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Business cost support (5th round)

5th application round of business cost support 21 December 2021-18 February 2022

Average processing time
14 days for sectors directly eligible for support
14 days for companies outside the list of sectors
  • The fifth application round for cost support ended on 18 February 2022 at 4:15 pm.

    The processing time for claims for a revised decision is currently about 5-6 months. If we need more information to process your claim, our customer service representatives will contact you. We process all claims for a revised decision on a first come, first served basis, and unfortunately it is not possible to expedite the processing by contacting the State Treasury.

    Information about the fourth application round:

    4TH APPLICATION ROUND OF BUSINESS COST SUPPORT >

  • What is business cost support?

    The application period for the fifth round of cost support begins on 21 December 2021 and ends on 18 February 2022.

    The support for the fifth round of applications compensates for costs for companies that have suffered from public law restrictions related to the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The support will be directed at costs incurred between 1 June and 30 September 2021.

    The payment of the cost support is based on the Act on fixed-term cost support >

  • Who is the support intended for?

    The fifth application round of cost support covers the costs for companies that have suffered from public law restrictions related to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The support covers expenses incurred between 1 June and 30 September 2021. The restriction may have been directed directly at the company or its customer base.

    Cost support is intended for companies that meet the following conditions:

    • The company’s main sector of business as reported to the Tax Administration on 1 June 2021 is within the scope of the support. If the company’s sector of business is not covered by the support but other conditions of the support are met, the support may be granted on a discretionary basis, if the company or its customer base has been subject to a restriction under public law in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. See sectors covered by the support >
    • The company’s turnover has decreased by more than 30% compared to the reference period.
    • The company has salary and fixed expenses that are difficult to adjust.

    In addition to companies, foundations and associations with business can apply for support. The size or form of the companies is not limited. However, the company must have a Business ID.

     

  • When can support applications be made?

    The fifth application round for cost support is from 21 December to 18 February 2022.

    The application must be submitted to the State Treasury no later than 18 February 2022 at 4.15 p.m. Please note that this also applies to paper applications, which must be received by the State Treasury on the last application day at 4.15 p.m. A same-day stamp is not enough.

  • Applying for support outside the sector

    The fifth round of cost support is aimed especially at the accommodation, restaurant, and event sectors. Sectors that are directly eligible for cost support are listed in the Government Decree. See sectors covered by the support >

    However, support may also be granted on a discretionary basis to companies outside the list of sectors, subject to a restriction related to the management of the pandemic under public law. Restriction may include, for example, a restriction on opening hours. The restriction may apply either directly to the company or significantly to customer base.

    It should be noted, however, that the authority’s recommendation alone is not sufficient to justify granting support for companies outside the sector. For example, the recommendation for teleworking is not grounds for paying support to a company outside the sector.

  • How do I apply for the support?

    The support can be applied for via the State Treasury’s e-services. The e-service guides you in filling in the application. You can also save the application as a draft and continue filling it out later.

    You can use the application form to provide all the information needed. In addition, the State Treasury automatically receives information from other authorities, such as the Tax Administration and the Income Register, in order to grant support.

    You will receive a case number and a notification in your email upon successful registration. You do not need to contact the State Treasury before or after sending in the application. The State Treasury will request additional information if necessary.

    Inquiries do not speed up the processing of the application. The estimated processing time will be updated on the State Treasury’s website.

  • To what is the turnover compared with, what is the comparison period?

    Comparison periods refer to the periods which are compared, and the comparison defines the decrease in the company’s turnover between the normal period and the pandemic period. The granting of cost support requires a drop in turnover of more than 30%.

    The change in the company’s turnover is calculated by comparing the turnovers of the comparison periods. The comparison takes into account both sales subject to value added tax (VAT), which are reported on VAT declarations, and sales free of VAT.

    Comparison periods are based on the company’s VAT tax period. A VAT tax period is the period for which a company reports and pays VAT. Comparison periods are determined as follows:

    • The company’s VAT tax period is one month and the company was established before 1 June 2019: the comparison periods are 1 June to 30 September 2019 and from 1 June to 30 September 2021.
    • The company’s VAT tax period is quarterly and the company was established before 1 July 2019: the comparison periods are 1 July to 30 September 2019 and from 1 July to 30 September 2021.
    • The company’s VAT tax period is one year and the company was established before 1 January 2019: the comparison periods are the years 2019 and 2021.
    • The company was established on or after the first day of the first reference period (monthly declarant 1 June 2019, quarterly declarant 1 July 2019 and annual declarant on or after 1 January 2019) or the company’s VAT tax period has changed: the comparison periods are 1 January to 29 February 2020 and from 1 January to 28 February 2021.
    • The company has not had a VAT-tax sale : the comparison periods are 1 June to 30 September 2019 and from 1 June to 30 September 2021.

