Project durability – what obligations does a company have after receiving a grant?

Project durability means that a company's obligations do not end on the day the funds are paid out or the day the project is settled. For a specified period, the beneficiary must maintain the project's effects, use the purchased fixed assets and intangible assets in line with the purpose of the funding, keep the documentation, allow audits and refrain from changes that could breach the conditions under which support was granted.

As a rule, the durability period is 5 years from the final payment, and in cases concerning the maintenance of investments or jobs created by SMEs – 3 years. The exact period should always be checked in the grant agreement, the call rules and the rules of the given programme.

The basic rules on the durability of operations derive from Article 65 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 and the national Guidelines on the eligibility of expenditure for 2021–2027.

What is project durability after receiving a grant?

Project durability is the obligation to maintain the effects of the undertaking for the period specified in the programme documentation. It is not just about owning the purchased machinery, equipment, IT systems, renewable energy installations, specialist vehicles or furnishings. What matters most is that the project continues to pursue the purpose for which the grant was awarded.

If a company has received funding to purchase a production line to increase its production capacity, it should not decommission the line during the durability period, sell it without the institution's consent or use it in a way that contradicts the project's assumptions. If the grant concerned the implementation of an ERP or CRM system or process automation software, the system should remain available, in use and linked to the processes described in the application. If the project involved an investment in accessibility, energy efficiency or digitalisation, the effects of that investment should remain demonstrable after the project has been completed.

A breach of durability may lead to the repayment of part or all of the funding. The risk therefore does not end at the application assessment stage, when the agreement is signed or when the final payment claim is submitted.

How long does the project durability period last?

The length of the durability period depends on the programme, the type of beneficiary, the nature of the investment and the legal basis of the funding. In investment projects financed from European funds, the standard period is 5 years, while for SMEs a 3-year period is often applied. The method of calculating the period (e.g. from the final payment) is set out in the grant agreement.

It should not be automatically assumed that every SME always has only a 3-year durability period. The documentation of the given programme is decisive. Obligations may differ in regional projects, in national programmes, and again in projects financed from agricultural, health, environmental or loan funds. State aid rules may impose additional requirements.

Before signing the grant agreement, the company should check:

• from which date the project durability period is counted,
• whether the period is 3 years, 5 years or another term resulting from the programme documentation,
• whether durability applies to the entire project, selected costs, jobs, results or infrastructure,
• which events require the institution's consent,
• which documents must be kept after the project has been completed,
• whether the project may be audited after the funds have been paid out,
• what sanctions are provided for breaching durability.

This is particularly important when a company is planning rapid growth, relocation, the sale of part of its assets, a transformation of its business, a change of its operating profile or a reorganisation of its processes.

What obligations does a company have during the project durability period?

A company's obligations after receiving a grant can be divided into several areas: maintaining the physical outputs, preserving the project's purpose, documenting expenditure, archiving, information and promotion, reporting, and readiness for audits. The scope of obligations may vary depending on the programme, but most often the beneficiary must demonstrate that the project continues to operate in line with the assumptions approved by the institution.

Maintaining purchased fixed assets and equipment

If fixed assets, equipment, machinery, devices, computer hardware, installations, production lines or other assets were purchased with the grant, the company should keep them during the durability period and use them for their intended purpose. This does not mean that every breakdown or normal wear and tear automatically breaches project durability. A problem arises when an asset is sold, decommissioned, relocated, left unused or used contrary to the project's purpose without the institution's required consent.

In practice, the company should have:

• purchase and acceptance documents,
• confirmation that the assets have been entered in the accounting records or the fixed asset register,
• photographic documentation, if it may be useful during an audit,
• service, warranty or inspection documents,
• information confirming where the equipment is used,
• justification of any changes, breakdowns, replacements or upgrades.

If a purchased device has to be replaced due to a breakdown, technological progress or because repair is not cost-effective, the decision should not be taken internally alone. First, it is worth checking the agreement and consulting the matter with the funding institution.

