Grant Help was engaged by a meat exporter to assist the company in making a claim under the Export Market Development Grant. However, our consultants encountered an issue when it was discovered multiple directors of the company had previously claimed an EMDG under a different company they operated.
Under ‘Section 94’ of the EMDG, the history of previous grants can be passed onto companies that are continuations of businesses that have previously claimed the grant. This can hinder the application process and possibly make the company eligible.
Our consultants were able to determine a clear distinction between both businesses, thereby allowing the client to reset his cycle and start the EMDG grant again. This was achieved by examining the business history of both companies, determining that despite sharing multiple directors, the businesses had a variety of clear differences.
The eligibility of Section 94 requires numerous tests to ensure individuality between the businesses. Grant Help produced a detailed description of both businesses activities, assets and procedures, outlining the disparities between the two.
The tests outline 11 factors in which Austrade requires to determine whether the new business is so similar that it should be treated as a continuation of the old business. An example of these distinctions include:
- The product
- Previous business sells consumable meat products
- New business sells Alcohol products
- The markets, including the export markets
- Previous business only caters to domestic markets
- New business exports ~70% of products to Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
- The premises from which the business is conducted
- Previous business operates out of Victoria with no physical address
- New business operates of a rented facility in South Australia
As a result of this, Grant Help was able to consider the previous two financial years in the grant. This allowed for multiple eligible activities in this period to receive grant funding, including overseas representatives, overseas marketing trips to China and hosting overseas buyers to visit Australia.
The outcome of this grant saw ~$180,000 in eligible expenses, allowing Grant Help to ensure the client their full reimbursement of $92,875, with no apportionment. The company will now have another 7 year in which they can claim for the grant. Section 94 is included as part of Grant Help’s no-win no-fee service, providing clients with a larger scope of potential funding returns.