These enterprises are eligible for grants (September 2020 – February 2021)

Enterprises that are not liable to pay tax to Norway are not eligible for grants.

Enterprises that are separate tax entities must be domiciled in Norway for tax purposes. In the case of enterprises which are assessed as a partnership, the partners must be liable to pay tax to Norway on the income from the enterprise. A Norwegian branch of a foreign enterprise (NUF) will be covered by the scheme regarding the part of the business that is liable to pay tax to Norway.

Companies that are domiciled in Svalbard for tax purposes are also eligible to apply. Sole proprietorships are liable to pay tax to Svalbard if the owner is domiciled there for tax purposes. In the case of businesses assessed as a partnership, the partners must be domiciled in Svalbard for tax purposes. Enterprises that are liable to pay tax to Svalbard must follow Norwegian rules concerning bookkeeping, accounting and auditing.

Enterprises must have been registered in the Register of Business Enterprises before 1 March 2020. Sole proprietorships must have been registered in the Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities before 1 March 2020.

For enterprises that have undergone tax-free conversion in 2020, the original enterprise must have been registered in the Register of Business Enterprises or the Central Register of Legal Entities by no later than 1 March 2020, and the newly founded enterprise must have been registered by 1 September 2020.

Only enterprises with employees may be eligible for grants. This means that enterprises must

• be registered in the State Register of Employers and Employees (the Aa-register) at the time the grant is awarded, and
• have at least one employee who was paid a salary for at least one calendar month during the period August 2019 and September 2020

However, there are two exceptions:

• sole proprietorships (ENK) where income from the enterprise is the owner’s main source of income
• general partnerships (ANS/DA) where income from the enterprise is the main source of income of at least one of the personal partners

Income from the enterprise is considered to be the main source of income when the income accounted for at least 50 percent of the partner’s or owner’s personal income either in 2019 or in January and February 2020.

The enterprise

• operates a lawful business
• has a bank account number linked to the banks’ joint account and address register
• is able to document its full ownership structure
• has paid taxes, duties and withholding tax which fell due before 29 February 2020
• must have submitted a VAT return with a submission deadline before the end of the grant period
• must have submitted all requested documentation in connection with previous applications for compensation for enterprises experiencing a substantial decrease in turnover (applies to both compensation schemes 1 and 2)
• must have submitted a tax return for wealth and income tax for 2019 (applies to enterprises established in or before 2019)
• must have submitted annual accounts for 2019 (applies to enterprises established in or before 2019). However, this does not apply to enterprises that were established during the second half of 2019 and have opted to exercise the right to have a financial year of up to 18 months

The enterprise must not:

• be the subject of bankruptcy proceedings or voluntary or compulsory liquidation. The same applies to owners of sole proprietorships and partners in general partnerships
• have persons in senior roles who are subject to bankruptcy quarantine

The enterprise must have experienced a decrease in turnover of at least 30 percent during the grant period compared with the comparative period, primarily as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Enterprises must have fixed, unavoidable costs in order to receive grants.

By ‘fixed, unavoidable costs’, we mean costs which cannot be reduced in the short term in line with the level of activity. This applies to:

• rental of commercial premises
• car leasing or rental
• lighting and heating
• refuse collection, water, sewerage, cleaning, etc.
• rental of equipment, fixtures and fittings, vehicles, etc.
• accounting and audit fees
• electronic communication, postage, etc.
• vehicle insurance and taxes
• deductible subscriptions
• insurance premiums
• interest expenses minus interest income
• animal care
• costs attributable to government-imposed supervision and control
• membership fees for regional tourist boards or destination marketing collaborations

For the periods November/December 2020 and January/February 2021, you can apply for compensation for lost stock if the authorities have commanded that you suspend your business operations. If you apply for compensation for lost stock, you will be asked to state how much this loss amounts to in NOK.

Enterprises which operate entirely or partially within the following industries may not be eligible to receive grants:

• financial services industry
• oil and gas extraction companies under the petroleum tax regime
• companies engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity
• airlines with a Norwegian operating permit

Enterprises that were the transferor or transferee in a demerger registered as completed in the Register of Business Enterprises on or after 1 March 2020 are not covered by the grant scheme for any of the grant periods.

Section 1-3 second paragraph of the Regulation sets out a number of exceptions to this rule.

Groups of companies are covered by separate rules.