The state wants about 1,100 bars and restaurants in Finland to repay the Covid subsidy. The grants were intended to compensate for losses incurred when restrictions closed bars and eateries last spring.
The extra subsidies usually range from € 1,000 to € 10,000, although the rescue program requires one restaurant company to repay € 200,000.
About 500 companies have already repaid the extra grants. But MaRa, a lobby in the restaurant industry, said the other 500 could not repay subsidies from an empty cash register.
The agency is responsible for raising money, the Finnish Center for Development and Administration or The center of the body, transferred Covid rescue funds to approximately 7,800 restaurant companies in the spring of 2020.
Later, the organization found that it paid more than 1,100 of these companies about 15 to 25 percent.
The restaurants in question did not apply for the grants separately, but received them automatically shortly after the Ministry of Economy and Labor decided that Keha would handle the subsidy payments to companies whose sales fell by 75 per cent.
"In retrospect, we can see that the companies in the restaurant sector did better than we expected," said Keha Pauliina Smolander, with reference to fast food and takeaway restaurants.
However, 100-150 of these companies are in cash deficit, which means that all debt goes directly to collection, according to Smolander.
"These companies have unpaid bills, rent and other expenses. All payments are difficult for them right now," said Timo Lapland, which leads the restaurant industry MaRaa.
Smolander said that while it is unfortunate that Keha paid too much to businesses, he stressed that the program got the money quickly, allowing restaurants to stay above wages.
"The situation was catastrophic at the time. The restaurants were closed and we had to make sure they had support. We were under pressure to get the money out quickly," he said.
Companies that cost more than € 100 or less will not be asked to refund.
Source: The Nordic Page