The conditions that apply to loans under the government-guaranteed scheme for loans to SMEs (BMKB) and the one-off grant of € 4,000 under the Contribution for Entrepreneurs in Sectors Affected by COVID-19 scheme (TOGS) are being relaxed further. This was decided by the government on Tuesday, 28 April. By relaxing the rules in this way, it will be possible to provide even better support to entrepreneurs who suffer losses as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

 

Expansion of BMKB scheme

Under the BMKB scheme the government guarantees loans to entrepreneurs, allowing banks to issue loans more quickly. The government has already increased the level of the guarantee to 90% for SMEs and 80% for larger companies in connection with the coronavirus crisis. The scheme will be expanded further and will also be applicable to bridging loans and overdraft facilities with a term of up to four years instead of two.

 

Lower threshold

In addition, it will be easier for entrepreneurs to access the BMKB, as an application can also now be assessed by means of a turnover test and not just on the basis of a detailed liquidity forecast. It is not yet clear what form this test will take.

 

TOGS scheme

The TOGS scheme is also being relaxed further. Under this scheme entrepreneurs in sectors that have been particularly affected by the crisis, such as catering, can receive a tax-free grant of € 4,000. Up to now this grant has been based on a company’s principal activity, but is now also available if a registered secondary activity of an entrepreneur satisfies the conditions.

 

Conditions

An additional condition applies in such a case, however: based solely on the registered secondary activity, the entrepreneur must suffer a drop in turnover of at least € 4,000 over the period from 16 March 2020 to 15 June 2020 and must also have fixed costs of at least € 4,000 over that period.