the AT in the e-Invoice system between 25% and 50%, the limits defined in paragraph 6(a) are extended to (i) €55,000 for micro enterprises; (ii) €135,000 for small and medium-sized enterprises and for enterprises referred to in point (b) of Article 6; (b) for companies whose main activity falls under CAE 56302, 56304 and 56305, with a decrease in invoicing reported to the AT in the eInvoice system of more than 50%, the limits defined in paragraph 6(b) are extended to (i) €82,500 for micro enterprises; (ii) €202,500 for small and medium-sized enterprises and for enterprises referred to in point (b) of Article 6; c) In the case of companies whose main activity falls under CAE 59 and 90, with a decrease in turnover reported to the AT in the e-Invoice system between 25% and 50%, the limits set out in paragraph 5(a) shall be extended to: (i) €5,000 for micro-enterprises; (ii) €27,500 for small enterprises; (iii) €67,500 for medium-sized enterprises and for enterprises referred to in point (b) of Article 6. d) In the case of companies whose main activity falls under CAE 59 and 90, with a decrease in invoicing reported to the AT in the e-Invoice system by more than 50%, the limits defined in paragraph 5(b) are extended to (i) €7,500 for micro-enterprises; (ii) €41,250 for small businesses (iii) €101,250 for medium-sized enterprises and for enterprises referred to in point (b) (iii) €101,250 for medium-sized enterprises and for enterprises referred to in point (b) of Article 6.

Article 13-G: In the case of companies whose main activity is affected by the legal or administrative calamity situation, decreed by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers 57/2021 of 27 November, in its current wording, under CAE 56302, 56304, 56305, 59 and 90, additional support shall be granted at a value equivalent to that determined under no. 4, being the ceilings defined in the previous nos. 4 and 5 modified under the following terms: (a) in the case of companies whose main activity falls under CAE 56302, 56304 and 56305, with a decrease in invoicing reported to the AT in the e-Invoice system between 25% and 50%, the limit defined in paragraph 5(a) is extended to €10,000; b) In the case of companies whose main activity falls under CAE 56302, 56304 and 56305 with a decrease in invoicing reported to the AT in the invoice system of more than 50%, the limit defined in paragraph 5(b) is extended to €15,000; c) In the case of companies whose main activity falls under CAE 59 and 90, with a decrease in invoicing reported to the AT in the e-Invoice system between 25% and 50%, the limit defined in point a) of no. 4 is extended to €2,000; d) In the case of companies whose main activity falls under CAE 59 and 90, with a decrease in invoicing reported to the AT in the eInvoice system is greater than 50%, the limit defined in no. 4 b) is extended to €3,000.

Order 248-A/2021 of 11 November makes the fourth amendment to the Regulation of the APOIAR Programme, approved in annex to Order 271-A/2020 of 24 November, amended by Order 15-B/2021 of 15 January, by Order 69-A/2021 of 24 March, and by Order 168-B/2021 of 2 August, of which it is an integral part.

Article 5, paragraph 3: The applications shall be evaluated on the basis of the eligibility criteria and access conditions set out in Articles 7, 11, 13b and 13f of this Regulation, without prejudice to observance of the legislation specifically applicable.

Article 13, paragraph 3: For the purposes of proving the conditions set forth in paragraphs b), c), h) and j) of no. 1, the applicant, when submitting the application, must authorise AD&C, I. P., to proceed to verify the drop in invoicing reported to the AT in the eInvoice system, as well as to consult the information relative to the rental contracts, including the rent document, the tax situation and the cadastral information relative to the activity. For this purpose, a protocol will be celebrated for the exchange of information between these entities, except, as to the former, in duly justified, under terms to be defined by the managing authority.

Order 168-B/2021 of 2 August makes the third amendment to the APOIAR Programme Regulation, approved in annex to Order 271-A/2020 of 24 November, amended by Order 15B/2021 of 15 January and Order 69-A/2021 of 24 March.

The extraordinary support to maintain activity, provided for in the measures "Apoiar.pt" and "Apoiar + Simples", is reinforced under the APOIAR Programme.

This reinforcement of liquidity, which translates into a doubling of the support already granted, equivalent to the value of the incentive calculated for the last quarter of 2020, aims to improve the liquidity conditions of companies to meet short-term commitments, contributing to their subsistence during and after the pandemic outbreak. For companies with a turnover drop of more than 50%, this support can amount to €7,500 for ENIs without organised accounts, €41,250 for micro-enterprises, or €101,250 for eligible small, medium and large enterprises. If the drop is between 25% and 50%, the support can reach €5000, €27,500 or €67,500 respectively. This measure applies retroactively to approved applications and the adjustment of the amounts to be received will be done automatically.

