City has paid out 3.8 billion euros in bridging aid
Hamburg has paid out a total of 3.8 billion euros in coronavirus bridging aid. This was announced to the German Press Agency by a spokesperson for the economic authority. It remains to be seen how many companies will have to repay aid and to what extent. "The companies must always repay the aid granted in full or in part if the relevant eligibility requirements have not been met," said the authority. This applies in particular if the turnover and costs forecast at the time of application could not be realized. "As the final accounts are still being processed nationwide, no information is yet available on the total amount of repayments."
The spokesperson also pointed out that although the original deadline for final settlements for corona aid expired at the end of October, the federal government had extended it until the end of January 2024. "Companies therefore have until then to submit the statements; an extension until Easter, April 2, is possible if it is not possible for the companies to submit them within the deadline." According to the information, the economic authority expects a total of around 25,000 final settlement packages. "Of these, around 9500 packages have been submitted so far."
According to figures from the Federal Ministry of Economics, around 13.1 billion euros in emergency aid and 63.3 billion euros for programs such as the November, December and restart aid were paid out across Germany.
The coronavirus bridging aid was paid out unbureaucratically to companies whose existence was threatened by a sharp drop in turnover. However, this disbursement was linked to a final account - the actual decline in turnover and eligible fixed costs were compared with the forecast. Reclaims can be made, for example, if the actual decline in turnover was lower than expected when the application was submitted. The deadline for the final accounts was October 31. However, according to the Federal Ministry of Economics, this deadline can be extended until January 31 without any bureaucracy and, upon request, until March 31 at the latest.
The economic authority emphasized that companies receiving corona aid must repay it if they do not meet the eligibility requirements, especially if their turnover and costs forecasts were not realized. The spokesperson for the company mentioned that an extension for submitting final settlements for corona aid has been granted until the end of January 2024.
Source: www.dpa.com
