The Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) will close on Saturday (September 30), after which businesses – including agri-businesses and farmers – will no longer be able to make claims under the scheme.
The TBESS was introduced by the government to support qualifying businesses with increases in their electricity or natural gas energy costs.
The scheme, which is being administered by Revenue, provides for a cash payment to qualifying businesses.
The facility to make claims in relation to energy bills from the period commencing September 1, 2022 up to July 31, 2023 is available until Saturday.
The TBESS claims portal can be accessed via the e-Repayments system in Revenue’s Online Service (ROS).
To make a claim, a business will need all electricity and natural gas bills for the reference period of September 1, 2021 to July 2022 and for the claim period from September 2022 to July 2023.
As of September 9, some €4.3 million had already been paid out to farmers and agri-businesses under the scheme.
According to Revenue, of the over 30,000 businesses that had registered for TBESS across all sectors as of that date, 2,582 registrations came from the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors.
The registrations in these sectors were responsible for 3,073 claims for payment under the scheme at that time that were approved by Revenue.
Of the approved claims in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors as of September 9, 1,198 related to enterprises with no employees.
1,504 of the approved claims in these sectors related to businesses with one to nine employees; 300 related to businesses with 10 to 49 employees; and 71 had over 50 employees.
Revenue said earlier this month that, across all sectors, there were a number of incomplete registrations and claims on ROS for TBESS.
The scheme is two-step process, with registration being a necessary first step for access to the scheme, followed by a submission of a payment claim.