The Department for Enterprise’s Coronavirus Business Support Scheme (CBSS) provides grant funding to businesses and self-employed individuals who have been financially affected by COVID-19 measures, to support with the cost of business overheads.
Coronavirus Business Support Scheme – Circuit Break Lockdown March 2021
On 3 March 2021 The Department for Enterprise announced an additional Coronavirus Business Support Scheme ('CBSS') for Isle of Man businesses following the implementation of the second circuit break lockdown.
The Scheme offers a grant payment of £2,500 (increased from £1,500 on 22 March 2021) to eligible applicants who declare that they have a 25% or more reduction in turnover due to the circuit-break lockdown.
On 22 March 2021 it was announced by the Treasury Minister that in recognition of the circuit break extension, the CBSS – Circuit Break (March 2021) will provide an additional £1,000 payment to all businesses who have already applied for and received the £1,500 payment in March. Payments of this additional funding were completed on Wednesday 24 March 2021.
On 1 April it was announced that in recognition of the circuit break extension, the CBSS – Circuit Break (March 2021) will run a further £1,000 automatic payment to allow for the potential two week lead-in to reopening.
This additional funding will exclude the construction sector due to its ability to broadly reopen, however, as is the case currently, businesses within this sector may apply to be assessed on a case by case basis if they remain unable to open.
Please note: Applicants who have previously received a total grant payment of £2,500 in March 2021 and are eligible for the additional £1,000 announced on 1st April 2021 do not need to reapply for this Scheme.
The Scheme remains open and new applicants will still be able to claim the additional amount.
Eligible applicants are required to declare that:
- They have a 25% or more reduction in turnover following the implementation of the March circuit-break lockdown;
- They have usual eligible monthly business overheads of more than £250 per calendar month
Applications for this payment opened on Wednesday 3 March 2021, and will close on 30 April 2021.
CBSS for Travel and Tourism businesses
Extensions to the CBSS have been made on an ongoing basis for eligible Travel and Tourism businesses which remain financially affected by the continuing restrictions placed on the Island's borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Applications for CBSS Round 5 funding are now open, closing 31 July 2021.
Applications for Round 4 funding remain open and will close on the 30 April 2021. Those wishing to apply for this period can request the application form by emailing the Department for Enterprise at: enterprisesupport@gov.im
The purpose of these extensions is to provide a further three months’ support by way of financial assistance to those applicants that meet the Scheme’s eligibility criteria.
The Scheme offers financial support to eligible self-employed* applicants in the form of a grant payment of £3,000.
*Self-employed is defined as:
- Self-employed individuals;
- Sole traders owning a business with no staff other than the owner;
- Partnerships where both parties are the owners and have no other employees; and
- Businesses including limited companies with no staff other than the owner(s).
Eligible applicants MUST declare that:
- More than 50% of their annual income is ordinarily derived from tourism and travel activities from inbound and/or outbound travel
- They have suffered a 50% reduction in turnover in the period January, February and March 2021 due to ongoing border restrictions as a result of COVID-19 compared to the same period in 2019
- Important note - Any previous CBSS funding received in the period January, February and March 2021 must be included as income when applicants are determining whether the business has endured a 50% downturn in income when comparing this same period in 2019 and 2020.
- Important note - The Department may request evidence to verify that the application satisfies this condition by providing turnover figures for January, February and March in both 2019 and 2020.
In the case of start-up businesses, which must have been in operation prior to 28 February 2020, an individual assessment will be made. Businesses which did not come into operation until after 28 February 2020 are ineligible under the scheme.
Applicants MUST read the full Scheme Guidelines before submitting an application to the Department.
Further details, including the online application form, scheme eligibility and guidelines can be found at the Department for Enterprise's Coronavirus Business Support Scheme page.
CBSS Timeline
April 2021: It was announced on 1 April that in recognition of the circuit break extension, the CBSS – Circuit Break (March 2021) will run a further £1,000 automatic payment for designated sectors to allow for the potential two week lead-in to reopening. Applications for the Scheme will remain open until 30 April 2021.
April 2021: CBSS Round 5. The CBSS was amended to allow an additional round of funding to certain eligible businesses in the Tourism and Travel related sectors who have suffered a 50% reduction in turnover caused by the Island’s border restrictions. The support offered relates to loss of earnings during the period January, February and March 2021. The Scheme closes on 31 July 2021.
March 2021: Following the extension of the March 2021 circuit break lockdown, it was announced that additional funding of £1,000 per business would be made available through the CBSS – Circuit Break (March 2021). In addition, applications for the Scheme will remain open until 30 April 2021.
March 2021: CBSS – Circuit Break (March 2021) was announced to provide grant assistance to support local businesses and self-employed individuals in designated sectors which are financially affected by the Circuit Break Lockdown. The Scheme will be open for applications from the 3 March to 30 April 2021.
January 2021: CBSS CBL. The CBSS CBL was established to provide grant assistance to support local businesses and self-employed individuals in designated sectors which were financially affected by the Circuit Break Lockdown. The Scheme was closed on the 31 January 2021.
January 2021: CBSS Round 4. The CBSS was amended to allow an additional round of funding to certain eligible businesses in the Tourism and Travel related sectors who have suffered a 50% reduction in turnover caused by the Island’s border restrictions. The support offered relates to loss of earnings during the period October, November and December 2020. The Scheme closes on 30 April 2021.
October 2020: CBSS Round 3. The CBSS was amended to allow an additional round of funding to certain eligible businesses in the Tourism and Travel related sectors who have suffered a 50% reduction in turnover caused by the Island’s border restrictions. The support offered related to loss of earnings during the period July, August and September 2020. The Scheme closed on 31st January 2021.
July 2020: CBSS Round 2. The CBSS was amended to allow an additional round of funding to certain eligible businesses in the Tourism and Travel related sectors who have suffered a 50% reduction in turnover caused by the Island’s border restrictions. The support offered related to loss of earnings during the period April, May and June 2020. The Scheme closed on 31st October 2020.
March 2020: CBSS. The CBSS was established to provide grant assistance to support businesses in designated sectors that were financially affected by the measures announced as part of the Isle of Man’s response to the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in the Island. The Scheme closed on 6th July 2020