Brno - Any town hall that will save up money in government-funded projects will have to return all the savings from now on, as ruled by the Supreme Administrative Court today.

The court did not uphold a complaint filed by the town hall of Trutnov, north Bohemia, that will have to pay a fine of CZK 13,000, imposed by the local financial office. The Trutnov town hall did not return savings from a government-funded project.

In 2000, the town hall received a CZK 340,000 subsidy from the Industry and Trade Ministry to repair a central heating system.

The project came to be much cheaper than expected, but the town hall kept the money it saved. The local financial office penalised the town hall for not giving back the savings.

The town hall claimed they believed the conditions set in the agreement with the ministry had been of more informative nature and not binding or specifically related to the project.

The court ruled, however, that the financial office acted in line with the law and the Trutnov town hall will have to return the state budget money they managed to save.