The Legal Impacts of COVID-19 in the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Industry

26 An example of 3.1 TF aid in the tourism sector is the SA.59295 91 case, in which the Commission authorised an Italian scheme that exempted employers (an estimated 238,000 of them) from the contributions they bear on wages in the tourism and thermal bath sectors in order to improve the liquidity situation of businesses and to preserve employment. The measure is not specific as to the period of exemptions, only gives examples to potential beneficiaries and periods. As the Italian authorities agreed to comply with the few restrictions applicable to 3.1 TF aid, it was given green light by the Commission to grant exemptions from employer’s contributions in the sector. It should be mentioned that the same measure could have been implemented as a wage subsidy measure under Section 3.10 TF, but as wage subsidies (tax exemptions) can also be introduced as a 3.1 TF measure without requiring the beneficiary to maintain the number of employees, the Commission authorised the notified measure. Another Italian measure in the tourism sector approved by the Commission under 3.1 TF was in the SA.59590 case, 92 another example for the many possible uses of 3.1 TF aid. The beneficiaries of the measure were undertakings carrying out the sale of goods and services in historic city centres of Italy (and thus presumably lost a significant portion of their revenues in 2020 as compared to 2019). Under the scheme, the Italian state provided a direct grant to such businesses provided that they still carried out their activities in June 2020. The eligible costs were the difference between the two levels of revenues in June 2019 and June 2020, and depending on the level of annual revenues, the intensity varied between 5 to 15%. As the Italian authorities agreed to conform to the limited conditions of 3.1 TF aid, the Commission authorised the measure. Again, while the measure was essentially a loss compensation scheme that could have been introduced on another legal basis, it was possible to implement it under 3.1 TF aid rules due to their flexibility and simplicity 93 . 91 Commission decision C(2020) 8036 final of 16 November 2021 (SA. 59295 (2020/N) COVID-19: exemption from social security contribution payments for private employers in the tourism and thermal bath sectors engaging with fixed-term contracts) 92 Commission decision C(2020) 8702 final of 3 December 2020 (SA.59590 (2020/N) COVID-19: Contribution for economic and commercial activities in historic centres) 93 Other examples of Section 3.1 aid in the tourism sector include Commission decision C(2020) 8458 final of 25 November 2020 (SA.59338 (2020/N) Estonia COVID-19: Aid to undertakings in tourism and directly