31.08.2024 Company law

PFR calls on more companies to return subsidies from Anti-Covid Shields


The Polish Development Fund (PFR) continues its efforts to recover funds granted to small and medium-sized enterprises under the so-called “Anti-Covid Shield”. So far, over 5.6 thousand companies have received such requests. Soon, requests for the return of funds will be sent to other entities.

Shield subsidies targeted by PFR

PFR is sending out payment demands to entrepreneurs on a massive scale, followed by lawsuits for the return of all subsidies granted. This is happening despite PFR’s earlier decisions to cancel them.

The Polish Development Fund bases its debt collection activities on the Regulations of the “Shield” Programme. According to them, PFR has the right to verify the conditions for the correctness of payments until the entrepreneur has repaid the entire unamortized part of the subsidy.

Although repayments are most often spread over two years, PFR requests repayments in the following situations:

  • after more than 3 years from the date of payment, despite a considerable period of time elapsed since the receipt of the subsidy, the PFR claims repayment of all or part of the amounts granted,
  • after issuing a decision to cancel the repayment of part of the subsidy, despite the previous decision to cancel part of the subsidy, PFR still demands a refund,
  • despite the repayment of all outstanding amounts by the beneficiaries, even if all has been repaid, the beneficiaries receive repayment calls from the PFR.

PFR Calls – controversy over returns

The PFR Shield was supposed to help protect the labour market and provide companies with financial liquidity. Currently, however, many companies are receiving requests from PFR to return all or part of the subsidies granted. Such a request has already been sent to 5.6 thousand entities. Some of them have returned the funds, but many cases have gone to court.

The legal basis for PFR’s claim for reimbursement remains often questionable:

  1. The provisions of the subsidy agreements are internally inconsistent and even contradictory to the regulations;
  2. The agreement and regulations contain provisions that may be deemed abusive towards entrepreneurs, in particular provisions that provide an unfair contractual advantage and enable PFR to subsequently seek reimbursement, despite repeated verification of the entrepreneurs’ compliance with the Shield criteria;
  3. PFR is sending calls, for example, to foreign entrepreneurs operating in Poland in the form of a branch, even though, according to PFR’s interpretation, they were supposed to be beneficiaries during the pandemic;
  4. The provisions on repayment dates, interest and conditions for requesting a refund are unclear and internally contradictory;
  5. During the period in which the subsidy was granted, the Shield Regulations changed several times, which causes further difficulties in determining the legal basis for the claims.

The subject of subsidy returns from the Shield raises great interest and legal doubts. There is a clear element of legal uncertainty for entrepreneurs who, despite a number of PFR activities approving the payment, are suddenly called upon to return the subsidy.

PFR’s actions may, under certain conditions, given the specific nature of the matter of assistance in the COVID-19 pandemic, be considered an abuse of subjective rights.

PFR Anti-Covid Shield – a lifeline for companies during the pandemic

The anti-covid shield included a package of aid programmes launched by the Polish Development Fund (PFR) in response to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim was to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic, in particular:

  • Protecting the labour market and jobs.
  • Ensuring financial liquidity for companies.
  • Support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The programme included two main pillars:

  • PFR Financial Shield 1.0 – it included subsidies for companies and employees, grants for local governments, exemptions from ZUS contributions and other support instruments;
  • PFR Financial Shield 2.0 – it included assistance to companies from industries most affected by the pandemic, including support for gastronomy, hotels and tourism. The programme offered partially non-refundable financial subsidies.

As part of the aid, PFR paid out over PLN 74 billion to entrepreneurs, which benefited 355 thousand entities.

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Bartłomiej Urbanek Senior Associate, Advocate
TGC Corporate Lawyers
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