Latvia receives EC’s approval for of businesses impacted by Covid-19

Latvia has received approval from the European Commission for working capital grant programme. This means the State Revenue Service (VID) will soon start providing support to businesses that had previously signed up for support, as confirmed by the Ministry of Economics.
Coordination for the wage subsidy programme is expected in the coming days.
Minister of Economics Jānis Vitenbergs notes that once coordination has been received from the EC, the country will start providing aid to businesses whose operations were halted or otherwise impacted by epidemiological safety measures to compensate the loss of working capital.
The businesses that have already submitted their requests for aid to the State Revenue Service will receive support immediately. In all other cases it is suggested to submit requests by 15 January.
As previously reported, on 22 November VID started receiving requests for working capital grants. Most requests have been processed already. This means once Cab. Min. rules have come to force, VID will start paying aid.
VID Director General Ieva Jaunzeme says the businessmen who are eligible for aid will receive it quickly. «VID has made all the necessary preparations to ensure the businesses that are eligible for aid to overcome Covid-19 crisis receive it in time,» explains Jaunzeme.
Businesses, self-employed persons and patent payers whose operations were impacted by the Covid-19 restrictions should submit their requests by 15 November 2022 to receive support for October and November.
Grants for working capital are available in the amount of 30% of net wage in a business. This includes the employer’s state social insurance contributions and the amounts for which wage taxes were calculated in July, August and September 2021 but no higher than EUR 250 000 for each separate month and no more than EUR 2.3 million for a group of persons.
At the same time, it is important to keep in mind that a number of sectors were not affected by Covid-19 restrictions and the state of emergency declared in October and November. This means aid will not be available for businesses in those sectors. The list of sectors businesses in which are not eligible for aid will be released along with updated rules from the Cabinet of Ministers.