Financial Assistance for Job Retention (FA4JR) scheme |18 August 2020

SS Payet (Photo: Thomas Meriton)

New application procedures for August-December 2020

As from August 2020 onwards, the government through the Financial Assistance for Job Retention (FA4JR) will accept applications from businesses for financial assistance via the online portal tab https://mof.sc/FA4JFsubmisisions only.

It was the secretary of state for Finance, Patrick Payet, who made the declaration in a press conference yesterday at the International Conference Centre (ICCS).

He said that the committee has noticed that some businesses were using both the portal and hard copy for applications and this has caused some confusion in the sense that some businesses were being assessed twice.

He said that people seeking help for online applications can call the hotline number 190 during working hours or through the Ministry of Finance, Trade, Investment and Economic Planning, including the Seychelles Employment Transition Scheme (Sets) for guidance.

He called on all businesses yet to submit their July payroll with only the Seychelles employees and capping at R30,000, on the online portal, to do so by or before August 21, 2020, or else their August payment for next week will not be processed.

As of August 14, 2020, only 990 businesses have submitted their payroll.

He noted that upon submission of the July payroll, adjustments may be made in respect of sums disbursed for the month of July and going forward.

From August onwards, SS Payet said that assistance for all businesses who were assisted in July 2020, will continue to be eligible under the FA4JR scheme, subject to the provisions and procedures declared by the committee.

However, businesses that have amendments in payroll will need to submit the details via online portal on a monthly basis, from September 2020.

He clarified that no new recruitment and increase in salary, compared to the April payroll, will be considered for financial assistance.

“We have seen with some businesses that have submitted their applications for the July payroll that they have increased the salaries of some of their employees for that month. We are saying that if an employee was receiving R8,000 in April and they have decided to pay that employee R12,000 for July, we will assist with only the R8,000 as it was before.

“Some others have recruited new Seychellois employees and to those businesses, we will be assisting only those who were in employment with them as at April 2020. Those recruited as of July 2020 will have to go through Sets or through schemes by the employment department, for assistance,” SS Payet said.

He explained that self-employed individuals who are being assisted by FA4JR are being automatically registered with Sets.

Entities that have not applied, or were unsuccessful in their applications between April 2020 and July 2020, can re-apply but will be subject to a list of criteria to be used for assessment of applicants from August to December 2020.

These criteria include that the business must be registered or licensed, has logged business tax return in 2017 or more, been on operation or existed before March 2020, and to demonstrate that the inability to cover wages is a result of Covid-19 through proof (a) that January to February 2020 turnover was at least 90% of January to February 2019 - based on activity of bank statements, (b) must be able to show a drop of more than 60% in turnover for March to June 2020 period compared to the amounts banked from March to June 2019 and (c) demonstrate tangibly that their drop in activity stems from the economic conditions in the country post-March 2020.

August 24, 2020, is the deadline to submit the August applications for those businesses that have not received the assistance previously. They are being advised to ensure that all documents are attached with their applications to prevent any delay with the assessment.

SS Payet noted that businesses that are heavily reliant on tourism but were not eligible solely due to having sufficient funds will be assisted as from July 2020 onwards. Businesses in the tourism sector that have tax issues with the Seychelles Revenue Commission (SRC) will need to rectify the outstanding tax before submitting their applications.

Patrick Joubert