    New companies

    If the company was established in March 2020 or later, it is not possible to define reference period for the company. Therefore, no cost support can be granted to the company.

  • Inflexible expenses

    The amount of the cost support and closure compensation depends on the other expenses during the support period as reported by the company on the application.

    Other expenses include the inflexible costs reported by the company in its application, and business costs during the support period.

    Inflexible expenses refer to costs that cannot be adjusted in a manner that is equivalent to the volume of operations. The company must therefore bear these costs even if the company has no sales at all, and it is not possible to adjust the inflexible costs accordingly, unlike, for example, expenditure on materials and articles or new investments.

    Expenses may also include prepayments made by the company that have proved to be final. Expenses do not include, for example, expenditure on materials and articles, new investments and wage costs that can be reduced.

     

    Examples of inflexible expenses:

    • Rental expenses related to the company’s property/premises (such as facility and property rent) and maintenance charges
    • Electricity, water, gas,
    • Waste management
    • Security, facility surveillance or security systems
    • Hosting, property maintenance and cleaning
    • Property taxes
    • Vehicle taxes on means of transport used in business
    • Equipment and software rentals (including leasing fees)
    • Concessions and license fees
    • Long-term marketing contract fees
    • Financial management, accounting and auditing
    • Group management fee
    • Permits and other official fees
    • Dues
    • Phone subscriptions
    • Telecommunication
    • Premiums for statutory and other essential insurance policies
    • Loan interest on owner-occupied property and fixed assets acquired for business purposes

    The necessary temporary agency workers’ expenses can also be reimbursed. These include expenses that correspond to the actions performed by your own staff, which are necessary to maintain business. This also applies to the costs of maintaining the assets used in the business.

    Statutory and other necessary insurances are, for example, insurances related to real estate or vehicles used in business. They must be specified in the additional information section of the application, together with the amounts. Pension and health insurance contributions are taken into account on the application, in the section on wage expenses and YEL insurance. They should therefore not be indicated in the application’s expense table.

    Costs that are flexible to some extent can also be reimbursed. In this case, compensation may be paid only for an amount which has not been flexible due to reduced volume of activity.

    The costs must be final and cover the support period 1 June 2021 -30 September 2021. After the support period, the costs to be read in favour of the applicant, for example as a discount, cannot be reimbursed. The company is obliged to provide information on actual expenditure incurred during the support period even retrospectively in order to adjust the amount of support.

  • Wage expenses

    Wage expenses include data on direct wages paid by the company from the Incomes Register. In addition, the employer’s incidental expenses will be accepted as a percentage of wage expenses. The employer’s incidentals include holiday and sick pay and holiday bonus, as well as the costs of social security and occupational health care.

    In the case of business name entrepreneurs and company-employed persons, the wage costs are accepted as the wage income established for the self-employed person’s pension insurance. In addition, the YEL insurance contribution and the health insurance contribution are accepted according to the company’s report.

    The wages and wage side costs of self-employed persons of limited liability companies can only be accepted according to the data of the Incomes Register. Separate YEL contributions are therefore not accepted.

  • Obstacles to granting the support

    According to the bill, support will not be granted in the following situations

    1. The company has less than 2000 euros of costs for the support period
    2. The turnover of the company during the support period has not decreased by more than 30% compared to the turnover of the comparison period
    3. The company is a credit or financial institution or its main activity is primary production, fisheries or aquaculture. The Act on Fixed-term Cost Support does not apply to these industries.
    4. The company is not registered in the prepayment register
    5. The company has failed to file a tax return
    6. The company has tax debt information in the tax debt register
    7. Recovery proceedings has collected unpaid taxes from the company
    8. The company has been declared bankrupt or is the subject of bankruptcy proceedings.
    9. The company was in difficulty before the coronavirus pandemic (31 December 2019). See the definition of a company in difficulty. Exception: This does not apply to small and micro enterprises that have been in difficulty before 1.1.2020. They may be granted support if the company is not in bankruptcy or reorganization proceedings at the time the support is granted and has not received rescue or restructuring aid.

    Definition of a company in difficulty in the EU Regulation:

    A company in difficulty refers to a company in accordance with Article 2(18) of the General Block Exemption Regulation of the EU. According to the definition, a company is in difficulty,

    a. if more than half of its share capital has disappeared as a result of accumulated losses (limited liability companies),

    b. more than half of its capital as shown in the company accounts has disappeared as a result of accumulated losses (companies where at least some members have unlimited liability for the debt of the company),

    c. the company is subject to collective insolvency proceedings,

    d. the company has received rescue aid and has not yet reimbursed the loan or terminated the guarantee, or has received restructuring aid and is still subject to a restructuring plan,

    e. the company is not an SME, and for the past two years, its book debt to equity ratio has been greater than 7.5 and its EBITDA interest coverage ratio has been below 1.0.

