In early July, the State of North Rhine-Westphalia began asking companies that had received Corona emergency aid to submit a reporting return. The aim was to determine the company's actual liquidity shortfall. The corresponding repayment amount of the Corona emergency aid was then to be calculated on this basis. The reporting procedure used a digital form that companies had to complete themselves and submit to the state government by 30 September 2020. The self-calculated repayment amount was to be transferred to the state government by 31 December 2020.
This procedure was suspended on 14 July 2020. See the press release of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy of the same date:
The reason given is that "some of the settlement requirements have proven problematic." The federal government has now first asked the federal states to comment on the settlement and repayment procedure. The NRW state government has submitted the open points from its perspective and experience to the federal government and is halting the reporting procedure until a uniform federal clarification is reached.
We therefore recommend that all clients refrain from completing or returning the forms for the time being. Please contact your responsible Steuerberater (German Certified Tax Advisor) in each individual case!
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
Has the feedback procedure for the NRW Corona emergency aid been suspended?
Yes, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia suspended the feedback procedure for the Corona emergency aid as of 14 July 2020. The reason is that some accounting requirements have proven problematic. The procedure will be paused until a nationwide clarification is reached.
Should the Corona emergency aid feedback forms still be completed and returned?
No, recipients of the NRW emergency aid should not complete or return the feedback forms for the time being. We recommend waiting for the nationwide clarification on the settlement procedures and consulting your responsible Steuerberater (German Certified Tax Advisor) on a case-by-case basis.
What was the purpose of the original reporting procedure for Corona emergency aid in NRW?
The reporting procedure was intended to determine the company's actual liquidity shortfall during the funding period. Based on this, any repayment amount for the Corona emergency aid received would have been calculated. The self-declaration was submitted via a digital form.
What deadlines were originally set for the reporting and repayment of the NRW emergency aid?
Originally, the report was to be submitted to the state government via the digital form by 30 September 2020. The self-determined repayment amount would then have been due by 31 December 2020. These deadlines have become obsolete due to the suspension of the procedure.
Why has North Rhine-Westphalia halted the emergency aid reporting procedure?
The NRW state government has identified several problematic accounting requirements and forwarded the relevant points to the federal government. The federal government has asked the states for their comments. Until a uniform federal solution is in place, NRW is pausing the procedure to avoid disadvantages for aid recipients.