Preserving the purpose and nature of the project

The key question during the durability period is: does the project still pursue the purpose for which the grant was awarded? The institution may examine not only whether the beneficiary still has the purchased equipment, but also whether the investment has been substantially changed.

Risky situations may include:

• discontinuation of the activity covered by the project,
• relocation of the investment without the required consent,
• a change in how the purchased assets are used,
• sale of the enterprise or an organised part of it,
• discontinuation of the services described in the application,
• failure to maintain the declared indicators,
• a change of ownership affecting the conditions under which aid was granted,
• use of the purchases for activities not covered by the project.

Not every change is automatically unacceptable. What matters, however, is that changes do not violate the project's purpose, the eligibility rules, the State aid conditions or the provisions of the agreement.

Output and result indicators after project completion

Output indicators most often concern the direct effects of project implementation, e.g. the number of devices purchased, systems implemented, workstations created or installations completed. Result indicators show the change achieved thanks to the project, e.g. increased efficiency, reduced energy consumption, increased production capacity, improved accessibility of services or higher revenue from a specific business segment.

If the company declared specific indicators in the application, it should have a methodology for measuring them and documents confirming that the target values have been achieved. Beneficiaries may also be asked for information on the results achieved after the project has been completed. In practice, it is worth setting up a simple indicator monitoring system, including:

• a summary of baseline data from before the project,
• documents confirming completion of the physical scope,
• reports from IT systems,
• production, sales, energy or operational data,
• acceptance reports,
• printouts from ERP, CRM or BMS systems, meters or other measuring tools,
• periodic internal notes describing how the indicator was calculated.

The biggest mistake is treating indicators merely as an element of the application form. Indicators later form the basis for assessing whether the project has actually been implemented and whether it has achieved the intended effects.

Archiving documents after receiving a grant

The company should keep the project documentation for the period specified in the agreement and the programme rules – in the 2021–2027 perspective, as a rule, for 5 years from 31 December of the year in which the last payment to the beneficiary was made (Article 82 of Regulation 2021/1060). The agreement or State aid rules may provide for a longer period.

Documents worth organising after the project has been completed include:

• the grant agreement and its annexes,
• the grant application with attachments,
• physical and financial schedule,
• payment claims and correspondence with the institution,
• invoices, bills and proof of payment,
• documentation of contractor selection and agreements with suppliers,
• acceptance reports and photographic documentation,
• the fixed asset register,
• documents relating to project promotion,
• reports confirming the achievement of indicators.

The documentation should be complete, consistent and easy to reconstruct. The problem is not only a missing invoice, but also a lack of links between the invoice, the acceptance report, the budget item, the payment, the accounting records and the scope specified in the application.

Information and promotion obligations during the durability period

Beneficiaries of European Funds are obliged to inform the public about the support received. The rules for marking documents, information activities, websites, posters, plaques and other materials derive from the programme documentation and the communication manuals published, among others, on the European Funds Portal.

In practice, the company should check whether, after the project has been completed, it still has to maintain:

• information about the project on the website,
• marking of the purchased equipment or the project site,
• a poster or information plaque,
• the correct logos on public documents,
• documentation confirming that promotional activities have been carried out.

Incorrect marking of the project may seem like a minor formal error, but it may result in a reduction of the funding – under Article 50 of Regulation 2021/1060, by up to 3% if the beneficiary does not take remedial action. Information and promotion obligations are worth treating as part of the project's compliance system rather than merely as a marketing activity.

Can the project be audited after completion?

Yes. The project may also be audited after its completion if this follows from the programme rules and the grant agreement. An audit may be carried out at the beneficiary's premises, at the institution's premises or at the project site, and the obligation to submit to audits also covers the project durability period.

An audit after the project has been completed may concern, among other things:

• maintenance of the purchased assets,
• compliance with the project location,
• achieving and maintaining indicators,
• completeness of the documentation,
• correctness of information and promotion,
• how the purchased equipment is used,
• absence of double financing,
• compliance of the project with the State aid conditions and the provisions of the agreement.