Ordinance 102-A/2021, of 14 May, regulates the procedures, conditions and terms of access to the supports to be granted by the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP, I. P.):

• the new incentive to the normalisation of business activity, provided for in article 5 of Decree-Law 23-A/2021, of 24 March;
• and the simplified support for micro-enterprises to maintain jobs, provided for in Decree-Law No. 46-A/2020, of 30 July.

The new incentive to normalisation aims to promote job maintenance and reduce the risk of unemployment of workers in companies affected by the effects of the pandemic COVID-19, by granting a financial incentive to the employer in the phase of return of their workers to normal work and normalisation of business activity.

The simplified support aims to promote job retention and reduce the risk of unemployment for workers in micro-enterprises in a situation of business crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to mitigate the respective social and economic consequences, through the attribution of financial support to the employer.

Only employers with their head office in mainland Portugal are eligible.

The granting of the new incentive and the simplified support will only take place after the application of the preceding social security support ceases.

The new incentive is aimed at private employers, including those in the social sector, that have received, in the first quarter of 2021, at least one of the following supports:

• Extraordinary support for the maintenance of a work contract, under the terms of article 2 of Decree-Law 6-E/2021, of 15 January, as amended;
• Extraordinary support to the progressive resumption of activity in companies in a situation of business crisis, with a temporary reduction of the normal working period, under the terms of article 4 of Decree-Law 46-A/2020, of 30 July, in its current wording.

The new incentive is granted in one of the following modalities:

• Incentive in the amount of twice the minimum monthly guaranteed remuneration (RMMG) per worker covered by the support referred to above, paid in a phased manner over six months, when applied for by 31 May 2021;
• An incentive in the amount of one RMMG per worker covered by the support referred to above, paid in a lump sum, when requested after 31 May 2021 and until 31 August 2021, being considered as corresponding to a concession period of three months.

The simplified support is aimed at private employers, including those of the social sector, that are considered micro-enterprises, under the terms of paragraph 1 of article 100 of the Labour Code, that are in a situation of business crisis, under the terms of article 3 of Decree-Law 46-A/2020, of 30 July, in its current wording, and that have benefited in 2020 from at least one of the following supports:

• Extraordinary support to the maintenance of a work contract, provided for in article 5 of Decree-Law10-G/2020, of 26 March, as amended;
• Extraordinary support to the progressive resumption of activity in companies in a business crisis situation, with a temporary reduction of the normal working period, provided for in article 4 of Decree-Law 46-A/2020, of 30 July, in its current wording.

Simplified support shall consist of financial assistance amounting to twice the RMMG per worker covered by the measures referred to above, paid in phases over six months.

The new incentive and the simplified support are eligible for European funding.

Decree-Law 23-A/2021, of 24 March, amends the scheme that creates the extraordinary support to the progressive resumption of activity in companies in a situation of business crisis with a temporary reduction of the normal working period and the scheme that establishes support mechanisms under the state of emergency. It also creates extraordinary support measures for workers and economic activity in the context of the state of emergency. The following measures were approved:

1. The extraordinary support for the reduction of economic activity of workers, which has already provided a response to self-employed workers, sole proprietors, managers and members of statutory bodies with management functions, it is reactivated in relation to workers in tourism, culture, events and shows, whose activity, not being suspended or closed, is still in a situation of proven downtime.
2. The extraordinary support for gradual recovery is extended until 30 September 2021, and new contribution exemptions and partial exemptions are established within this support, especially for the tourism and culture sectors, which are particularly affected by the present health crisis.
3. The application of simplified support for micro-enterprises is guaranteed during the third quarter of 2021, granting additional support during this period in the amount equivalent to a guaranteed minimum monthly remuneration (RMMG).
4. A new extraordinary incentive for the normalisation of business activity is also created, of an amount equivalent up to two RMMG per worker that has been covered in the first quarter of 2021 by the extraordinary support to the maintenance of the labour contract or by the extraordinary support to the progressive resumption of activity. Added to this incentive is the right to a 50% partial waiver of the payment of social security contributions borne by the employer, with reference to the workers covered, during the first two months of the support.
5. Within the scope of vocational training cumulative with the extraordinary support to the progressive resumption of activity, an extraordinary deadline is established for the start of training plans already approved by the Employment and Vocational Training Institute, I. P., but which have not started in practice due to the suspension of on-site training activities by legislative or administrative determination from a governmental source.
6. The financing from the State Budget for the additional expenditure resulting from this support and for the loss of revenue resulting from the tax exemptions and dispensations granted is maintained, thus promoting, in particular, the sustainability of social security.