1. Who can access this support?

Legal entities, natural persons, employers, non-profit companies, consortiums and temporary unions.

2. What requirements must I meet to apply?

Applicants must meet the following requirements:

i. To have been incorporated before January 1, 2020.

ii. ii. Have been registered in the commercial registry. In any case, this registration must have been made or renewed at least in the year 2019.

iii. Demonstrate the need for the state contribution by certifying the decrease of 20% of its revenues.

iv. Have a deposit product (e.g. savings account, checking account) in a financial institution.

Non-profit entities, consortiums and temporary unions do not have to comply with the requirement established in numeral 2.

In the case of natural persons, for the purposes of complying with the requirement set forth in numeral 1, the date of registration in the commercial registry shall be taken as a reference.

The natural person that meets any of the following conditions will not be able to access the Program:

- Have less than three employees reported in the Integrated Contribution Payment Settlement Plan (PILA) corresponding to the contribution period of the month of February 2020.

- Are Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) or are spouses, permanent partners or relatives in the second degree of consanguinity, first degree of affinity or sole civil partner of Politically Exposed Persons (PEP).

3. How is the decrease in income calculated?

The calculation must be made using one of the following options, at your choice:

i. comparing the income of the month immediately prior to the month in which the contribution is requested with the income of the same month in 2019.

ii. Comparing the income of the month immediately preceding the month of the contribution request with the arithmetic average income of January and February 2020.

The income realization rules shall be taken into account, in accordance with the technical accounting regulatory frameworks in force in Colombia.

4. How much is the support for my company?

The support is a lump sum amount corresponding to 40% of one SMMLV ($351,000 pesos) for each employee of your company.

5. How is the number of employees of my company determined?

The number of employees corresponds to the contributors reported in the Planilla Integrada de Liquidación de Aportes (PILA) corresponding to the contribution period of the month immediately prior to the month in which the beneficiary is applying. In this regard, the following conditions shall be taken into account:

- Contributors whose base contribution income is at least one SMLMV.

- Contributors for whom a full month's contribution has been made.

- The contributors who appear affiliated in the different subsystems that apply to them, as employees of the company requesting the subsidy.

- Workers to whom the novelty of temporary suspension of work contract or unpaid leave (SLN) has not been applied.

- The workers reported in the PILA corresponding to the month immediately prior to the month of application, correspond at least 80% to the workers reported in the PILA corresponding to the contribution period of February 2020 in charge of said beneficiary.

- That the respective worker has not been taken into account for the calculation of the state contribution of another beneficiary.

6. How can I apply for this program?

Your company must submit the following documents to the financial institution where you have a deposit product:

i. Standardized form, made available to potential beneficiaries through financial institutions, duly completed and signed by the legal representative of the company, consortium or joint venture, or natural person employer.

ii. Certification signed by (i) the legal representative or the natural person employer and (ii) the statutory auditor or public accountant in cases where the company is not required to have a statutory auditor, certifying:

a. The decrease in income.

b. That the employees on which the contribution will be received actually received the salary corresponding to the immediately preceding month.

c. That, notwithstanding the provisions of the previous numeral, the labor obligations owed will be paid, at the latest within the five working days following the receipt of the resources. This possibility of certification and earmarking will only be applicable once, to pay the payroll for the month of April with the respective postulation for the month of May 2020.

7. What should I do if I have deposit products in more than one financial institution?

You must apply to only one of these entities, at your choice. Likewise, applications made in the following months must be made to the same financial institution where the first application was made. The mere submission of documents does not imply the right to receive this state contribution.

8. When can I apply?

Applications for the months of May, June and July will be received during the following periods:

- From May 22nd to May 29th for the May contribution.

- From June 1 to June 17 for the June contribution.

- From July 1 to July 16 for the July contribution.

9. For how many months will I be able to obtain this support?

The state contribution may be requested up to three times. If so, the beneficiary must comply with the procedure described above in each case.

10. What happens if I have already applied for a payroll loan from the National Guarantee Fund (FNG)?

Potential beneficiaries of the Program who are also debtors of guaranteed payroll lines of credit from the National Guarantee Fund must apply for the PAEF state contribution through the financial institution with which they acquired the guaranteed line of credit. In this case, the resources received for both the credit and the PAEF may not exceed the total value of the payroll for the month in which the Program was calculated.

11. When must I repay the state contributions?

The state contribution must be repaid to the State by the beneficiary when:

i. Having received the contribution, it becomes evident that, at the time of application, it did not comply with the established requirements.

ii. It is proven that the documents presented to accredit the established requirements were false.

iii. The beneficiary has made a commitment to pay the wages due for April and has not complied with this commitment.

12. How can I know if the company where I work accessed the state subsidy?

The UGPP in its web portal, https://www.ugpp.gov.co/PAEF, will enable the consultation of the beneficiaries and their workers.

13. When are the resources delivered to the beneficiaries of the Program?

The scheme implemented involves an initial period of receiving applications, followed by a validation of the same, so the delivery of resources is made at the end of the month for each of the months in which the Program is active, i.e. May, June and July 2020.

Source: Ministry of Finance and Public Credit