Entering into a subsidy agreement with the Polish Development Fund creates a number of obligations for the business. Some carry serious sanctions.
Under § 9(1) of the subsidy agreement, the business must provide the bank by 31 December 2020 with documents confirming that the person who accepted and concluded the agreement on its behalf was authorised to represent it. This deadline presents a serious risk because no procedure for reinstating it has been provided. Missing it creates an unconditional obligation to repay the entire subsidy, regardless of whether other conditions for a lower repayment amount have been met.
How can the agreement be confirmed?
Authority to conclude the subsidy agreement may be evidenced by a power of attorney, information from the KRS business register or an extract from CEIDG, the Central Register and Information on Economic Activity. A power of attorney template appears in Annex 2 to the subsidy rules. The business may also submit an appropriate declaration confirming conclusion of the agreement by its representative. Under the agreements, banks will publish information by 30 November 2020 on the form and method for submitting these documents, through online banking messages or their websites.
Subsidy settlement declaration
The business must also submit a subsidy settlement declaration. The agreement sets another strict deadline in § 3(4): 10 working days after the end of the twelfth month from payment of the subsidy. Missing this deadline requires full repayment, irrespective of whether other conditions in the rules and agreement for partial repayment have been met. It is therefore essential to calculate the deadline now and monitor it closely.
Safeguards for the Fund, obligations for recipients
The arrangements described above pose significant risks to businesses seeking partial forgiveness of their subsidy. These contractual deadlines must therefore be kept in mind and never missed. There is no clear legal basis for reinstating them. The obligation to repay the full subsidy also arises automatically under the agreement, without an opportunity for the business to remedy the consequences of late compliance.
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