Legal support for State aid beneficiaries
The Law Firm supports businesses at every stage of accessing and using public funding — from assessing eligibility for aid and the status of the enterprise, through project implementation and modifications, to project controls and audits, financial corrections, demands for repayment of funding, and administrative and civil proceedings.
Practice Areas
Legal support in matters concerning State aid, project controls and audits, financial corrections, and demands for repayment of funding.
Support for businesses in administrative and civil proceedings concerning public funding, including disputes over repayment of funding. Preparation of responses to official requests, appeals and complaints, and representation before administrative authorities, Voivodeship Administrative Courts, the Supreme Administrative Court, and ordinary courts.
Ongoing legal support during project implementation, including cost eligibility, project indicators, project modifications, project settlement, and communication with the funding institution.
Legal support for funding recipients
Access to public funding entails specific legal requirements for businesses from the moment they apply for aid until the end of the project sustainability period. Relevant requirements arise not only from State aid rules, but also from the call documentation, the grant agreement, applicable guidelines, and the rules governing the relevant programme.
The scope of legal support depends on the stage at which the business finds itself. Some issues can be addressed before an application is submitted or before a planned action is taken. Others arise during project implementation or a project control, or only when the funding institution challenges expenditure, imposes a financial correction, or demands repayment of funding.
Eligibility for State aid and enterprise status
Already at the application stage, it may be essential to determine the status of the enterprise correctly and to assess the conditions governing eligibility for State aid.
When assessing SME status, the Law Firm analyses, among other things, relationships with partner and linked enterprises, the ownership structure, and the impact of these circumstances on eligibility for funding. Legal support may also include an assessment of compliance with the incentive effect requirement, the date on which work on the project commenced, and the consequences of actions taken before the aid application was submitted.
These issues do not cease to be relevant once the grant agreement has been signed. A change of ownership, an acquisition of shares, a merger, or another change in the structure of the enterprise may affect continued compliance with the conditions for receiving aid. In such cases, it is necessary to determine the consequences of the planned transaction for the project and any notification obligations towards the funding institution.
Project implementation and modifications
During project implementation, the original assumptions may need to be modified. This may concern the scope of work, schedule, budget, project indicators, the manner in which project results are implemented, or the deadlines for individual stages of the project.
The Law Firm assists businesses in assessing whether a planned modification falls within the terms of the grant agreement, whether approval from the funding institution is required, and what risks may arise from implementing the change. The analysis may also concern cost eligibility, the documentation of incurred costs, the relationship between expenditure and the project, and the conditions that must be met for expenditure to be eligible for settlement under the project.
Organisational and ownership changes affecting the funding recipient may also be relevant, as may transactions involving the business or assets used in the project and obligations to notify the funding institution of particular actions. Early legal analysis makes it possible to assess the consequences of such actions before they are taken and to reduce the risk of their being challenged at a later stage.
Project controls, audits, and financial corrections
A project control or audit often results in a fresh assessment of the way in which the project has been implemented, even where the funding application, subsequent payment applications, or project modifications have previously been approved.
The Law Firm supports funding recipients during project controls conducted by funding institutions and other competent authorities. Support includes analysing control findings, preparing explanations and responses to official requests, submitting objections to post-control reports, and assessing whether an alleged breach identified by the authority is in fact supported by the project documentation and the applicable funding conditions.
Disputes may concern, among other things, cost eligibility, the manner in which a procurement procedure was conducted, achievement of project indicators and objectives, project sustainability, information obligations, or the compliance of modifications introduced during project implementation.
Where the funding institution identifies an irregularity, it is also necessary to determine whether there are grounds for imposing a financial correction or reducing eligible expenditure and whether the amount of the sanction is proportionate to the nature and consequences of the identified breach.
Repayment of funding and disputes
The most serious consequence of challenging the manner in which a project has been implemented may be a demand for repayment of some or all of the funding received.
At this stage, it is essential to determine the legal basis for the demand, the content of the obligation alleged to have been breached, and the relationship between the identified breach and the amount sought. The Law Firm prepares responses to demands for repayment of funding, legal submissions in proceedings conducted by funding institutions, and legal remedies against decisions issued in matters concerning public funding.
Depending on the legal basis on which the funding was awarded and the nature of the dispute, the matter may be dealt with in administrative or civil proceedings. Legal support includes representation of businesses at successive stages of the proceedings, including before Voivodeship Administrative Courts and the Supreme Administrative Court and, in matters falling within civil jurisdiction, before ordinary courts.
Practical Knowledge
Do you have questions about your situation?
Contact us – we will discuss your matter and recommend the appropriate course of action.