The Ministry of Energy and Mining stated that they have not officially received the State Audit Institution (SAI) report on EPCG Solar Gradnja and have therefore requested it from the parent company EPCG. The ministry emphasized that it needs the report to take part in any further institutional processes.
Although the report was published on SAI’s website on Tuesday and its key findings have been shared by the media, the ministry underlined that the primary responsibility lies with the company’s management bodies—particularly the Board of Directors of EPCG Solar Gradnja and the parent company EPCG. These bodies are expected to examine the audit findings and determine further steps, including accountability.
Minister Admir Šahmanović met this week with EPCG’s board, where he emphasized the importance of promptly addressing the audit’s conclusions and creating a clear action plan to resolve all identified irregularities.
The audit uncovered multiple issues, including failure to properly calculate deferred tax assets, leading to an understated profit of €63,700, and overstated non-deductible expenses by €22,300. The company also failed to recognize provisions for employee benefits such as severance and jubilee awards, resulting in inaccurate financial statements for 2024.
EPCG Solar converted most of its 357 employees to permanent contracts without public advertisement or legal conditions being met, violating labor laws. They adjusted job complexity coefficients without approval from the government or ministry. Despite reporting losses of €2.2 million in 2022 and €2.7 million in 2023, the salary fund remained unchanged, contrary to legal requirements.
The company also used service contracts for regular positions and split public procurement contracts, exceeding the annual limit of €100,000 for simplified procedures.
SAI issued 23 recommendations, requiring a plan by the end of July and an implementation report by the end of December. The report was sent to EPCG, the Ministry of Finance, the Committee on Economy, and the State Prosecutor’s Office.
EPCG Solar reported €7.8 million in revenue last year, with €7.4 million from services to its parent and affiliated companies. Out of €7.7 million in total expenses, €6.8 million was spent on wages, service contracts, board member compensation, and related taxes.
Petar Odžić of the European Alliance criticized EPCG Solar for political hiring and misuse of public funds, noting that in previous governments, the prosecution acted quickly on negative audit opinions, while now it’s rare for any state company to receive a clean audit.
