Order TED/320/2020, of April 3, which came into force on April 4, has been published. This order modifies the application form for the social energy bonus, requiring default energy suppliers to adapt their forms before making the bonus available to eligible consumers.
As previously reported, Royal Decree-Law 11/2020, of March 31, which adopts a series of additional urgent social and economic measures to address COVID-19, was published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on April 1.
One of the measures included in this regulation is the right to receive the social bonus for self-employed workers who have ceased their activity or have seen their turnover reduced as a result of COVID-19.
The social bonus is a direct discount on the electricity bill, aimed at users in vulnerable situations.
Well, this Royal Decree-Law has been developed by Order TED/320/2020, of April 3, which came into force on April 4, a provision which also modifies the application model for said social bonus, which obliges the reference suppliers to proceed with its adaptation before making it available to consumers included in the scope of application of article 28 of the Royal Decree-Law.
To apply for this bonus, which will consist of a discount on the bill based on the PVPC (Voluntary Price for Small Consumers), calculated according to the provisions of Royal Decree 216/2014, of March 28, the following requirements must be met:
To qualify as a vulnerable consumer. To acquire this status, it will be necessary to:
•That the income of the holder of the supply point or, if part of a family unit, the joint annual income of the family unit to which he/she belongs, calculated in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 of Order ETU/943/2017, of October 6, which develops Royal Decree 897/2017, of October 6, is equal to or less than:
•2.5 times the Public Indicator of Income for Multiple Effects (IPREM) of 14 payments, in the event that the holder of the supply point is not part of a family unit or there is no minor in the family unit;
•3 times the IPREM index of 14 payments, in the case of a minor in the family unit;
•3.5 times the IPREM index of 14 payments, in the case of two minors in the family unit.
•Provide proof that after March 14, 2020 (date of entry into force of the state of alarm) the holder of the supply point, or one of the members of his family unit, self-employed professionals or freelancers, are entitled to the benefit for total cessation of professional activity or for having seen his billing in the month prior to the one in which the social bonus is requested reduced by at least 75 percent in relation to the average billing of the previous six months, in the terms established in Royal Decree-Law 8/2020, of March 17.
For these purposes, a family unit is considered (art. 82 Law 35/2006, of November 28):
•The family unit comprised of spouses who are not legally separated and, if applicable:
Minor children, with the exception of those who, with parental consent, live independently.
Adult children legally incapacitated and subject to extended or reinstated parental authority.
•In cases of legal separation, or when there is no marital bond, the one formed by the father or the mother and all the children who live with one or the other and who meet the above requirements.
Application form
On the other hand, the Order modifies the application form for the social bonus for self-employed workers established in Annex IV of Royal Decree-Law 11/2020, of March 31. See the new form in the Annex to the Order: https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2020-4292
The new model incorporates the need for express authorization from the holder or, if part of a family unit, from all members of the family unit over 14 years of age, for consultation of the corresponding databases of the State Administration Agency, or in the case of the Basque Country and Navarre, of the corresponding Foral Agency, which contain information on income from the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, based on the data entered by the marketing company in the application implemented for this purpose on the Ministry's electronic headquarters
It must be sent by the consumer to a designated supplier, via the email address shown on their website, along with the following documentation:
• Copy of the NIF or NIE of the holder of the supply point and, if it is part of a family unit, copy of the NIF or NIE of each of the members for whom this document is mandatory.
•Certificate of registration in force, individual or joint, of the holder of the supply point or of all members of the family unit.
•Family book, if there is a family unit.
• Accreditation of vulnerable consumer status as explained above. In particular, when the self-employed worker is in the case of cessation of activity, accreditation will be carried out by means of a certificate issued by the State Tax Administration Agency or the competent body of the Autonomous Community, as appropriate, based on the declaration of cessation of activity declared by the interested party.
•When the supply contract for the home of the self-employed professional is in the name of the legal entity, the social bonus must be requested for the natural person, which will imply a change of ownership of the supply contract.
•If the application is incomplete, the supplier will contact the consumer within a maximum of five business days from receipt, indicating the supporting documentation that must be provided. Once received:
·It will verify, through the computer platform available for this purpose, once it has been adapted to the provisions of article 28 of Royal Decree-Law 11/2020, of March 31, the data contained therein.
·It will communicate to the consumer by email the result of the verification of compliance with the required requirements, indicating, where applicable, the date from which it will proceed to apply it.
·If the result is positive, the change of supplier and the formalization of the contract at the Voluntary Price for Small Consumers must have been carried out within that period.
The social bonus will accrue from the first day of the billing cycle in which the complete application is received with the supporting documentation that may be necessary.
When will the status of vulnerable consumer end?
When the aforementioned circumstances cease to exist, and the consumer is obliged to communicate this fact to the supplier of last resort, although in no case will it extend beyond 6 months from its accrual, without prejudice to the possibility of taking up said status at any time before or after that date under the other cases provided for in Royal Decree 897/2017, of October 6.
What happens to applications submitted according to the model established in Annex IV of Royal Decree-Law 11/2020, of March 31, which is now being modified?
Applications will be considered validly submitted provided that there is express authorization from the holder or, in the case of being part of a family unit, from all members of the family unit over 14 years of age, for the consultation of the corresponding databases of the State Administration Agency, or in the case of the Basque Country and Navarre, of the corresponding Foral Agency, which contain information on income from the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Challenge
Demographic, based on the data entered by the reference marketer in the application implemented for this purpose on the electronic headquarters of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, without prejudice to the improvements that may be required to validly accredit the requirements established in the aforementioned article 28.
For these purposes:
• Applicants may submit the new form in the Annex to the Order: https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2020-4292
• Suppliers may request the correction of the lack of consent in relation to the application form established in Annex IV of Royal Decree-Law 11/2020, of March 31
• In both cases, the date of submission for the accrual of the social bonus, where applicable, will be considered to be the date on which the application form in Annex IV of Royal Decree-Law 11/2020, of March 31, provided that the application contained the supporting documentation that may be necessary.
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A Àmbit Assessor, SL has 40 years dedicated to the tax, comptable and labor consultancy of the Pime.
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