Offsetting of special fines for energy upgrades to buildings

SUBJECT: Determination of the offsetting of amounts paid for energy upgrades and structural adequacy of buildings prior to 2003 with the amounts of the special fine provided for by Law 4178/13 “Addressing Arbitrary Construction – Environmental Balance and other provisions.” (A’ 174), as well as any necessary details for implementation.

THE DEPUTY MINISTERS OF FINANCE, ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY, AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Taking into account:

1. Article 90 of the Code of Legislation for the Government and Government Agencies, ratified by Article 1 of Presidential Decree 63/2005 (Government Gazette A 98).

2. Decision No. 2876/07.10.2009 of the Prime Minister “Change of Ministry Titles” (Government Gazette B 2234).

3. Articles 1, paragraphs 2 and 6 of Presidential Decree 189/2009 “Definition and redistribution of the responsibilities of Ministries” (Government Gazette A 221), as amended by the provisions of Article 2 of Presidential Decree 24/2010 “Redefinition of the responsibilities of Ministries and amendments to Presidential Decree 189/2009” (Government Gazette A 56).

4. The P. . 86/2012 “Appointment of Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and Deputy Ministers” (Government Gazette A 141).

5. Decision No. 46/09.07.2012 of the Prime Minister “Determination of the responsibilities of the Deputy Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Change, Stavros Kalafatis” (Government Gazette B 2101), as amended by Decision No. Y331/11-7-2013 (Government Gazette B 1717).

6. Decision No. Y48/9.7.2012 (Government Gazette B 2105) of the Prime Minister “Determination of the responsibilities of the Deputy Minister of Finance, Christos Staikouras.”

7. Paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article 20 of Law 4178/2013 “Addressing Arbitrary Construction – Environmental Balance and other provisions” (A’ 174).

we decide:

Article 1 Offsetting of special fines for energy upgrades to buildings under Law 4178/2013

1. For buildings constructed before 2003, as well as for stone buildings constructed before July 28, 2011, and subject to the provisions of Law 4178/2013 (Government Gazette A 174), the amount of the special fine payable under the above law may be offset against the amount spent after the entry into force of this decision on energy upgrading measures for these buildings. This decision does not apply to buildings whose owners have received subsidies from state or European Union co-financed programs relating to interventions in the building sector to improve their energy efficiency.

2. The interventions may concern both the building envelope, including openings, and the heating, cooling, air conditioning, and hot water supply systems. The interventions are implemented in accordance with the provisions and specifications in force for the minimum requirements of the Building Energy Efficiency Regulation (KENAK).

3. The offsetting process includes the costs of purchasing materials/equipment, as well as additional work to complete the interventions, such as dismantling/removal, installation/fitting, restoration, scaffolding, etc., and for the provision of energy inspection services. The above offsetting costs do not include VAT.

The calculation of the offsetting expenditure is carried out in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 3 of F.B1/E2. 1/244/6/5.1.2011 joint decision of the Ministers of Economy, Competitiveness and Shipping and Environment, Energy and Climate Change (Government Gazette B 54/26.01.2011) entitled “Announcement of the ‘Home Energy Saving’ Program to be implemented under the NSRF 2007-2013,” as amended and in force.

4. The offset is made for an amount up to fifty percent (50%) of the special fine, excluding the relevant fee, and provided that the interventions result in an upgrade of the building by at least one energy class or annual primary energy savings greater than 30% of the consumption of the reference building.

5. Compliance with the conditions of the previous paragraph is determined exclusively after two energy inspections have been carried out on the building. The first inspection takes place after the building has been brought into compliance with the provisions of Law 4178/2013 and before the start of the interventions, and the second inspection takes place after the completion of the interventions to verify that they have been carried out correctly and that the energy target has been achieved.

6. The following supporting documents must be submitted in order to perform the offset:

a) Application by the interested party stating their details, the details of the building for which they are requesting offsetting, the number of the certificate of compliance with the provisions of Law 4178/2013, the amount of the special fine that has been calculated, the cost of implementing energy upgrade measures, and the amount requested to be offset.

b) A copy of the building permit, the approval for small-scale works, or the written notification to the competent Building Control Authority, if required for the execution of the works.

c) Documents supporting the relevant expenses, including delivery notes for materials or equipment.

d) Copies of the two Energy Performance Certificates issued following the energy inspections referred to in paragraph 5.

e) Conclusion – Statement by the Energy Inspector who conducted the second inspection, declaring that the energy target set out in paragraph 4 has been achieved.

g) A solemn declaration pursuant to Article 8 of Law 1599/1986 (Government Gazette A 75) with certification of the authenticity of the applicant’s signature, stating that they are submitting all the required supporting documents, the details of which are true, that all the expense receipts they are submitting were issued for the purchase of materials/equipment, the performance of work and the provision of services for the energy upgrade of the building referred to in his application, and that the owners of the building in question have not received any subsidies from state or European Union co-financed programs relating to interventions in the sector to improve their energy efficiency.

Article 2 Offsetting of special fines for structural reinforcement of buildings under Law 4178/2013

1. For buildings constructed before 2003 and subject to the provisions of Law 4178/2013 (Government Gazette A 174), the amount of the special fine payable under the above law may be offset against the amount spent after the entry into force of this decision on the structural reinforcement of these buildings. This decision does not apply to buildings whose owners have received subsidies from state or European Union co-financed programs for the repair/restoration or reinforcement of their load-bearing structure or for the restoration of damage to buildings affected by natural disasters (earthquake, fire, flood, landslide).

