The Government today reiterated that retailers do not need to change the nature of business on their business registration certificate to apply for the subsidy under the Anti-epidemic Fund’s Retail Sector Subsidy Scheme.

It made the clarification in response to news reports that many people visited the Inland Revenue Department’s Business Registration Office to apply for a new business registration certificate or to change the nature of their businesses to retail.

The Government reiterated that the scheme requires applicants to be conducting substantial and substantive retail business at a physical store but does not require the nature of business on the applicants' business registration certificate to be retail.

In considering whether an applicant genuinely conducts substantial and substantive retail business at a physical store, the Government will examine all the supporting documents submitted by the applicants, including a recent photograph of the shopfront, a rental receipt and a water or electricity bill.

All eligible retailers must have conducted substantial and substantive retail business before January 1. The Government will verify the business registration information submitted by all applicants with the administrative records from the Business Registration Office.

If the relevant business registration information was revised recently, the Government will request the applicants to submit additional information and documents, which might lengthen the processing time of such applications.

The Government also said that anybody purposely providing false or misleading information to obtain the subsidy will be referred to law enforcement agencies for investigation.