All businesses as well as foundations and associations with business activities can apply for cost support. Cost support may be granted to companies whose main sector is within the scope of the support. These sectors eligible for the cost support will be determined in a Government Decree on criteria laid down in the Cost Support Act. Limiting the eligible sectors is one way of targeting the cost support specifically at those companies which are adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
If the company’s main industry is not covered by the cost support but the other conditions are met, the support may be granted on a discretionary basis. The company must show that its business activities has suffered from public-law restriction related to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic during the support period.
Cost support cannot be granted to primary production in agriculture, fisheries and the aquaculture sector, however. These sectors are not eligible for support even on discretionary criteria, as separate State aid rules within the remit of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry are applied to them.
Please note that, in order to be eligible, the company must also meet the other criteria for receiving support.
In the electronic application form, the information on the company’s main sector is retrieved directly from the Finnish Tax Administration.
See the attached table for the sectors eligible for support under the Decree.
NB: You can also search for sectors using a partial word.
YES = the sector is within the scope of the Decree and support can be granted if the other criteria are met
DISCRETIONARY = support can be granted if the company the company shows that its business activities has suffered from public-law restriction related to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic during the support period, and the other criteria for granting support are met
NO = the sector is not within the scope of the Act and the company is not eligible, not even for discretionary support