SFŽP has started to monitor the use of subsidies from the Green Savings Program

Prague - The State Environmental Fund (SFŽP) has checked hundreds of recently completed renovations or new buildings funded by state subsidies from the Green Savings program. By the end of September, fund employees visited 600 households that insulated, changed windows, or replaced boilers with state support. The inspections, in addition to minor irregularities, also highlighted construction projects that show signs of fraud, according to the fund's website. Such cases will be dealt with recipients of subsidies, as well as in cooperation with the tax office and police.
    Overall, the state will distribute approximately 18 billion Czech crowns in the Green Savings program, which it earned from the sale of carbon emission credits. According to the Kyoto Protocol rules, the proceeds from the sale must go towards climate protection. "Based on contracts with buyers of emission credits, inspections should be carried out on five percent of implemented projects," said Jarmila Krebsová from the SFŽP communications department to ČTK.
    By July, over 64,000 applications worth around 16 billion crowns had been approved since the start of the program. Therefore, over 3,000 households can expect a visit from inspectors.
    The inspections are carried out by fund staff, who may invite experts to help, and in case of suspected fraud, they turn to the police.
    The inspections aim to prove that subsidy applicants fulfilled contractual obligations during renovations and construction and saved the planned amount of energy. If the inspection proves otherwise, households may face having to return tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of crowns received from the state.
    All money returned based on construction inspections, as well as during project audits throughout their administration, will be reintegrated into the Green Savings program and subsequently paid out to other applicants. Minister Tomáš Chalupa told Czech Radio Radio Česko today that the funds would be allocated for insulation and renovation of public buildings. He does not dare to estimate how much it will be, but according to him, it will be in the order of tens of millions.
    During building inspections, fund employees review documents and verify the quality of the work performed on-site. Applicants will be notified of the inspection by a previously sent "notification of the commencement of supervision." The inspection aims to verify the consistency of the real state with the information provided in the support applications. If a partial discrepancy is found, the report from the supervision goes to the fund, which will decide on the next steps.
    The applicant usually learns about the planned inspection at least five working days before the start date. "However, if this is required for the purpose of the supervision, its initiation may be communicated to the controlled person no later than on the day of the supervision at the site. This particularly applies to cases where prior indications of suspected fraudulent activity, corruption, or situations that threaten the purpose and subject matter of the supervision exist," states the provisions published on the fund's website. The head of the inspection group presents written "authorization for on-site supervision," signed by the fund's director and stamped with a round seal; the controlled person may also request identity cards from the inspection team members to confirm their identity.
    Next week, according to Chalupa, the fund council will meet to evaluate the balance of the Green Savings program. After a decision in the summer to allocate subsidies to applicants who supplemented incomplete applications after the call, he stated that it remains to tally the applications without the right to support.