Who can benefit from the relief grant?

• Shops, businesses and establishments closed pursuant to Article 1 of the Ministerial Decree of 23 March 2020, including restaurants offering meals to take away and hotels; since 24 March, hairdressing salons have also been subject to an obligation to close.
• Who employ less than 50 full-time equivalents (Note: the limit of 50 ETP is per company, not per establishment unit) ;
• Active in one of the sectors listed in the annex to the Order of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region of 26 March 2020, based on the NACE VAT codes introduced in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises on 18 March 2020 (the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region may modify the annex according to the evolutions in the measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19). It is therefore a precondition that it is an active establishment, i.e. an establishment where an activity is usually carried out and where the enterprise has the staff and equipment to carry it out.

These enterprises may benefit from a relief grant per active establishment unit in the Region, as registered in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises, up to a maximum of five establishment units.

Write down :

• You must have a registered establishment unit in order to benefit from the relief grant.
• It is the establishment unit that counts and not the registered office.

Public enterprises or enterprises considered as such are not eligible for this relief grant.

Who is excluded ?

Are excluded from the aid or have to repay it, the beneficiaries who:

• Have been sanctioned for infringing the Ministerial Decree of 23 March 2020, or any other regulations that it replaces or is replacing (e.g. companies that have been sanctioned for having continued their activities when they should have closed down) ;
• Do not comply with the Ordinance of 8 May 2014 on tourist accommodation.

How to submit an application ?  

You must submit your application online - no later than 1 June 2020 - to Brussels Economie en Werkgelegenheid (BEW), using the form made available by BEW on its website. The application is made in two steps. In the first step, the company number has to be filled in. It is then automatically checked whether the conditions of the premium have been met. If this is the case, the form can be completed in a second step. 

The following data must be filled in: 

• Company number and type of enterprise (Private enterprise or Public enterprise)  
• Declaration on honour of the size of the enterprise (less than 50 FTE, 50 FTE or more) and the subsidies already received (more or less than € 200,000 subsidies received during the current fiscal year and the last two fiscal years).  
• Account number of the company 

You need to add 2 documents to your application:  

• your last (three) monthly VAT declaration ;  
• a certificate from your bank relating to the company account   

You may only submit 1 application for a maximum of 5 Brussels business units (business units registered in the CBE).  

Your company can only receive a maximum of 200,000 euros in "de minimis" aid during the current and the two previous financial years, in accordance with European Commission Directive (EU) No 1407/2013 of 18 December 2013. 

When will you receive an answer ?

Brussels Economy and Employment (BEE) will make its decision within three months of receiving your request for aid. The Minister may extend the decision period if the available budget appropriations are exhausted.

If the available budget appropriations are exhausted, the applications will be rejected.

If you have other questions regarding the Corona crisis, please visit our special FAQ

Last update: 30/04/2020