Owners with multiple businesses can apply for more than one stimulus grants — Trade Director
Director of Trade Karia Christopher has said an owner of multiple businesses can apply and benefit from more than one COVID-19 stimulus grants from government.
Christopher gave that indication on Thursday, August 13, during social media interview about government’s $6.5 million grant relief programme for micro, small and medium-sized businesses.
“I am going to try to give you a very simple example so that persons can relate. If Sheriece Smith has a restaurant in Road Town, Sheriece Restaurant — that is one business. Sheriece is a budding entrepreneur, she loves fashion, and she has a clothing store in Sea Cows Bay — that’s two businesses. The Premier was adamant that, and to use his words, ‘take from Peter to pay Paul’. So in that case, Sheriece who has two businesses will definitely be eligible for two different grants,” Christopher explained.
She continued: “But if Karia Christopher has an architectural firm and in that same architectural firm, I do project management in the same space, that’s just two different licenses, but it is in the same space, so in that case, Karia Christopher would only be eligible for that one grant.”
The Trade Director said businesses have up till August 21 to submit their current trade licenses to her department.
She also sought to bring greater clarity to the requirements for the grant.
“There have been some questions, so perhaps our message was not clear. That is the only requirement that is mandatory – a trade license. There are sections where persons were asked to submit National Health Insurance (NHI), Inland Revenue, and Social Security. What we have said from the beginning, this is not mandatory. We do not want businesses to be stressed out because they are not up to date. If you are up to date, beautiful, submit what you have,” she explained.
“Another point of clarification, we accept receipts. So if you have your receipts, for NHI, Social Security, if you can prove that you have paid your taxes, please do not go into the expense of trying to get a Certificate of Good Standing. The certificate of good standing is only mandatory if you have it for companies. There is a big difference between a company and a business, a dba (a trading name). So if you are a company that is established with a limited enterprise, those are where you require that certificate of good standing from the Financial Services Commission. Again, it is not mandatory. We want to make sure that we put the businesses at ease,” Christopher added.
The only other mandatory requirement besides an up-to-date trade license is that businesses applying for grants must not employ 20 employees at any given time.
Copyright 2024 BVI News, Media Expressions Limited. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.
Why don’t you just publish the list of businesses owned by friends of the government that you have already approved for all the funds…. we all know how this system works.
more than one stimulus grant*
That department collects money and gives businesses pennies.. this has been the trend for years, it’s a real joke. Don’t expect much when it comes to allocating business grants either. All they do is plan boring business seminars that never achieves anything at all ‘year after year after year’…
So y people who working on cut salary cant get the stimulas passage
The trade department issues trade licenses. So why do applicants need to submit a copy, doesn’t the trade department already know if you have a valid license?
Wat happen to the stimulus package for the unemployment benefits,I still haven’t received nor heard anything ,am still waiting
Well of course I can.
Since government leaders own businesses, they’re going to apply for all of the grants and assistance they can. They know how to get “support.”