Coronavirus Business Support Scheme

The Department for Enterprise's Coronavirus Business Support Scheme has been established to provide grant assistance to support local businesses in designated sectors that have been financially affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The scheme offers financial support to eligible businesses in the form of a grant payment of £3,000.

Eligible sectors

Eligible businesses must have less than 100 employees (unless indicated in the table below) and be operating in one of the following sectors in the table below.

Please note, the business can be self-employed, and/or employing one or more employees:

For a more detailed breakdown of the above sectors, please see the Scheme Guidelines

Important Note: the scheme excludes large retailers; any retailer that is liable to pay or will be liable to pay income tax at 10% rate under the large retailers tax for the 2018/2019 income tax year.

Eligible criteria 

For all businesses, the following must be declared:

• It has been financially affected by loss of trade caused by the COVID-19 pandemic;
• It was operating on 28 February 2020 and subsequently
• To the best of its knowledge, it is the intention of the business to continue trading through the current difficult conditions into at least the short to mid-term future; and
• The business does not have any overdue payments of more than 3 months relating to Income Tax, National Insurance and VAT
• For Tourist Accommodation, the premises/site is registered with the Department for Enterprise;
• It has one or more employees (which can be either full-time or part-time permanent employees) which can include the owner/a self-employed person (please see 1.3 of the guidelines for more eligibility criteria); and
• It has less than 100 employees (with the exception of the hotel sector) or in the case of the retail sector, 26 or fewer full-time equivalent employees.

Eligible employees

In order to qualify for the Scheme and financial assistance, a self-employed person must:

• Be a self-employed earner as defined by the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;
• Have already notified the Treasury under regulation 87 of the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2001 of their liability to pay Class 2 National Insurance Contributions;
• Have been in operation, in the capacity specified in the first bullet point, continuously for a period that commenced no later than 28th February 2020;
• As of 28 February 2020, not have reached pensionable age as defined by the Pensions Act 1995;
• Have annual profits or gains wholly or mainly from a relevant sector as set out in these guidance;
• Not have been granted a certificate of Small Earnings Exception or would have been granted such a certificate had an application to Treasury been made; and
• In the event of the person's making an application to the Treasury for the purpose, not have his or her liability to pay Class 2 or Class 4 National Insurance contributions deferred or treated as deferred.

Assessment criteria

The Department will assess each application based on the following criteria:

• FULL completion of the application form -please ensure you've checked that every section of the form is completed; and
• Eligibility

Key information

• Only one application and payment per business in each round of funding will be permitted.
• The grant must be used for businesses purposes by the supported business. It is intended that the grant can be used in two broad ways a) to help alleviate cash flow issues and b) to undertake business improvement initiatives.
• If you apply for this scheme, you cannot apply for the Manx Earnings Replacement Allowance (MERA) Grant
• The Department will authorise payment to be made. All payments will usually be made into the applicant's business bank account as soon as possible
• Due to the high volume of expected applications, the Department will notify ineligible or rejected applicants via email stating the reasons for the refusal
• The provision of financial assistance is discretionary and the decision to provide assistance is based on the merits of each particular case

A copy of the scheme can be found online.

How to access the scheme 

Application forms should be completed via the online form. 

If you're unsure of your eligibility for this scheme we encourage you to complete the enquiry form.