Pitfalls in accounting for subsidies from PFR

by Jagna Kowalczyk-Fudali and Damian Dobosz

1 July 2021

In recent weeks, companies have been busy preparing their final accounts for the subsidies received from the Polish Development Fund (PFR) as part of the first anti-crisis shield. It is assumed that the culmination will be in July, as this is the month that marks one year since many companies received the subsidy.

What companies should remember

1. Maintenance of the bank account

First of all, it is important to remember about maintaining the bank account used for filing the application for the subsidies and into which these were paid out. It is this bank account that companies are required to use to account for their subsidies and that is used for the entire settlement procedure.

2. Settlement

Another aspect to remember is the settlement itself. PFR will provide through the banking system information regarding the settlement but tacit consent of the beneficiary is not enough for the settlement to be finalised. It is important to apply for a partial or entire non-repayment of the subsidy.

3. Use of electronic banking

The use of electronic banking can be a source of another pitfall.  Banks enable access to the correspondence with PFR to the main bank account holders only; this is especially the case in sole proprietorships. For example, a wife, a husband or an accountant who are authorised based on a power of attorney to access the bank account will not have access to the correspondence. It is the main bank account holder who must log into the bank.

What are the consequences of failing to applying for non-repayment?

At present, if a beneficiary fails to apply for non-repayment they will have to return the entire subsidy. PFR has not envisaged any alternative method or route. This is all the more worrying that certain changes to the PFR rules and regulations were introduced only a few weeks ago and were not individually communicated to the beneficiaries. And it wasn't until 13 April 2021 that Article 51 of the rules and regulations started to apply and this is the article that regulates the procedure for filing non-repayment applications.

It is worth remembering about those few formal requirements to avoid bitter surprises where PFR demands returning the entire amount of the subsidy.