The Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS)
The Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) has been introduced by Finance Bill 2022 to assist businesses with increased energy costs over the winter months. Businesses can now register for this scheme through ROS and the portal to claim repayments will open next Monday 5th December 2022.
The scheme will operate in respect of energy costs for the period 1 September 2022 to 28 February 2023. Claims may be made in respect of each calendar month within this period. The first claim period for which a claim can be made is September 2022 and businesses will be able to make claims through the Revenue Online Service portal from 5th December 2022.
To be eligible to make a claim under the TBESS in respect of an electricity bill or a natural gas bill, a business must be able to demonstrate that the average unit price for electricity or natural gas on the relevant bill has increased by 50% or more as compared to the average unit price of electricity or natural gas in a reference period. In broad terms, this is the average unit price in the month that is 12 months prior to the claim period to which the relevant bill relates.
A qualifying business is entitled to claim a Temporary Business Energy Payment (TBEP) amounting to 40% of its eligible cost (subject to a cap for each monthly claim period). A claim for a TBEP must be made within 4 months of the end of the claim period to which a particular electricity or natural gas bill relates.
A business will be considered an ‘eligible business’, and therefore within the scope of the TBESS, where it is a company, self-employed individual or partnership carrying on a trade or profession the profits of which are chargeable to tax.
The eligible cost amount in relation to an electricity or natural gas bill is calculated as the increase between the bill amount on that electricity or natural gas bill as compared to a bill amount in the applicable reference period
The TBEP is subject to a monthly cap, which applies on a per trade basis or a per profession basis. In general, the support available in respect of electricity and natural gas costs is subject to a monthly cap of €10,000 per trade or profession. Where, however, a business carries on its trade or profession from more than one location, as identified by the business having multiple electricity accounts/ MPRNs in different locations, the cap may be increased by €10,000 per electricity account/ MPRN, subject to an overall monthly cap of €30,000 per trade. The increased cap is available in relation to both electricity and natural gas costs relating to the trade or profession.
The person carrying on a qualifying business (which is the precedent partner in the case of a partnership) must register for the scheme on ROS, provide certain information and make a declaration that they satisfy the conditions to make a claim. Following this, a claim may be made.
To make a claim under the scheme, a number of other conditions must be satisfied including that the person (which is the precedent partner in the case of a partnership) is eligible for a tax clearance certificate and has complied with their tax registration, payment and tax return filing obligations.
The scheme operates on a self-assessment basis. A person registering their details and the details of their business activity for the purposes of a making a claim should retain evidence supporting their basis for making a claim under the scheme, which may be requested by Revenue under future eligibility checks. In some instances, supporting documents may be required as part of the claim process.
If you need more information about registering for TBESS or submitting a claim please get in touch with one of our team.