At the end of 2022, companies received support for the high prices through the Energy Subsidy Scheme. To avoid state aid ending up in the owners’ pockets, the government banned these companies from dividends and group contributions. But up to 170 companies defied this ban, news has shown. NOK 200 million went to the owners from these companies. news’s cases are based on analyzes of Photo: Skjermdump / news Despite the calls to the Minister of Industry, only a fraction of this has been paid back. 27 companies have so far announced that they will pay back money, after taking dividends or group contributions for 2022. This is reported by Enova, which manages the Energy Subsidy Scheme. – Important to report If the dividend ban was complied with, the authorities were to check through random samples. If someone is discovered, they must pay back the support, with interest. If fraud is suspected, they may receive a fee or be reported. But that has not happened to any of those who have been discovered in the spot checks, Enova says. – What motivation do aid recipients have to report whether they have broken the ban on dividends/group contributions? – If fraud is suspected, a report will be considered. Enova also states that several companies have already announced that they will adopt dividends or group contributions, and that they thus want to pay back the support. The Ministry of Trade and Fisheries responds. They are responsible for the scheme. State Secretary Anne Marit Bjørnflaten (Ap) encourages companies to report if an error has occurred. – The vast majority of companies in Norway operate properly and properly. Errors can then occur, in which case it is important to report them and rectify them. Anne Marit Bjørnflaten from the Labor Party. Photo: Anja Ariel Tørnes Brekke She adds that the random tests of the ban on dividends and group contributions will only take place in the second half of 2024. This is because the accounts for 2023 will not be ready until then. Several types of violations The random tests around dividends will not take place until mid-2024, says State Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Fisheries, Anne Marit Bjørnflaten (Ap). – The dividend check will be carried out when the accounts for 2022 and 2023 are available. Where violations are discovered, the companies must pay back the money. We have confidence that Enova manages this responsibility in a good way, says Bjørnflaten. It is not only the dividend ban that companies have broken. So far, 82 companies have to pay back. 39 of these were discovered in the random checks. – The most important reasons are that the applicant was not eligible for support, incorrectly stated electricity price or incorrectly stated subsidized consumption, says Vidar Pedersen, head of communications and marketing at Enova. A total of NOK 9.5 million has been paid back. In addition, the companies lose subsidies they had originally received for energy efficiency. Spot tests announced – not done 1.1 of the 2.8 billion allocated through the Energy Subsidy Scheme went to property landlords. The government’s expectation was that tenants would benefit from the support, not landlords. Industry Minister Jan Christian Vestre said that he would personally follow up on this. At the same time, he announced that this would be checked through random samples. Enova says that this is not checked. – This is a condition that will be difficult to control, both in terms of finding out which companies it applies to and obtaining documentation, says Pedersen in Enova. It has been important for Industry Minister Jan Christian Vestre that the tenants, not the landlords, received electricity support. Photo: Lars Os news has asked the Ministry of Trade and Industry how Vestre will follow up on the promise he gave. They answer: – The only way to pay support to shops and other renters is by going through the person who owns the electricity meter. But it is a prerequisite that the support benefits the end user. It is therefore in the scheme that if a landlord does not cover the costs of electricity himself, but passes it on to his tenants, the consumption-dependent subsidy must benefit the tenants.
ttn-69
Up to 170 companies defied dividend bans – 27 have paid back – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
