General information
In its decree on certain economy protection measures during the period of state of danger, the Government has decided to provide partial reimbursement for the loss of income resulting from the cancelled reservations of accommodation service providers. The form to be used for applying for this state aid will be available on the National Tourism Data Supply Centre (NTDSC) website from 26 November 2020, on which eligible accommodation service providers may apply for compensation for part of their lost revenue. Accommodation service providers may only apply for the aid if their accommodation has been registered in the NTDSC system and they had at least 1 reservation in the system on 8 November 2020 for the period of 11 November – 10 December 2020. 30 days are available for submitting aid applications, which may only be sent electronically. The state aid will be used to reimburse thousands of tourism companies for cancelled reservations to the tune of billions of HUF. The Hungarian government has thus far spent HUF 700 billion (i.e. approximately EUR 2 billion) on supporting the tourism sector, which is exceptional even in an international context.
Government Decree 485/2020 of 10 November on certain economy protection measures during the period of state of danger provides information on the aid format pertaining to accommodation service providers. Under the Decree, for accommodation locations registered in the National Tourism Data Supply Centre (NTDSC), the state will grant reimbursement to accommodation service providers for 80% of the value of net reservations received by 8 November 2020 and submitted to the NTDSC system.
Service providers with the following main activities are eligible to apply for the aid:
- hotel and similar accommodation services (TEÁOR 5510);
- holiday and other short stay accommodation services (TEÁOR 5520);
- camping ground services (TEÁOR 5530), or
- other accommodation services (TEÁOR 5590).
Under Government Decree 523/2020 of 25 November on partial reimbursement for the loss of revenue by accommodation service providers due to cancelled reservations, the aid application may only be submitted electronically on the NTDSC interface. Accommodation service providers are eligible for the aid for those accommodation locations for which there was at least 1 submitted reservation with a positive value in the NTDSC system on 8 November 2020 for the period between 11 November – 10 December 2020. The system uses the values of the reservations submitted to the NTDSC to calculate the amount of aid automatically, in line with the provisions of the Ruling.
The form needed for applying for the aid is available on the ntak.hu website, under the menu item
AID IN THE EMERGENCY SITUATION
It is available from 26 November 2020 until midnight on 25 December 2020.
The form used to submit the aid application will also be available in the Disposal Register for authorised persons; however, only a private person (natural person, private person with a tax ID, or individual entrepreneur) or an economic operator (or the representative thereof) providing accommodation services at the given accommodation location may submit an aid application after logging into the NTDSC system with their government portal password.
If the aid application is approved, the accommodation service provider will receive an aid document electronically within 15 days of submission. The aid will be granted by 31 December 2020 at the latest. The state aid qualifies as interim aid and may only be used for financing certain operating costs, such as personal costs (wages and contributions) and material costs. Accommodation service providers will have to submit documentation on usage of the aid by 28 February 2021, likewise by electronic means, on the NTDSC interface, using the form provided for the purpose.
