Revenue eBrief No. 206/22

06 December 2022

Updated guidelines for the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS)

Guidelines on the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) have been updated to include additional information on how businesses can register and make a claim under the scheme. From 5 December 2022, businesses can submit claims on Revenue's Online Service (ROS). Businesses must register for the TBESS on ROS and have tax clearance before a claim can be submitted.

The main additions and amendments that have been made to the TBESS guidelines since the last version (version 2) was published on 25 November 2022 are –

• Additional guidance on both the registration stage and the claim stage is set out in section 6. Additional guidance on the eRegistration screens is included in Appendix I and eRepayment Claim screens are now included in Appendix II.
• Clarification that, while businesses are being asked to take steps to understand and reduce their energy use by completing the Climate Toolkit 4 Business (see section 6.2.3), the completion of the toolkit is not a legal requirement and has no impact on  the assessment of a business’s eligibility for the TBESS. The Government encourages businesses to use the toolkit as a resource to help reduce energy consumption and take other actions that can have a positive environmental impact.
• Publication of deemed reference unit prices in Appendix III. The deemed reference unit prices for electricity and natural gas, which are to apply in circumstances where a business has not been issued with a bill for a reference period, have been made available by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) (based on data provided by energy suppliers and the Commission for Regulation of Utilities). Examples 18 and 31 have been updated to include deemed reference unit prices made available by the SEAI.
• Inclusion of a summary of the main changes that were made to the TBESS guidelines in previous versions of the TBESS guidelines (see Appendix IV).
• Inclusion of a glossary of terms used in the guidelines (see Appendix V).

On making a claim for the TBESS, businesses will be required to provide certain information from their electricity and/or gas bills. The "Understanding your Bill" guidance note on the TBESS website hub, available on www.revenue.ie, has been updated to include additional sample bills provided to Revenue by a number of energy suppliers. The note provides guidance on where information can be found on an energy bill in order to register for the TBESS and submit a claim.