Benidorm extends the deadline to request new grants for local commerce 10 days to minimize the effects of Covid-19

Benidorm City Council has extended the deadline to request new grants aimed at local commerce to minimize the impact of Covid-19, which are financed through a 196,960-euro grant awarded by the Alicante Provincial Council. The Councilor for Employment and Local Development, Mónica Gómez, explained that “today we have held an extraordinary Local Government Board (JGL) to extend the period for 10 calendar days for SMEs, micro-SMEs and freelancers who carry out their commercial activity in Benidorm. Grants, aimed at the city's retail business establishments that, as a result of the state of alarm, had to temporarily close or saw their billing significantly reduced ”.

Gómez has pointed out that "the period we had initially set was 10 calendar days, although given the time necessary to provide the documentation that applicants must attach, we have deemed it necessary to extend the submission period 10 more days." In this way, interested SMEs, micro-SMEs and freelancers may request them until 11:59 p.m. on November 12, Thursday.

The application and processing of the grant is carried out electronically through the Website (https://sede.benidorm.org/catalogo-de-servicios/DIPCOV/). Initially, the grant provides for a maximum amount per establishment of 400 euros. However, if the anticipated 196,690 euros are not exhausted with the approved applications, the grant per establishment will increase depending on the number of beneficiaries.

The head of Employment and Local Promotion has recalled that "SMEs and self-employed persons registered on March 14 in group 65 of the Economic Activities Tax can apply for these grants - except for groups 652 and 655, and headings 6532, 6534, 6535 and 6592-, which suspended their activity due to the entry into force of the alarm state or which their establishment's billing for the months of April and May was reduced by at least 50% compared to the calendar semester previous".

Expenses such as "the monthly rental of the business or commercial vehicles 100% affected by the business activity affected by the pandemic" are understood as "eligible items" of these grants. Also, eligible items will be "consulting and advisory expenses incurred as a result of the state of alarm or those corresponding to the supply of energy, water, telephone or internet for the business."