Restaurant Bonus: What Is It and How Does It Work?

Catering bonus. In the difficult moment we are going through, there are some activities which, more than others, have suffered and are still suffering an unfortunate fate. These are catering activities. Restaurants suffered a huge blow with the advent of the health emergency. Many riots and protests have been held for some time to demonstrate against the difficult economic and financial situation of the aforementioned Italian activities. Being able to maintain a balanced situation is certainly the objective of the State which, for this reason, has allocated a catering bonus. This is help that restaurateurs can request by submitting a regular application. Restaurants, canteens and catering services will have access to a contribution obtained following the submission of a specific application.

The need to allocate aid was and is urgent. There has been a notable decline in the liquidity of many assets. Some businesses were even forced to close their doors.

Economic crisis and Covid

Catering bonus

Obviously the type of health emergency we are experiencing has strong repercussions on the country's economy. This is because the forced social distancing and the anti-gathering measures put in place make it very difficult, if not impossible, to lead life normally. Great impacts on supply and demand. The shock negative supply shock is a direct effect of the lockdown. The forced closure of many businesses dating back to last March 2020 has produced many collapses in economic terms, the effects of which are still being felt urgently.

Catering bonus

Restaurant businesses were among the most subject to lockdowns and closures. A lot of discontent and a strong crisis are raging in the country. Trying to deal with the increasingly heavy intolerance of citizens, traders and restaurateurs is the prerogative of the State. For this reason, it was decided to allocate aid that could help the restaurant sector in such a difficult moment. The catering bonus is the solution proposed by the State, let's see what it is.

Catering bonus: what is it

This is a decree issued last August, a non-repayable contribution worth 600,000 million euros for 2020. This contribution is allocated for catering activities which will be able to spend it on the purchase of agri-food products on Italian territory. This contribution is expected for all those activities that have added a turnover, during March and June 2020, less than three quarters of the same period of the previous year. The objective is to help a category in great difficulty due to the lack of tourists. The fund was allocated by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies. Minister Teresa Bellanova is thinking of a proposal that can help categories in great difficulty such as these.

How the catering bonus works

The companies with the prevailing ATECO code 56.10.11 (catering restaurants), 56.29.10 (canteens) will be entitled to this bonus and 56.29.20 (continuing catering on a contractual basis). Who could submit the application? All those who had started a business starting from 1 January 2019. An important requirement for obtaining this contribution is a turnover approximately 25% lower than expected for the previous year. By completing a specific application it will be possible to boast of this bonus. The respective financial amount will be released at 90% after the submission of the application, while the remaining 10% will be released at a later stage. The deadline for submitting this application is mid-December 2020.

The significance of such a proposal has a value that should not be underestimated. By trying to provide economic support to the categories most affected by the crisis, we try to raise the morale of all those traders and restaurateurs who have experienced difficulties the most.

Hard period for the catering industry, which due to the many constraints has found itself deprived, even if for just reasons, of the possibility of working. The bonus was intended to be a valid stratagem capable of reviving the fortunes of a category in great difficulty.

The choices made in this sense by the state have as their objective: to be able to promise a shoulder to cry on. The bonus represents a small lifeboat designed to support all those activities that seem to be experiencing a similar crisis in a more important way.