The best preparation for an audit is well-organised documentation and ongoing monitoring of changes in the project. The company should not wait until it receives an audit notification to analyse durability. If in doubt, it may help to use our support during project audits and evaluations.

Which changes may breach project durability?

A breach of project durability may occur when, during the durability period, there is a significant change affecting the nature of the project, its objectives, implementation conditions or the benefits resulting from the investment. Changes concerning assets, location, ownership and the function of the project are particularly risky.

Examples of changes that require analysis include:

• sale or decommissioning of a device purchased with the grant,
• relocation of equipment to another facility,
• closing down operations at the project site,
• a change in the business profile,
• abandoning the service or product covered by the project,
• transformation, merger, division or sale of the company,
• loss of SME status, if it was relevant to the support conditions,
• failure to achieve the result indicators,
• use of the investment for purposes inconsistent with the agreement.

The need for a change does not in itself constitute a breach. What matters is checking, before making it, whether the institution's consent is required. In many cases, changes can be made, but only after they have been justified and approved, or after the agreement has been amended by an annex.

How to avoid repaying the grant during the durability period?

The greatest risks arise when, after the project has been settled, the documentation goes to the archive and the people responsible for the project stop monitoring the obligations arising from the agreement. It is worth implementing a simple internal procedure:

• appoint a person responsible for monitoring durability,
• prepare a calendar of obligations after project completion,
• keep a register of the purchased assets,
• monitor the result indicators,
• keep documents in one well-organised place,
• check whether the promotional measures are still up to date,
• consult planned changes before introducing them,
• document the reasons for organisational or technical changes,
• keep correspondence with the funding institution,
• periodically verify the project's compliance with the agreement.

For many companies, a good solution is to carry out a short project durability audit after the project has been completed. Such an audit makes it possible to check whether all purchases are consistent with the budget, whether the documents are complete, whether the indicators can be proven and whether the company is planning activities that require the institution's prior consent. This support is part of our service covering project implementation and settlement.

Project durability and planning a new grant

Durability obligations also matter when a company is planning further funding. Institutions may analyse the history of projects implemented, the correctness of settlements, the risk of double financing and the beneficiary's ability to maintain the effects of the investment.

Before submitting another application, it is worth checking whether the new project conflicts with earlier commitments – e.g. when the company wants to buy a similar device, expand the same process, change the investment location or use the same resources for another project. Current calls for proposals can be checked in the free grant search engine with an AI Assistant.

The most common mistakes companies make after receiving a grant

The most common mistakes often stem from the belief that once the funds have been paid out, the project is closed. For the institution, however, the durability period is a further part of the project life cycle. The most common mistakes include:

• no person responsible for project durability,
• selling or relocating equipment without analysing the agreement,
• no documents confirming the use of the purchases,
• losing access to the data needed to demonstrate the indicators,
• no up-to-date information about the project on the website,
• removing information and promotion markings,
• failing to take durability into account when reorganising the company,
• not consulting the institution before changing the project,
• storing documents in a scattered manner,
• confusing the end of project implementation with the end of all obligations.

Many of these mistakes can be reduced at the application preparation stage. A well-written project should not only score well but also be realistic to maintain after the funding ends.

When is it worth seeking advice on post-grant obligations?

A consultation is particularly advisable when the company:

• plans to sell, replace or decommission a fixed asset,
• wants to change the project location,
• is not achieving the declared indicators,
• is preparing for an audit or has received a request from the institution,
• plans to transform, merge or sell the company,
• intends to submit another grant application,
• is not sure which documents it has to keep,
• wants to check the project's compliance with the agreement.

In such situations, it is worth analysing the grant agreement, the application, the call rules, correspondence with the institution and the settlement documentation. The full scope of support is described in our grant advisory services.

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