The APOIAR Program, whose regulation was recently amended and republished by Ordinance No. 15-B/2021 of 15 January, aims to create a system of liquidity incentives to mitigate the negative impacts of health protection measures taken as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is financed by the European Structural and Investment Funds and by the reimbursement of incentives from community frameworks that have already been closed. It applies to the entire territory of mainland Portugal, and decisions to grant incentives by the managing authority may be taken until December 31st, 2021.
This program includes 4 (four) different measures (i) APOIAR.PT; (ii) APOIAR RESTAURAÇÃO (TO SUPPORT THE RESTAURANT SECTOR); (iii) APOIAR + SIMPLES (TO SUPPORT + SIMPLE); e (iv) APOIAR RENDAS (TO SUPPORT RENTS) and aims to support SMEs of any nature and in any legal form, as well as companies of any nature that, not being SMEs because they employ 250 people or more, fulfil the criterion of having an annual turnover not exceeding 50 million euros. The deadlines for submitting applications for the various measures are open until April 16, 2021.
During the period of granting support, counted from the application submission date and within 60 working days following the submission of the final payment request, beneficiaries may not:
Companies wishing to benefit from the support will have to declare a reduction in the invoicing reported to the Tax Authority in the e-Invoice system of at least 25% in 2020 compared to the previous year, or, in the case of companies that started operating in 2019 , a declaration of a decrease in the average monthly billing communicated to the Tax Authority in the e-Invoice system of at least 25% in 2020, compared to the monthly average of the period of activity elapsed until February 29, 2020, considering only the complete calendar months.
Support is awarded in the form of a non-refundable grant and will correspond to a financing rate of 20% of the amount of the company's turnover reduction, with the following general maximum limits:
For companies with a decrease in turnover reported to the Tax Authority between 25% and 50%[1]:
For companies with a decrease in turnover reported to the Tax Authority of more than 50%[3]:
As an extraordinary support to maintain the activity in the 1st quarter of 2021, a support equivalent to the determined incentive corresponding to the 4th quarter of 2020 will be granted, with the previously mentioned maximum limits increased under the following terms:
In the case of companies with a decrease in turnover reported to the Tax Authority between 25% and 50%:
In the case of companies with a decrease in turnover reported to the Tax Authority of more than 50%:
The above applies retroactively to applications already submitted and it is up to the managing authority to adjust the support.
To apply for support, companies will have to declare a decrease in the average daily bill reported to the Tax Authority in the e-Invoice system on the days in which the suspension of activity is in force, compared to the average daily bill recorded on weekends between 1 January 2020 and 31 October 2020, or, in the case of companies incorporated in 2020, in the period of activity that elapsed until 31 October 2020.
Support is provided in the form of a non-refundable grant and will correspond to a financing rate of 20% of the amount of the company's turnover reduction.
Companies will be considered eligible if, among other criteria, they (i) are tenants in a non-housing lease, communicated in the Finance Portal, starting prior to 13 March 2020 and for which, at the date of application, no cause for termination of the lease exists or is ineffective; or (ii) are parties to a contract for the exploitation or assignment of real estate for commercial purposes, beginning on a date prior to March 13, 2020, except when the establishment is part of a commercial group.
In addition, the beneficiary will have to declare a decrease of the invoicing communicated to the Tax Authority in the e-Invoice system of at least 25% in 2020, compared to the previous year, or, in the case of companies that started activity in 2019, to declare a decrease of the average monthly invoicing of at least 25% in 2020, compared to the monthly average of the period of activity until 29 February 2020, considering only the full calendar months.
Support is awarded in the form of a non-refundable grant and will correspond to a financing fee of:
The overall support resulting from the above may not exceed 40,000 euros per company.
This measure is aimed at individual entrepreneurs (“empresários em nome individual” - ENI) without organized accounting who declare a decrease in turnover of at least 25% in 2020, compared to the previous year, or, in the case of companies that started activity in 2019, a decrease in the average monthly billing of at least 25% in 2020, compared to the monthly average of the period of activity until 29 February 2020, considering only the complete calendar months.
The support takes the form of a non-refundable grant, corresponding to a financing rate of 20% of the amount of the reduction in the company's turnover, with the maximum limit of:
As an extraordinary support for the maintenance of the activity in the 1st quarter of 2021, support equivalent to the calculated incentive corresponding to the 4th quarter of 2020 is attributed, with the previously mentioned maximum limits increased in the following terms:
The above applies retroactively to applications already submitted, and the managing authority is responsible for adjusting the support.
[1] These limits will be 55,000 euros for micro-enterprises and 135,000 euros for small companies whose main activity is closed by legal or administrative determination under the CAE 56302, 56304, 56305, 93210, and 93294.
[2] These limits also apply to companies of any nature and under any legal form that are not SMEs because they employ 250 people or more, but meet the criterion of having an annual turnover, calculated according to that definition, not exceeding 50 million euros.
[3] These limits will be 82,500 for micro-enterprises and 202,500 for small businesses whose main activity is closed by legal or administrative determination under the CAE 56302, 56304, 56305, 93210, and 93294.
[4] These limits also apply to companies of any nature and under any legal form that are not SMEs because they employ 250 people or more, but meet the criterion of having an annual turnover, calculated according to that definition, not exceeding 50 million euros.
[5] In cases of contracts for the exploitation or assignment of real estate for commercial purposes, "reference rent" is understood to be the monthly value for the real estate in effect on December 1, 2020.
[6] In the case of companies whose main activity is closed due to a legal or administrative order, under CAE 56302, 56304, 56305, 93210, and 93294, the maximum limit is 10,000 euros.
[7] In the case of companies whose main activity is closed due to a legal or administrative order, under CAE 56302, 56304, 56305, 93210, and 93294, the maximum limit is 15,000 euros.
[8] The surcharge will be 2,500 euros in the case of companies whose main activity is closed by legal or administrative determination, falling under CAE 56302, 56304, 56305, 93210, and 93294.
[9] The surcharge will be 3,750 euros in the case of companies whose main activity is closed by legal or administrative determination, and which fall under CAE 56302, 56304, 56305, 93210, and 93294.