How to obtain Coronavirus aid Practical guide

With the various measures taken by the government to limit the risk of the coronavirus spreading (containment, closure of non-food businesses, etc.), many companies have seen their sales plummet.

This aid is designed to help them overcome the crisis.

Help available to all companies to cope with the coronavirus

Deferred payment of direct taxes

On simple request via a dedicated form on impots.gouv.fr, and without justification, the tax authorities grant a 3-month deferral of direct tax payments.

The taxes concerned are:corporation tax, payroll tax, CFE and CVAE. VAT, on the other hand, continues to be payable at the usual due date. However, the processing of claims for VAT credit refunds has been accelerated (press release from the Ministry of Action and Public Accounts published on March 22, 2020). The same applies to IS credits refundable in 2020.

For companies that have opted for monthly payment of CFE and property tax, it is possible to request that the contract be terminated, and to ask for payment to be deferred until the CFE due date of December 15, 2020. Similarly, companies that have already paid their corporate income tax instalments can request a refund from their tax office.

Cancellation of direct taxes

For companies in major difficulty, where a simple deferral of tax payments is not enough, it is possible to request outright cancellation of these taxes. To do so, it is necessary to justify the difficulties by presenting a certain number of documents. Worth knowing:

• A document that justifies a drop in sales between 2019 and 2020.
• The latest cash position.
• Debts to be repaid: monthly mortgage payments, VAT, etc.

Each application is examined individually, taking into account the financial difficulties of each company.

Deferred payment of social security contributions

In principle, to benefit from the deferred payment of all or part of employee and employer contributions, companies simply need to indicate the amount of the payment they wish to make - including 0 - on the form. The payment date will automatically be deferred for up to 3 months. It is also possible to set up activity measures.

However, for large companies with over 5,000 employees and sales of €1.5 billion or more, a request for deferred payment of social security contributions must be submitted toUrssaf. To do so, simply inform the collection department and complete a form via your online space. The deferral of payment is subject to certain conditions:

• The company did not pay any dividends.
• There will be no share buybacks between March 27 and March 31, 2020.
• The head office of the company or one of its subsidiaries is not located in an uncooperative country for tax purposes.

State-guaranteed loans

This is a 1-year cash-flow loan whose monthly repayments can be deferred for up to 12 months, to ease companies' cash-flow burden. In addition, the loan can be amortized over a maximum of 5 years. This state aid applies to all loan applications taken out between March 16 and December 31, 2020. To benefit, simply contact your dedicated advisor.

In detail, for companies with fewer than 5,000 employees and sales of less than €1.5 billion, you need to :

• Contact one or more banks and apply for a group loan (it is possible to take out several loans, provided that the total amount does not exceed 25% of sales or 2 years' payroll for innovative companies or companies created on or after January 1, 2019).
• The bank or banks examine the application and give a preliminary loan agreement.
• The company logs on to the attestation-pge.bpifrance.fr platform to obtain a unique identifier. To do so, it must provide its SIREN number, the amount of the loan and the name of the bank.
• She sends it to her bank.
• The bank grants the loan on confirmation of the unique identification number by Bpifrance.

Note that if the unique identifier is refused, the company can contact Bpifrance.

For companies with over 5,000 employees and sales of over €1.5 billion, the procedure is as follows:

• Approach one or more banks to apply for a loan.
• The bank or banks examine the application and give a preliminary loan agreement.
• The company sends its request to garantie.etat.garndesentreprises@bpifrance.fr.
• As soon as the application is received, the Treasury Department, supported by Bpifrance, examines it.
• An individual order from the Minister of the Economy and Finance grants the State guarantee.
• The bank or banks grant the loan.

Good to know: credit institutions (Qonto, Shine, Anytime, etc.) and finance companies are not eligible for government-backed loans. Participatory finance platforms, however, have obtained the right to distribute PGEs.

Assistance from Bpifrance

• 90% guarantee on 3- to 7-year loans and bank overdrafts.
• 3 to 5-year unsecured loan for amounts ranging from €10,000 to €5 million for SMEs and several tens of millions for ETIs.
• Suspension of loan repayments by Bpifrance since March 16, 2020.

To obtain these grants, companies must apply online via the official Bpifrance website.

Additional measures for very small businesses and the self-employed

In addition to these grants, VSEs, self-employed workers, micro-entrepreneurs and the liberal professions in the sectors most affected by the coronavirus health crisis also benefit from other assistance.

Deferred payment of electricity, water, gas and rental bills

To do this, companies must apply to the relevant organizations for an amicable deferral of invoice payment.

An exceptional bonus

To compensate for the loss of business, a monthly bonus of up to €1,500 (from a solidarity fund set up by the French government) is granted to companies that have recorded :

• Shutdown of activities for health reasons (hotels, restaurants, tourism, non-food businesses, etc.).
• A drop in sales of over 50% compared to 2019 at the same period.

In addition, to benefit from this aid, the company must also meet the following criteria:

• Be created before February 1, 2020.
• Less than €1 million in sales.
• Employ a maximum of 10 people.
• 120,000 in annual net taxable profits if the spouse contributes to the sole proprietorship, and €60,000 per partner and collaborating spouse in a company.
• Not be controlled by another company.

To benefit from this bonus, companies must apply on impots.gouv.fr. To do so, the entrepreneur must :

• Log in to your "private" (not professional) space.
• Click on "secure messaging".
• In the "Write" tab, select "I'd like to apply for assistance for companies weakened by the Covid-19 epidemic".
• Fill in the form and tick "I declare on my honor that the company meets the conditions".

For companies in serious financial difficulty, additional assistance of between €2,000 and €5,000 is granted on a case-by-case basis to prevent bankruptcy.

This bonus is granted by the regions.

To be eligible for this aid, the company must meet certain criteria in addition to those required for the €1,500 bonus.

• Employ at least 1 employee on fixed-term or permanent contract.
• Not benefit from the government-backed loan.
• Be unable to repay debts due within the next 30 days.

To apply, companies simply log on to the platform set up by the region in which they operate.

A bonus for craftsmen and shopkeepers

This bonus is paid automatically by Urssaf without any special request. The maximum amount is €1,250.