Flexibility in the use of the Education and Promotion Fund for cooperatives

Royal Decree-Law 15/2020, of April 21, on urgent complementary measures to support the economy and employment, establishes in its article 13 an extraordinary measure to temporarily make the use of the Education Fund and Promotion of Cooperatives more flexible in order to alleviate the effects of COVID-19 .

For these purposes, it is permitted that during the validity of the state of alarm declared by Royal Decree 463/2020, of March 14, by which the state of alarm is declared for the management of the health crisis situation caused by COVID-19 and its possible extensions and until December 31, 2020 , the Education and Promotion Fund for cooperatives regulated in article 56 of Law 27/1999, of July 16, on Cooperatives, may be used for any activity that contributes to stopping or alleviating the effects of the health crisis derived from COVID-19 , through its own shares, donations to other public or private entities or to provide liquidity to the cooperative to guarantee the continuity of its operation. Likewise, for these exclusive purposes, the provisions of articles 13.3 and 19.4 of Law 20/1990, of December 19, on the Tax Regime of Cooperatives, will not apply.

Article 12 of Royal Decree-Law 8/2021, of May 4, repeals, with effect from May 9, 2021, article 13 of Royal Decree-Law 15/2020, of April 21, to extend with certain modifications in the requirements and until December 31, 2021, the temporary flexibility in the use of the Cooperative Education and Promotion Fund in order to alleviate the effects of COVID-19.

You can consult the specifics of the Cooperative Education and Promotion Fund in Chapter 11 of this Practical Manual.