The federal law for the audit of the aids “Prüfung von Förderungen des Bundes aufgrund der COVID-19-Pandemie (CFPG)” enables a retrospective check of the various aids to handle the Covid-19 pandemic.
The tax office checks the compliance of aid requirements through their external audits (“Außenprüfung”).
The CFPG audits the following aids:
- Financial measures on the basis of the ABBAG-law:
- Subsidies („Fixkostenzuschuss I+II“, „Verlustersatz“, „Lockdown-Umsatzersatz“, „Ausfallsbonus“)
- Liabilities in regards to certain fundings , such as Austria Wirtschaftsservice GmbH (AWS) or Österreichische Hotel- und Tourismusbank GmbH (ÖHT), which have taken over the risks of the loan
- Subsidies from the „Härtefallfonds“
- Short time work aid
- Support from the Non-Profit-Organisations support fund
- Bridging payments for artist
- COVID-19 investment bonus payments for businesses
Plausibility and accuracy of the data and files provided by the funding candidates will be audited.
As the above mentioned aids are not taxes or contributions but commercially agreed measures, the following legal requirements are applicable:
- The tax office acts as an evaluator and not as a tax authority. The regulations of the Federal Fiscal Code (BAO) are still valid. Thus the levy payer (“Abgabenpflichtiger”) is required to provide information and data.
- The audit will be handled by the responsible tax office usually through a “normal” tax audit (“Außenprüfung” or “Nachschau”)The ministry of finance can also order the tax office to conduct an audit independent of the above mentioned “normal” audits
- There is no separate legal remedy to appeal against the audit following the CFPG, the audit itself or the results. In case the audit concludes with unclear results (because of inaccurate data or wrong calculations), a report has to be made and sent to the relevant funding agency (COFAG, AWS, ÖHT, WKO, Agrarmarkt Austria, AMS) and ministry of finance.
- The funding agency will claim back any aids that were paid out too high including interest. In case of a suspected criminal offence (fraud or misuse of aids) the tax office must file a complaint at the public prosecutor´s office. In addition financial criminal consequences can ensue in case of an incorrect application for aids.
Tipp: All data relevant for the aids has to be sufficiently documented and stored in case of an audit of the Covid-19 aids. In this and also in case of an audit we are happy to assist you.