2. The interventions concern the repair/restoration or reinforcement of the load-bearing structure and are carried out in accordance with the provisions and specifications in force for the mandatory minimum load-bearing capacity requirements under the Intervention Regulations (KANEPE) or in accordance with the legislation in force at the time of issuance of the building permit, following a study and technical report by a competent engineer.

3. The offsetting process includes expenses for the purchase of materials/equipment as well as for additional work to complete the interventions, such as dismantling/removal, installation/setup, restoration, scaffolding, etc., and compensation for the required building inspections. The above offsetting costs do not include VAT.

The calculation of the offset costs is carried out according to the invoice of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks: 6772 /B9b/2011 Decision of the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Transport, and Networks “Invoice for calculating the cost of repair work to restore damage to buildings affected by natural disasters (earthquake, fire, flood, landslide) and the corresponding Housing Assistance” (Government Gazette 3201 B).

4. The offset shall be made for an amount up to fifty percent (50%) of the special fine, excluding the relevant fee.

5. The following supporting documents must be submitted in order to perform the offset:

a) Application by the interested party in which the following is stated the details of the interested party , the details of the building for which requires offsetting, the number of the certificate of inclusion in the provisions of Law 4178/2013, the amount of the special penalty that has been calculated, the amount of the expense for implementation of interventions for static reinforcement and the amount that is requested to be offset.

b) The documents for the relevant expenses, including the delivery notes for materials or equipment.

c) A copy of the structural vulnerability report submitted to the electronic system for declaring unauthorized buildings and a copy of the structural adequacy study, if required.

d) Approved building permit or approval for structural reinforcement works on the building, as defined in paragraph 5 of Article 25 of Law 4178/2013 e) Conclusion of the Building Inspector after completion of the works, certifying the proper execution of the works provided for in the issued structural reinforcement permit.

f) A solemn declaration pursuant to Article 8 of Law 1599/1986 (Government Gazette A 75), certified by the applicant’s signature, stating that all the required supporting documents have been submitted the information contained therein is true, that all the expense receipts submitted were issued for the purchase of materials/equipment, the performance of work, and the provision of services for the structural reinforcement of the building referred to in the application, and that the owners of the building in question have not received any subsidy/aid from state or European Union co-financed programs relating to interventions in the building sector for the repair/ restoration or reinforcement of their load-bearing structure or restoration of damage to buildings affected by natural disasters (earthquake, fire, flood, landslide).

Article 3 Submission and verification of supporting documents

1. The authorized engineer shall submit to the information system, in accordance with the provisions of Law 4178/ 2013, the supporting documents referred to in paragraph 6 of Article 1 or paragraph 5 of Article 2 hereof and shall submit a solemn declaration that the information submitted has been checked for accuracy and completeness and that the supporting documents submitted correspond to the works declared and carried out for the energy upgrade or structural reinforcement of the property or real estate.

2. A request for offsetting may be submitted for the same property or real estate for both cases of offsetting under Articles 1 and 2 of this special fine, excluding the fee, provided that the offset is made in total for an amount up to fifty percent (50%) of the special fine.

3. The amounts paid for energy upgrade or structural reinforcement works are deducted from the last installment and the immediately preceding ones until the offset is completed. If, after the above calculation, it appears that the amounts already paid exceed the amount of the outstanding fine, they shall not be refunded or claimed.

4. The competent Building Authority, or other competent authority, designated by decision of the Minister of Environment, Energy, and Climate Change, shall conduct random checks on at least five percent (5%) of the declarations submitted in order to verify whether the information contained in the declarations concerning the description of the construction, the supporting documents and delivery notes, as well as the findings of the energy inspectors or Building Inspectors, are true and accurate. If false information and/or untrue declarations are found, the special fine initially calculated by the electronic system is doubled. In order to impose the doubling of the special fine, a relevant administrative act is issued by the competent service, which is submitted to the competent authority for the management of the information system in order to correct the amount of the fine as above.

5. Inspections following complaints or orders from public authorities may be carried out by Building Inspectors as defined in Law 4030/2011 (A’ 249), at random, following an electronic draw.

Article 4 Transitional Provisions

The costs of energy upgrade works in accordance with the provisions of this law that have been carried out after the entry into force of Law 4178/2013 and before the publication of this law, on properties or real estate subject to the provisions of Law 4178/ 2013, may be offset against the special fine, provided that the Energy Inspector certifies that the interventions result in an upgrade of the building by at least one energy class, or an annual primary energy saving of more than 30% of the reference building’s consumption. In this case, the relevant supporting documents shall make specific reference to the date of issue of the supporting documents and receipts in relation to the dates of application of this article. In addition to the initial energy performance certificate, the other supporting documents shall be submitted in accordance with the provisions of this decision.

Article 5 Entry into force

1. The effect of this decision shall commence from the date of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union

2. This decision shall be published in the Government Gazette.

Athens, January 2014

THE DEPUTY MINISTERS OF THE ENVIRONMENT, OF ENERGY

ECONOMIC AND CLIMATE CHANGE

CHRISTOS STAIKOURAS STAVROS KALAFATIS