    Only section c applies to SMEs that were under 3 years of age on 31 December 2019.

  • How much support can I get?

    The minimum amount of support is EUR 2,000. The maximum amount of support is EUR 1 million.

    The other support already granted will be taken into account in the amount of the business cost support so that the total aid granted under the same temporary State aid rules of the European Commission will not exceed EUR 2,3 million.

    Note! When granting cost support, the State Treasury takes into account expenses that correspond max. four times of average monthly turnover of the company during the reference period.

  • How does the aid already granted affect the cost support?

    Cost support can be applied for even if the company has already received other direct supports to mitigate the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. Insurance compensation for the same costs, closure compensation and event guarantee granted by the State Treasury are deducted from the cost support.

    Cost support is granted under the EU’s framework support programme. All aid granted under the framework support programme is subject to a maximum amount of EUR 2,3 million per company, which must not be exceeded. The ceiling of EUR 2,3 million is calculated taking into account all aid received by an individual company and companies belonging to the same group.

    The following supports are under the EU framework support programme:

    • Cost support (State Treasury)
    • Closure compensation (not closure compensation for medium-sized and large companies) (State Treasury)
    • Event guarantee (State Treasury)
    • Grant for cultural events cancelled or organised smaller than expected due to the coronavirus pandemic, as well as grants to interrupted competition series and sports federations organising series at the top division level of sport (Ministry of Education and Culture OKM)
    • Support for re-employment in the food sector (KEHA Centre)
    • State aid for promoting journalistic content (Traficom)
    • Temporary RKI loan in the event of a business disruption (Business Finland)
    • Temporary extended ELA of the Provincial Government of Åland (tillfälligt utökat likviditetsstöd)
    • Development grant granted by the ELY Centres (only if, exceptionally, the aid has been granted under the framework aid scheme and not as de minimis aid)

    In its application for cost support, the company must notify the State Treasury of all aid granted to the company under the framework aid scheme.

     

  • Do the following before applying

    • The application can be made by a person with the right to sign that the company entered in the trade register/register of associations, or another person who has received a Suomi.fi authorization. Check that your authorization to represent your company appears in the Suomi.fi authorization register. If not, check that the signatories are correct in the Patent and Registration Office’s register. Cost support is applied for with the authorization “Yritysrahoituksen hakeminen”. Suomi.fi authorizations >
    • To apply for support, the applicant must have a business ID. For more information, see: Business Information System >
    • The cost support can only be paid to the bank account that the company has reported to the Tax Administration. Check the account number you have entered and, if necessary, enter a new number on your My Tax page >
  • The authority to sign and Suomi.fi e-Authorizations

    Filling in the application as an authorised signatory

    Applications for cost support may be submitted by a person who has the right to sign on behalf of the company. In addition, the application can be filled in by a person who has a role entered in the Trade Register, the Business Information System or the Register of Associations that entitles the person to represent the company. The roles entered in the Trade Register that entitle a person to represent a company are:
    • Managing Director
    • Substitute Managing Director
    • Self-employed person
    • Property Manager
    • Head Property Manager
    The roles marked in the Register of Associations that entitle a person to represent an association are:
    • Other authorised signatory who is marked on the register as having the right to represent the association alone

    Granting a mandate for a company representative

    A company may also authorise another individual to represent the company via the Suomi.fi e-Authorizations service. Select the mandate ‘Application for corporate financing’.

    You can authorise the following people to represent a company:
    • a private entrepreneur, on behalf for their own business
    • the company’s managing director or substitute managing director
    • an authorised signatory who is marked in the Trade Register as having the right to represent the company alone
    • all the members of the company board marked in the Trade Register, acting together
    • either the chairperson and a board member or two board members who have been entered into the Trade Register in accordance with the rules of representation
    • an individual who the company has given either the right to grant a mandate or the representative’s right to grant a mandate.
    The following persons may authorise on behalf of a registered association:
    • the association’s chairman, board member or other authorised signatory who is marked in the Register of Associations as having the right to represent the association alone
    • an individual which the association has given either the right to grant a mandate or the representative’s right to grant a mandate.

    The customer service of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency is available to assist companies in the use of Suomi.fi mandates.
    You can contact us on: +358 295 53 5115

    Note. Representative of the association or foundation: if you have any problems with Suomi.fi authorization, please contact the cost support customer service kustannustuki@valtiokonttori.fi

  • Associations & foundations

    The chairman of the association, who is entered as a chairman in the Finnish Register of Associations, may fill in the application for Cost Support on behalf of the association in e-service. In addition to the application, an association must send evidence via a supplementary information notice that the chairman has the right to sign for association alone or is authorized by the signatories to send the application (association register / rules / minutes / power of attorney).

    In the case of foundations, the application should be sent as a paper application if the authorization rights are not already defined.

  • What information must be provided to apply for support?

