Government continues to provide necessary support for businesses

We all continue to count down to carefree times and look forward to further easing. In the meantime, however, many sectors are suffering from the consequences of the corona crisis, and the government is trying to guide companies in difficulty towards the end of the corona era with (re)new(ed) support measures. Below we list the most important support measures for a complete overview Please refer to our schedule.

Relaxation of judicial reorganization is a reality

On January 31, 2021, the bankruptcy moratorium ended. The moratorium on bankruptcies ensured that a company could not be declared bankrupt nor did the entrepreneur have to file for bankruptcy when they found financial difficulties. Given that the corona crisis has not yet reached its end and many companies are still experiencing financial difficulties today, the bill was approved last week that provides for a relaxation of the existing system of judicial reorganization. In this way, the government wants to ensure that a plan is sought to make the company viable again rather than keeping it alive artificially. An important note here is that this is a temporary relaxation, which currently runs until June 30, 2021.

By easing the existing system of judicial reorganization, the Government is focusing on the following assets:

• Low-threshold procedureA judicial reorganization procedure must always be applied for and can only be initiated through a petition to the court. The petition must be accompanied by all kinds of documents, such as a budget and accounting documents. Whereas it used to be the case that the procedure was deemed inadmissible in the absence of documents, it is now the case that missing documents can be submitted even after the procedure has been started.

• Possibility of appealing to a court mandatary: Even before the official start of the legal proceedings, a company can opt to appoint a judicial trustee through the court. The court mandator can then already negotiate with the creditors and check whether an agreement can be found. The major advantage is that the appointment does not have to be published.

• Measures for tax exemptions for corporate creditors giving discounts on claims to companies in judicial reorganization.

Despite this relaxation, however, you still need to pay attention. The end of the moratorium on bankruptcies means that as a director you are once again obliged to file for bankruptcy if you no longer see any possibility of recovery. If you start a judicial reorganization procedure while you know that you should in fact have filed for bankruptcy, there is a risk of directors' liability whereby you, as a director, are liable for all outstanding debts of the company.

Extension of dual bridging rights

The federal government has now extended the allocation of bridging rights through the month of June. The self-employed who are obliged to close their doors, or depend on a compulsorily closed sector and completely cease operations, are entitled to a double benefit until June. All other self-employed persons are entitled to a single benefit, if they can demonstrate a 40% decrease in turnover in the month preceding the month of application, compared to the same month from 2019. Want to know if you qualify? Then consult this schedule.

The Flemish Protection Mechanism 5 (for February 2021) can now be applied for and this until April 15.

You will also be able to apply for the Protection Mechanism for the months of March and April. Do you want to know if you are eligible? Then consult this schedule.

The restart loan

As of May 15, you can apply for a restart loan or restart loan at VLAIO. Through the restart loan, retailers and hospitality operators with a concrete liquidity need can take out a loan to finance the purchase of trade goods, stocks and other restart costs. The restart loan is a loan of minimum € 10,000 with an interest rate of 1% and a term of 2 or 3 years. Repayment is only due as of the 12th month. More information can be found on the website HeropstartleningLoan.

Corona loan extension PMV

The application period for the coronal loan was extended to October 15, 2021 (instead of April 2021). The amount of the first tranche for the target group "start-ups and scale-ups" was also increased from € 800,000 to € 1.8 million.

In Wallonia, "indemnité 10" can currently be requested for the sectors that are still closed.

Next corona premiums have been announced for soon :

• "Indemnité 11" for the hotel industry
• "Indemnity 12" for suppliers to closed sectors
• "Indemnité 13" for specific sectors that do not qualify for Indemnité 10, 11 or 12
• "Indemnité 14" for the hospitality industry
• "Indemnity 15" for the motor coach companies