Beauty Parlour Subsidies Set

The second round of the Subsidy Scheme for Beauty Parlours, Massage Establishments & Party Rooms under the Anti-epidemic Fund will accept applications from October 23 to November 1.

Beauty parlours, massage establishments and party rooms that had suspended operation pursuant to the closure order issued by the Government under the Prevention & Control of Disease (Requirements & Directions) (Business & Premises) Regulation (Cap 599F) will be eligible for the scheme.

Applicants must submit applications and supporting documents through the dedicated website. The online application system will start operation at 9am on October 23 until 11.59pm on November 1.

Beauty parlours, massage establishments and party rooms operated by social enterprises are also eligible for the scheme.

Social enterprise operators which have obtained business registration should file their applications through the online application website, while those without business registration should approach the Hong Kong Council of Social Service at 2864 2993 or via email to obtain the council’s certification and submit their applications.

To streamline the application procedure, a fast-track arrangement is in place for eligible beauty parlours or massage establishments which have successfully applied under the first round of the scheme.

Such applicants will not be required to provide business information and all supporting documents afresh in tendering their applications.

After they input their application number under the first round of the scheme and their business registration number on the online application system, the system will automatically retrieve their essential business information submitted in the first round exercise.

Applicants will only be required to confirm the accuracy of the information retrieved and provide additional address proof as specified under the scheme to demonstrate that they are still in active business.

The secretariat will determine the appropriate subsidy levels that the applicants are eligible for based on the number of employees as confirmed in the previous approval records.

The same fast-track arrangement will also apply to party rooms.

Businesses which have not applied in the first round, businesses which have applied under the first round but are pending appeal results, and businesses which have successfully applied under the first round with changes in business information will have to submit fresh applications through the online application system.

Under the scheme, beauty parlours or massage establishments with one to two workers will receive a one-off subsidy of $15,000, while those with three to four employees will receive $30,000 and those which employ five or more workers will receive $50,000.

The maximum subsidy amount for beauty parlour or massage establishment chain stores operated by a single entity under the same business registration is $1.5 million.

Each eligible party room will receive a one-off subsidy of $20,000.

A sum of $350 million is earmarked under the fund for the second round of the scheme, which is expected to benefit about 11,000 beauty parlours and massage establishments and about 500 party rooms.

It is expected that the subsidy could be disbursed from late this month.

Call 1836 188 or send an email for details.