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Your questions answered on the Support for Licensed Outbound Travel Agents and Tour Operators Scheme
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Published on
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Please refer to these questions and answers regularly as updates will be posted in response to new queries received.
If you have a further query that is not covered in this FAQ or require a further clarification on the Scheme Guidelines, please email TravelTradeSupport@transport.gov.ie
Applicants are not eligible for a payment under this Scheme during a claim period for which they were also in receipt of support under either the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) or the Business Resumption Support Scheme (BRSS) in the same period. CRSS or BRSS payments received in any other period outside 1 December 2021 to 31 January 2022 do not invalidate an application to this Scheme.
Example: An applicant in receipt of CRSS in either December 2021 or January 2022 is not eligible for a payment under this Scheme in the Stage 1 claim period 1 December 2021 to 30 January 2022 only. An applicant who has received a CRSS payment in the period 1 December 2021 to 30 January 2022 may apply to this Scheme for the claim period 1 February 2022 to 30 April 2022.
No. Any support payments received under either the CRSS or the BRSS are not reckonable towards EU State aid “De Minimis” totals.
No. An applicant must have held a license prior to 1 January 2020 to be eligible under this Scheme.
No. Eligible Costs must be incurred in the period from 1 December 2021 to 30 April 2022 inclusive.
No. Commission for Aviation Regulation licence fees and related charges are ineligible costs under the Scheme.
No. Applicants need only provide statements of licensed turnover certified by an Accountant for the periods 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019 and 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021 respectively. A Sample Statement is detailed in the “How to apply” section of the Guidelines.
If an applicant has less than 12 months licensed trading in 2019, the statements must cover the relevant period of trading in 2019 and the same period in 2021. However in all instances, applicants may provide full accounts if such accounts clearly demonstrate the licensable turnover for the relevant periods, for example: 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019 and 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021 respectively.
If a business has a ‘general agreement’ with a travel agent/tour operator to manage their business-related travel, such turnover is excluded as licensable turnover under the Commission for Aviation Regulation licence. This turnover is therefore deemed ineligible turnover under this Scheme.
Business travel that is ordinarily covered under the Commission for Aviation Regulation license, that is, turnover that is subject to regulation, for example, flight only sales may be deemed eligible turnover under this Scheme.
Where applicants have licensable turnover for part of 2019, that is, less than 12 months, they must demonstrate that the total licensable turnover of their business during the same period in 2021 was below 25% of the total licensable turnover during 2019.
Full details are set out in “Scheme Allocation Mechanism” section of the Guidelines.
In summary subject to Scheme caps/adjustments for State Aid received, a grant amount is calculated as 5% of the eligible turnover in the 2019 calendar year or the total value of eligible business costs, whichever figure is the lesser amount.