Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS)

Single undertaking

The Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF) has implications for qualifying businesses considered to be single undertakings, or part of a single undertaking. These implications relate to:

• the amount of support that could be claimed under the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS)
• the information that must have been reported to Revenue
• and
• the information that will be published on the Revenue website.

What is a single undertaking?

The meaning of ‘single undertaking’ is set out in 'de minimis' aid legislation under European Union (EU) State aid rules. All entities controlled on a legal, or 'de facto', basis by the same entity are considered a single undertaking.

For the purposes of the TBESS, the word ‘undertaking’ was regarded as any entity engaged in an economic activity. This was in line with its interpretation in EU case law. This was regardless of its legal status and the way in which it was financed. Generally, an economic activity is any activity consisting of offering goods or services on a given market.

Single undertaking - more than one business

In certain circumstances, two or more businesses may be regarded as a single undertaking. This is governed by State aid rules and is important for determining overall levels of aid permitted under the TCTF. For example, two businesses are considered a single undertaking if one business has the majority of voting rights in the other business. 

This means that several businesses in a group of companies may have been regarded as a single undertaking. The maximum amount of relief the group could claim was €2 million. The limit was €250,000 in the case of farmers and €300,000 in the case of the fishery and aquaculture sectors.

Subject to the overall cap, each qualifying business within the single undertaking could still receive up to:

• €10,000 per month for the September 2022 to February 2023 claim periods
• €15,000 per month for the March 2023 to July 2023 claim periods
• or
• the increased limit per month, in certain circumstances.

This is outlined in more detail in the TBESS guidelines.

Reporting requirements for a single undertaking

A qualifying business must have informed Revenue if it was considered to be a single undertaking with another person. Each qualifying business that formed part of a single undertaking must have provided Revenue with:

• the name of each person in the single undertaking
• and
• the Tax Reference Number of each person in the single undertaking.

A single undertaking could designate one person to fulfil this reporting obligation on behalf of all members of the single undertaking.

Next: Webinar and 'How to' videos on the TBESS