With many companies faced with ecommerce as their only option to trade, it is important to be aware of the legal responsibilities when selling online. If you are running a business which trades over the Internet, it is important that you have terms and conditions which comply with the requirements as set out in the Consumer Information Regulations and the Ecommerce Regulations, in addition to any obligations you have under The Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980.

Some points that you may overlook when developing your business online is that a website makes you globally accessible. Restrict your delivery services to areas that permits the sale of your goods as transactions are subject to local laws.
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The other aspect that needs to be considered is General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This is a minefield to work through but at a basic level, you need to have permission to collect and hold the information and identifying details of your website users and clients. It should not be a deterrent to utilising online selling

Last November, we explored some of the options available to company proprietors when deciding the future of their businesses, with a particular focus on liquidation. In this issue, we are now going to touch on some considerations regarding the going concern of a business and when business owners need to take a pragmatic view of how their business is performing. Not every business is going to be a success but the best business people find this out fast and understand it is not a reflection on them – instead of being emotionally attached, they take a clinical overview and move on to new business avenues and prove their success that way.

The Stay and Spend Tax Credit is a new tax credit available for the years 2020 and 2021. You can claim the Stay and Spend credit for qualifying expenditure incurred between 1 October 2020 and 30 April 2021. This includes expenditure on either:

• holiday accommodation
  
• ‘eat in’ food and drink

The minimum spend is €25 per transaction. You must submit a copy of your receipt with the claim. A ‘qualifying service provider’ must provide the service. Qualifying service providers are those who have registered with Revenue to participate in the scheme. The maximum tax credit available under the scheme is €125 when you spend a total of €625. The maximum tax credit available for those under joint assessment is €250 when you spend a total of €1,250. The tax credit will used to reduce your IT liability. Any excess credit may then be off set against your liability to USC. You must have an IT or USC liability to offset against the credit to claim same.

The proposed Covid Restrictions Support Scheme “CRSS” was published in the Finance Bill 2020. It is a targeted support for businesses significantly impacted by restrictions introduced by the Government to control to spread of Covid19.

• CRSS will provide support for businesses carrying on a trade from a business premises located in regions subject to restrictions introduced in line with the Living with Covid19 Plan, with the result that the business is required to prohibit or severely restrict customers from accessing their business premises. Generally, this refers to Covid restrictions at Level 3, 4, or 5 of the Living with Covid19 Plan but certain businesses may qualify for support where a lower level of restriction is in operation.
  
• Where a business is either forced to temporarily close or operate at a significantly reduced level because of the restrictions the business may qualify for support.