Highlights

• The draft bill allows for the suspension of the collection of unsettled advance payments and the exclusion of liability for the repayment of amounts due from those beneficiaries who have been harmed by dishonest contractors.
• To benefit from these provisions, a report of the offence must be filed, or criminal proceedings must be initiated ex officio.
• This is a response to the problems of families who, in good faith, granted power of attorney to companies that collected advance payments but did not complete or settle the investment.
• The government will help pursue claims against companies that are subject to proceedings related to financial abuse.
• Before the 2025 reform, the Clean Air programme allowed for the development of aggressive sales techniques and unfair practices by some contractors, to the detriment of beneficiaries.
• Launched in March 2025, the new edition of the Clean Air programme limits the possibilities for abuse and is safe for beneficiaries.

At the request of the beneficiary, the competent Voivodship Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (VFEP&WM) may suspend the repayment of the debt. This will happen if the beneficiary, VFEP&WM or the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFEP&WM) has filed a report of suspected criminal activity related to the implementation of the grant agreement to the detriment of the beneficiary by the contractor, or if criminal proceedings in this case have been initiated ex officio.

After a final judgment of the court finding the contractor guilty, the beneficiary will be released from the obligation to return the unsettled advance payment. The competent Voivodship Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management will be able to submit a request to the court to impose an obligation on the dishonest contractor to repair the damage, and the beneficiary will be able to authorise the VFEP&WM to seek repayment of the debt from the contractor.

The amount of unsettled advance payments, including those unduly collected by contractors, currently amounts to approximately PLN 285 million. It is estimated that the problem may affect more than 8,000 families.

The Ministry of Climate and Environment is planning to submit the draft bill to the Council of Ministers in March 2026. The aim is to have the bill adopted by the Council of Ministers as soon as possible.

Increased security for beneficiaries

Launched in March 2025, the new edition of the Clean Air programme is safe for beneficiaries. The possibilities for dishonest practices have been limited. A key role is played by operators – municipalities and voivodship funds – whose task is to support beneficiaries at every stage of the process, from the decision to implement the investment, through the selection of an auditor and contractor, throughout the entire investment process, to the completion of the project and settlement of the subsidy.

The procedures for assessing applications and making payments are constantly being improved. Voivodship funds have increased the number of staff involved in assessing documents, set up consultation points and enabled the possibility of arranging online meetings.

The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFEP&WM) and voivodship funds maintain regular dialogue with contractors, who are an important part of the programme. This dialogue and corrective measures are primarily conducted out of concern for the people who have applied for grants and based on regulations on the spending of public funds. These regulations oblige public entities to spend funds in a purposeful and economical manner, both when awarding grants and when settling accounts, to achieve the best results. Under the programme, funding is paid, for example, from European funds, which are subject to restrictive rules on control, accounting and the need to achieve and document specific material and environmental effects.

One of the practices that voivodship funds face when assessing payment applications under the programme is the overstatement of investment costs, which prolongs the procedure. Beneficiaries are asked for additional explanations. This slows down the assessment and payment process. However, this is necessary from the point of view of economy, protecting the public interest.

The 15 October coalition government secured sources of funding for the Clean Air programme: PLN 7.9 billion from the European Funds for Infrastructure, Climate and Environment (FEnIKS) 2021-2027 programme; PLN 13 billion from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan; PLN 10 billion from the Modernisation Fund. The budget of over PLN 44 billion will allow the programme to be implemented in the near future.