    The application must be filled in with the company’s basic data, pandemic and normal season turnover data, if they are not available directly from the Tax Administration on the basis of the company’s VAT returns, information on the business name entrepreneur’s annual YEL income, YEL contribution and health insurance contribution, information on inflexible expenses for the support period (1 June to 30 September 2021 – type and amount of expense, e.g. rent), information on received support related to the coronavirus pandemic, cost support, closure compensation, event guarantee and insurance payments, if they compensate damages during the support period, and information on other aid received under the EU framework aid scheme.

    The State Treasury receives some of the necessary information from the Tax Administration, the Incomes Register, Statistics Finland and other authorities that have granted state aid.

    The State Treasury strives to make applying as effortless as possible. The application has been tested with a customer panel and has received commendable feedback.

  • Video instructions

    Video instructions on how to fill in the electronic application > link

  • Submitting a claim for rectification

    If you are dissatisfied with the decision you have received, you can request a rectification from the State Treasury. Processing a claim for rectification at the State Treasury is free of charge.

    Before submitting a claim for rectification

    • Read the cost support decision carefully before submitting a claim for rectification. Check all the information used to justify the decision and any reasons for rejecting the decision.
    • Please note that in order to be granted cost support, the company must fulfill all the general conditions
    • In the claim for rectification, it is advisable to comment on all possible rejections, in order for the claim for rectification to be successful.
    • If you have general feedback or questions about the decision you have received, you can contact customer service by calling 0295 50 3050.
    • Contact for example an accounting firm to obtain all the necessary documents.

    How is the claim for rectification made?

    • The claim for rectification is made in the e-service.
    • After logging in to the e-service, you can automatically see all the cost support applications you have submitted earlier. Select the cost support issue for which you are applying a rectification.
    • The claim for rectification can also be submitted to the State Treasury in person, using an agent, by post, or by e-mail.
    • The sender is responsible for the submission of the claim for rectification.

    What information should be contained in the claim for rectification?

    • The claim for rectification should indicate the adjustment required for the decision.
    • Also tell us on what grounds the rectification is required.
    • The claim for rectification must also include the documents mentioned in the claim.
    • If the claim for rectification is made otherwise than by using the State Treasury’s e-service, enter the application number in the claim, for which you are applying for rectification. The application number can be found in the upper corner of the cost support
    • If the lawyer or public legal counsel does not act as an assistant, and the application is not made in the State Treasury’s e-service, the proxy of the agent must also be attached to the claim for rectification

    When do I have to make a claim for rectification?

    • The claim for rectification and its attachments must be submitted to the State Treasury by 4:15 p.m. within 30 days of the date on which you received the decision.
    • If the decision has been submitted electronically, service is deemed to have taken place on the third (3rd) day following the sending of the message, unless otherwise shown.
    • If the decision was sent by letter, the service is deemed to have taken place on the seventh (7th) day from the date of mailing, unless otherwise shown.
    • Only claims received within the time limit are examined.

    Processing of the claim for rectification

    • The State Treasury processes the rectification claims in the order in which they are received, and the estimated processing time is approximately 5-6 months.
    • Claims for rectification are processed individually, which is why the duration of the processing varies.
    • You can supplement the claim for rectification by submitting additional information in the e-service. Submitting relevant attachments/supporting documents without delay will help the processing of your case.
    • If necessary, the rectification claim handler will ask you for additional information, either by email or by phone. Please monitor your email regularly. From time to time, check the junk e-mail folder.
    • Please note that providing all necessary additional information without delay will contribute to the processing of your case.

    Appeal to the Administrative Court

    • If you consider the decision issued by the State Treasury to appeal against the claim for rectification to be unlawful, you can appeal the decision to the Administrative Court.
    • The decision can only be appealed to the Administrative Court after the claim for rectification has been processed by the State Treasury.

     

  • State Treasury

    • Call us+358 295 50 3050, Mon–Fri from 9 am to 12 pm

    • Additional information The State Treasury does not charge for calls made to numbers starting with the sequence 0295. Operators will charge standard mobile / local network rates for these calls.

  • Cost support calculator

    Before using the calculator, please read carefully the terms and conditions for granting cost support on our website.

    Please note that the calculator is only indicative, as the calculator does not include all the conditions mentioned in the act. The amount indicated by the calculator is not an official decision on cost support, but cost support must be applied for separately in the e-service channel.

    Help table to find out your reference period

    Reference periods refer to the periods for which the comparison defines the decrease in the company’s turnover between the normal period and the pandemic period. (The granting of cost support is subject to a drop in turnover of more than 30%).

    The normal period and the pandemic period are determined by the company’s VAT reporting period and the date of establishment. When you select your company’s reference period and the date of establishment in the help table, they are shown in the calculator next to respective fields.

    Note. The support period, for which cost support is applied for, is the same for all applicants (1.6.2021-30.9.2021).