BICS Eligibility – Does Your Business Qualify?
BICS could provide significant electricity-cost support to manufacturers across a wide range of eligible industries.
Eligibility depends on your manufacturing activities, the products manufactured, where those activities take place and the electricity associated with eligible production.
Start With Your Manufacturing Activity
BICS is designed for manufacturers within selected frontier and foundational industries.
The Government has identified eligible manufacturing activities across a broad range of sectors supporting strategically important UK industries. The final eligible SIC and HS code lists for 2027 have now been published.
How BICS Eligibility Works
Each manufacturing site is considered separately. Businesses with multiple activities, products or sites may therefore have different eligibility positions across their operations. Government's checker and guidance confirm BICS operates on a site-by-site basis.
BICS Looks at Both What You Do and What You Manufacture
BICS eligibility uses Government-defined sector and product classifications to identify qualifying manufacturing activities.
A company's registered SIC code alone may therefore not provide a complete answer. The activities actually undertaken and the products manufactured can both be relevant when assessing eligibility. The Government's final 2027 eligibility list is defined using SIC and HS classifications.
EII Advisory can review the relevant manufacturing activities and product classifications as part of an initial BICS eligibility assessment.
Electricity Use Matters Too
Qualifying manufacturing activity alone does not determine the level of BICS support.
The scheme also considers electricity use at the relevant manufacturing site. The relationship between eligible manufacturing and site electricity consumption determines the level of exemption available.
Don't Rule Your Business Out Too Quickly
Do I Need to Be an Existing EII Claimant?
No.
BICS is separate from the existing Energy Intensive Industries arrangements.
Manufacturers that have never qualified for EII support may therefore still qualify for BICS
What If My Business Has Multiple Sites or Activities?
BICS is assessed at manufacturing-site level. Businesses operating multiple sites, manufacturing several products or carrying out both eligible and non-eligible activities may therefore have more than one eligibility position to consider.
EII Advisory can assess the relevant activities and sites to establish where BICS support may apply.
Understand Your BICS Position Before Applications Open
EII Advisory can undertake an initial assessment of your potential BICS eligibility, including consideration of:
Manufacturing activities
Sector classification
Products manufactured
Manufacturing sites
Electricity position
Potential level of support
Assess Your BICS Eligibility
