Czech Republic Government Tender

At an extraordinary meeting held on Wednesday 14 October 2020 the government of Andrej Babi approved several subsidy programmes and other proposals by which it wants to support businesses and employers in the sectors hardest hit by the ongoing coronavirus epidemic. It also discussed several important documents that relate to the drawing of European subsidies.The government decided to extend the Covid Culture programme with a second call for subsidies to be announced for businesses and artistic and professional technical professions in culture. There will be 750 million crowns earmarked for the programme and the support will be provided in the form of ex-post subsidies for expenses incurred in vain for individual cultural events or projects that arose in the decisive period from 1 October 2019 until 20 November 2020 and for expenses in the framework of performed continual activities in the area of culture from the period from 1 March 2020 until 20 November 2020. The organisers can receive up to half of the eligible expenses for postponed or cancelled cultural events and up to 80 per cent of the eligible expenses for continuously developed activities. One subject can obtain a maximum of 10 million crowns a self-employed person 60 000 crowns.The successful Antivirus A programme will also be continuing now under the name Antivirus Plus. In this programme the state will cover the employers payroll expenses for employees who find themselves in quarantine or isolation or for obstacles to work if the employer had to close or significantly limit its operations as a result of government measures. Employers who were affected by the government measures in connection with the newly-announced state of emergency will receive one hundred per cent of the payroll expenses for these employees from the state retroactively from 1 October with the maximum monthly limit per person increasing from 39 000 to 50 000 crowns. The programme will be extended up until the end of the year 2020. You can find more details in the press release of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in Czech language.The government also extended and modified the Covid Rent subsidy programme. There will be 1.2 billion crowns available in the second call and the right to the payment of rent will apply to all businesses operating retail business activities and providers of services to customers in business establishments that are under a lease and who have been banned or significantly limited in the providing of services to customers and the sale of goods in these business establishments on the basis of passed crisis measures. The amount of the support will be half of the total rent for the period from July to September 2020 and will not depend on a discount on the part of the landlords. More info in the press release of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in Czech language.The entirely new Covid Bus programme supports businesses in irregular bus transportation. Transporters who provide for example tours or transport children to camps and school trips lost a considerable part of their orders in the first half of the year due to the pandemic and the government-ordered ban on events and other restrictions. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has prepared a subsidy programme for them which should compensate them for the loss of sales. The amount of support will depend on how environmentally-friendly the vehicles are and their number of seats. One billion crowns will be earmarked for the programme. More on the website of the Ministry of Transport in Czech language.The government has also decided to support professional sports and organisers of sporting events since that is also a sector that has been hit hard by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Both sports clubs from the main professional leagues in the Czech Republic and organisers of sporting events that could not be held or had to be postponed as a result of the pandemic can request subsidies. A half a billion crowns will go to the Covid Sport II subsidy programme and the amount of a specific subsidy will depend on the sport the size of the club and the operating expenses. Clubs from the highest football and hockey leagues will be able to ask for the highest amount 12.5 million crowns. Organisers of sporting events will be paid at most fifty per cent of the eligible expenses to a maximum amount of 10 million crowns. The government also approved the plan from the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Alena Schillerov to issue a decision that will forgive interest on overdue payments for value added tax payable in the period from October to December 2020 if the tax will be paid by the end of the year 2020 and advance payments payable in December 2020 on personal income tax corporate income tax and the road tax. The Ministry will also quickly prepare the decision on the remission of the value added tax and submit it to the government. You can find out more about the liberation package in the Ministry of Finances press release in Czech language.The government also dealt with the issue of European subsidies. It approved the proposal of the Minister for Regional Development Klra Dostlov for the use of REACT-EU funds in the Integrated Regional Operation Plan 20142020. The European Commission intends to allocate an additional 47.5 billion euros among the member states in European Structural and Investment Funds though the specific allocation of this money among the member states is not yet known. The Commission also modified the conditions for drawing on the subsidy. A quarter of the allocation must go to fulfilling goals in the area of climate change.