How do Bridging Aid III Plus & Neustart Assistance work together?
The restart aid is an independent program within the 3rd phase of the federal bridging aid (bridging aid III). Therefore, self-employed persons and corporations/cooperatives can either take advantage of the restart aid or the reimbursement of fixed costs as part of the bridging aid III. It is not possible to claim both grants:
- Self-employed persons and corporations/cooperatives that have applied for or received Bridging Aid III are therefore not eligible to apply for the new start aid.
- Self-employed persons and corporations/cooperativess that have applied for or received the restart allowance cannot apply for reimbursement of fixed costs under bridging allowance III.
- An exception applies to corporations with partners who hold less than 25 percent of the shares in the corporation: If a solo self-employed person as a natural person has made use of restart assistance, a corporation of which he or she is a partner can at the same time make use of bridging aid III if the self-employed person holds less than 25 percent of the shares in the corporation. If he or she holds 25 percent or more of the shares and has already made use of restart assistance, the corporation cannot apply for bridging assistance III.
Applicants are given a subsequent right to choose between restart aid and bridging aid III. After submitting your application and approval of your application, you can switch from restart assistance to bridging assistance III and vice versa in order to select the program that is more advantageous for you.
All applicants who are eligible to apply in both programs can make use of the right to vote. The prerequisite is that an application for one of the two programs has already been submitted and approved. In addition, the applicant must make a declaration that any claims under the originally selected program will be waived. Upon receipt of the waiver, the original notification loses its effectiveness. The right to vote can initially be exercised until the end of the application period on October 31, 2021 (phase one).
In individual cases, the right to choose can also be exercised in the period of the final billing of the restart assistance or in the period of the final billing of the bridging assistance III (phase 2). In these cases, the application is submitted in a partially automated process that has yet to be specified. Exercising the right to vote in phase 2 is expected to be possible at the end of November 2021.
Further information will be announced here in due course. Please note that after you have sent the self-declaration for the final settlement of the restart assistance, you can no longer choose to switch to bridging assistance III. If applicants have already made the decision to exercise the right to vote, it is advisable to implement this in phase 1 due to the likely simpler application process.
So, how exactly do you vote?
Phase 1 (by the application deadline October 31, 2021):
Applicants who want to exercise the right to vote must submit an application in the program they want to switch to. In doing so, they must indicate in the relevant sections of the application form that they have already submitted an application in the other program, that this has already been approved, and that they now want to make use of the option and waive the funding under the originally selected program. In addition, applicants must state the application number and the date of the notification of the program originally used in the new application.
All other information to be provided corresponds to the respective application data for the first application. After submitting the self-declaration for the final settlement of the restart assistance, the subsequent option to switch to bridging assistance III can no longer be exercised. If applicants switch to the restart assistance by direct application, they are requested to inform the third party through whom the application for bridging assistance III was submitted.
Phase 2 (in the period of the final or final settlement):
During the final accounting period, those applicants who did not use the option in phase 1 are given the opportunity to switch to the other program. In these cases, the application is made in a partially automated process that has yet to be specified, e.g. via the service desk. The exact process is still being designed. After submitting the self-declaration for the final settlement of the restart assistance, the subsequent option to switch to bridging assistance III can no longer be exercised. A final or final account must be made in the program to which the applicant switched after exercising the option.
If the option is exercised and the application has been made for the program to which the applicant wishes to switch, it is no longer possible to switch back to the other program selected first. This also applies if the funding is lower in the newly selected program or if, after submitting the application, it turns out that there is no entitlement to apply for the newly selected program and the application therefore cannot be approved.
It is therefore urgently advised to only use the option after thorough prior examination. It is recommended to seek advice from an auditing third party.