Croatia’s SAFU to determine potential repayment from Verne robotaxi project

The Central Finance and Contracting Agency for EU Programmes and Projects (SAFU) said that it had received the final request for reimbursement of funds for Verne’s robotaxi project, with no costs claimed for reimbursement in the request.

“In accordance with the contractual provisions, the final request for reimbursement of funds, together with the final report for the project ‘Research, Development and Production of New Mobility Vehicles and Supporting Infrastructure’ of the beneficiary Project 3 Mobility, has been received,” SAFU said in response to a query from Hina.

Asked whether the company was seeking recognition of additional costs in its final documentation to justify the remaining portion of the advance payment previously received, SAFU said that the request does not include any claimed costs, CE Report quotes HINA.

The project’s exact financial outcome is nevertheless not yet known.

SAFU Has Up to 60 Days to Review

As the final request has only just been received, SAFU has not yet reviewed the documentation.

The agency will now examine the final report and determine the extent to which the contractual obligations have been fulfilled, the project results achieved, and the eligibility of the reported costs.

Under the contractual rules, the review must be completed within 60 days of receipt of the request at the latest. During the process, SAFU may also request additional information from the beneficiary.

Only after the review has been completed will it be possible to determine how much of the EU funding already paid to Verne the company can retain and how much, if any, it may have to return.

€89.7 Million Paid

Verne received an €89.7 million advance payment from Croatia’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) in July 2023.

According to administrative checks carried out previously, SAFU had deemed a total of €17.1 million in costs eligible by the end of August. Of that amount, €8.77 million related to grants used to justify the corresponding portion of the advance payment.

The remaining portion of the advance could be justified through the final reimbursement request.

SAFU had previously warned that any portion of the advance not justified by eligible costs could not be retained by the beneficiary and would be subject to contractual mechanisms for financial correction and repayment.

However, repayment would not automatically equal the entire amount paid. The final amount will depend on what SAFU determines through its review of the final documentation and on the extent to which it recognises the contracted results as having been achieved.

Project Formally Completed

The project was completed at the end of August, after which Verne had 30 days to submit the final report and reimbursement request.

The company submitted the documentation within the prescribed deadline.

The project involved the development and production of Level 5 autonomous electric vehicles and supporting infrastructure, and had been approved for a total of €179.5 million in grants from the NRRP.

At the beginning of September, Verne said that during the project, the relevant institutions had verified the delivery of prototypes of fully autonomous electric vehicles, testing activities and the adoption of regulations related to autonomous driving.

The company also said at the time that it was prepared to return funds if the final evaluation showed that the contractual obligations had not been fully met.

In addition to the €89.7 million drawn from the NRRP, Verne says it has raised more than €140 million from private investors.

Final Decision Only After Review

The submission of the final request without claimed costs therefore does not, by itself, answer the question of how much EU funding Verne may have to return.

SAFU will have to determine which contractual objectives were actually achieved, which costs are eligible and whether there are grounds for an additional financial correction.

If it determines that part of the advance already paid was not justified by eligible costs, that amount will be subject to repayment.

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