The European Commission’s approval of Ireland’s state-aid application for enhancements to the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) has been welcomed by Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath.

The enhancements will extend the scheme to 31 May, and make a reduction in the energy-unit-cost threshold from 50% to 30%, to qualify for the scheme.

There will also be an increase in the level of relief available, from 40% to 50% in respect of claims for the period from 1 March to 31 May.

Revenue has updated its TBESS guidance accordingly, in line with the changes it is making to the TBESS claims process. The relevant legislative provisions will commence shortly.

The TBESS claim portal is on the e-Repayments system on Revenue’s Online Service (ROS).

Claims in relation to energy bills from 1 March to 30 April are now open.

Businesses already registered should update their reference period details in ROS e-Repayments for March and April 2022 before submitting a claim for the extended periods of March and April 2023.

Claims for these periods will automatically be assessed based on the reduced 30% energy-unit-cost threshold, and will be paid based on the increased level of 50% of the increase in the bill.

The increased monthly cap of €15,000 (subject to an overall monthly cap of €45,000) will also be automatically applied to these claims.

The facility to make claims in relation to energy bills covering the claim period from 1 May to 31 May 2023 will open when the Finance Bill is passed.

Revenue will issue a further update when the claim portal opens for this period.

The reduction in the eligibility threshold from 50% to 30% applies from 1 September 2022. Therefore, businesses who did not qualify because their unit-cost threshold increased in the range of 30%-50% are now eligible to register and submit claims.

Register

They will need to register and enter their reference period details for September 2021 to April 2022 before they can submit claims for the scheme.

As of 13 April 2023, a total of 27,763 businesses have registered for the TBESS, while 34,227 claims have already been approved.

These approved claims have a value of €74.86 million, Revenue has said.

Eligible businesses that have not yet registered for, or have yet to fully complete the claim process under the TBESS, should do so now, as all claims must be submitted no later than 31 July 2023.