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30.03.2020

COVID-19: Subsidies and support measures for companies

The Austrian federal government has announced and already introduced subsidies and support measures for companies due to the current coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

This article was prepared on the basis of the information available to us on 30 March 2020.

On 14 March 2020, the Austrian government presented the COVID-19 crisis response fund amounting to EUR 4bn, which is intended to support the Austrian economy. As announced on 18 March 2020, the crisis response fund was increased to EUR 38bn.

The amount of EUR 38bn has been allocated to the following measures:

  • EUR 4bn for emergency support (e.g. in order to enable short-time working)
  • EUR 9bn for provision of guarantees (e.g. the bridging guarantee provided by Austria Wirtschaftsservice GmbH – aws)
  • EUR 15bn for emergency support for severely affected industries (e.g. retail, tourism, gastronomy, leisure & entertainment – guidelines for these funds are currently being developed by the BMF)
  • EUR 10bn for the deferral of taxes (e.g. deferment of corporate income tax, VAT or social security contributions).

The crisis response fund is intended to achieve three main goals:

  • Maintain jobs
  • Guarantee liquidity
  • Provide support in cases of hardship

Austria Wirtschaftsservice bridging guarantee

The Austrian government promotional bank, Austria Wirtschaftsservice GmbH (aws), has provided a bridging guarantee in connection with the coronavirus crisis since 12 March 2020. The goal of this support is to facilitate the financing of operating loans, as well as the financing of existing credit lines for trade and industrial SMEs (no tourism or leisure businesses), as well as individuals/companies who are self-employed in free trades and have suffered a significant decline in turnover and earnings as a result of the cancellation of orders or supplies due to the coronavirus crisis. It is expected that the aws bridging guarantee will be extended to large companies in the coming weeks.

Applications should be made by the principal bank providing the financing (or by the company itself) via the aws Funding Manager. An accelerated program has been introduced to enable rapid approval of guarantees.

Further information can be found on the following site: https://www.aws.at/aws-ueberbrueckungsgarantien/?ref=topnews

Austrian Hotel and Tourism Bank – Package of measures for tourism and leisure industries

In order to provide quick and unbureaucratic support for SMEs (expected to be extended to large businesses) in the tourism and leisure industries, a package of measures amounting to EUR 100m has been put together by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Agriculture, the Regions and Tourism (BMLRT), and the Austrian Hotel and Tourism Bank (ÖHT). The measures are intended as collateralization for bridge financing. On 27 March 2020, the BMLRT and the ÖHT announced an additional package, increasing the previous guarantee ceiling of EUR 100m to EUR 1bn.

The goal of the measures is to maintain the liquidity of companies in the tourism and leisure industries despite loss of revenue; to maintain existing jobs; to prevent insolvencies; and to ensure that businesses remain operative. The application should be made via the ÖHT online portal, exclusively in cooperation with, and following coordination with, the principal bank.

Further information can be found on the following site:

https://www.oeht.at/produkte/coronavirus-massnahmenpaket-fuer-den-tourismus/

OeKB COVID-19 support

On the behalf of the BMF, the Österreichische Kontrollbank (OeKB) will provide Austrian exporters with a credit line in the amount of EUR 2bn due to the current situation. This is intended to guarantee the liquidity of domestic export businesses and ensure that jobs are maintained. Those eligible for financing are Austrian exporters (large companies and SMEs), whose supplies of goods and services do not fall under the Austrian Security Control Act and/or the Austrian War Materials Directive, and which have Austrian added value of at least 25%. Applications can be made via the principal bank of the exporter.

Further information can be found on the following site:

https://www.oekb.at/export-services/sonder-krr-covid-hilfe.html

Hardship fund of the Austrian government

On 22 March 2020, the 2nd Austrian COVID-19 Act entered into force, which also encompasses the Hardship Fund Act. This Act enabled the Austrian government to create a hardship fund of EUR 1bn. The aim of this federal subsidy is to create a security net in cases of hardship due to the legal and economic impacts of COVID-19 on one-person companies, independent contractors (freie Dienstnehmer), non-profit organisations (NPOs), and micro-businesses.

The subsidy is provided in the form of direct grants, which are managed by the Austrian Economic Chamber on behalf of the Austrian government. A special regulation pursuant to the Hardship Fund Act and based on the Austrian SME Subsidies Act has been published. Applications can be submitted online via the website of the Austrian Economic Chamber from 27 March 2020 at 5pm until 31 December 2020.

Further information can be found on the following site:

https://www.wko.at/service/haertefall-fonds-epu-kleinunternehmen.html

City of Vienna: Support for development of IT infrastructure to enable remote working

Together with the Vienna Business Agency, the City of Vienna is providing EUR 6m of support for companies in Vienna to create remote workspaces (teleworking) and stable communications between remote workspaces and the company’s headquarters/locations. These include:

  • Measures for provision of advice by third parties
  • Intensive measures for technical IT infrastructure

The support is available to SMEs and micro-businesses in Vienna. Applications must be made to the Vienna Business Agency via the online application form from 1 March 2020 (retrospectively) until 31 December 2020.

Further information can be found on the following site:

https://wirtschaftsagentur.at/foerderungen/programme/home-office-131/

Information on other City of Vienna subsidies can be found on the following sites:

https://www.wko.at/service/w/corona-hilfe-wiener-kleinbetriebe.html

https://www.wkbg.at/buergschaftsbank-wien-kredite/

https://www.waff.at/unternehmen/arbeitsstiftungen-und-krisenmanagement/

Emergency call of the Austrian Research Promotion Agency

The Austrian Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs (BMDW) and the Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK) are providing EUR 21m at short notice for research and development work in connection with coronavirus (Sars-CoV-2) via the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG). The support will be offered via an accelerated procedure in the context of a so-called “emergency call”. The support is provided for R&D projects of Austrian companies on coronavirus-related issues, which can be implemented within 12 months.

The support will cover all costs included in the current FFG cost framework, for example personnel costs and material costs. In the case of clinical studies, all costs related to the study (e.g. CROs, centres) are eligible for funding. The amount of funding available per project is a maximum of EUR 3m, in the form of a non-repayable grant (the amount of the cash value of the subsidy depends on the size of the company and is between 25% and 45%).

The deadline for the submission of projects is 8 April 2020 (for accelerated decisions) and 11 May 2020 (for additional applications, if not all funds have been allocated, and for funding decisions). The call will be conducted as a competition, and the FFG has promised a rapid evaluation process for both submission deadlines.

Further information can be found on the following site: https://www.ffg.at/ausschreibung/emergencycall-covid-19

Authors: Cornelia Kalina, Margarete Kinz, Daniela Stastny, Alexandra Velic

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TagsAustria Wirtschaftsservice GmbHawsbridging guaranteeFFGhardship fundOeKBoperating loansremote workingsubsidiestourism industries
Foto von Daniela Stastny
Daniela Stastny daniela.stastny@at.pwc.com

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