Since announcing a state of emergency on 12 March 2020 due to COVID-19, the Latvian Government is working on measures to support affected companies. As to the latest information available, the following is under discussion:
–payment of salaries to employees from the state budget: where employees cannot work (due to idle time or otherwise) as a direct consequence of limitations imposed by the Government, the plan is to pay salary obligations from the state budget in respect of companies in certain industries and in amounts to be approved by the Government;
–possibility to suspend tax payments for 3 years: companies that cannot fulfil their tax payments as a direct consequence of COVID-19 may be able to postpone payment obligations for up to 3 years free of interest if the company applies to ‒ and actively cooperates with ‒ the State Revenue Service;
–loan guarantees by the state development finance institution ALTUM: small, medium and large companies that did not have financial difficulties before COVID-19 will be entitled to guarantees ‒ up to EUR 5 million per company and up to 50% of the loan obligation ‒ to secure existing loan obligations, or to secure new loans for working capital for up to 3 years;
-state loans by ALTUM: small, medium and large companies that did not have financial difficulties before COVID-19 will be entitled to loans ‒ up to EUR 1 million per company, maximum term 3 years and grace period of 12 months for payment of principal amount at subsidized/lower interest rates and decreased security requirements ‒ to finance their working capital;
-faster repayment of overpaid VAT: repayment in 30 days to all companies is being discussed;
–prolonged timeline for submission of annual reports: all companies will be able to apply to delay submission of their annual report for 2019. The new deadline will be 31 July 2020;
-sick leave to COVID-19 patients and those under quarantine fully paid by the state: a detailed proposal is currently being worked out by the Latvian Ministry of Welfare.
