CHAPTER I U.K. Financial management
Article 129U.K.Common rules for payments
The Member State shall ensure that by the closure of the operational programme, the amount of public expenditure paid to beneficiaries is at least equal to the contribution from the Funds paid by the Commission to the Member State.
Article 130U.K.Common rules for calculating interim payments and payment of the final balance
1.The Commission shall reimburse as interim payments 90 % of the amount resulting from applying the co-financing rate for each priority, laid down in the decision adopting the operational programme, to the eligible expenditure for the priority included in the payment application. The Commission shall determine the remaining amounts to be reimbursed as interim payments or to be recovered in accordance with Article 139.
2.The contribution from the Funds or the EMFF to a priority through the interim payments and payment of the final balance shall not be higher than:
(a)the eligible public expenditure indicated in the payment application for the priority; or
(b)the contribution from the Funds or the EMFF for the priority laid down in the decision of the Commission approving the operational programme.
Article 131U.K.Payment applications
1.Payment applications shall include, for each priority:
(a)the total amount of eligible expenditure incurred by beneficiaries and paid in implementing operations, as entered in the accounting system of the certifying authority;
(b)the total amount of public expenditure incurred in implementing operations, as entered in the accounting system of the certifying authority.
2.Eligible expenditure included in a payment application shall be supported by receipted invoices or accounting documents of equivalent probative value, except for forms of support under points (b), (c) and (d) of the first subparagraph of Article 67(1), under Article 68, Article 69(1) and Article 109 of this Regulation and under Article 14 of the ESF Regulation. For those forms of support, the amounts included in a payment application shall be the costs calculated on the applicable basis.
3.In the case of aid schemes under Article 107 TFEU, the public contribution corresponding to the expenditure included in a payment application shall have been paid to the beneficiaries by the body granting the aid.
4.By way of derogation from paragraph 1, in the case of State aid, the payment application may include advances paid to the beneficiary by the body granting the aid under the following cumulative conditions:
(a)those advances are subject to a guarantee provided by a bank or other financial institution established in the Member State or be covered by a facility provided as a guarantee by a public entity or by the Member State;
(b)those advances do not exceed 40 % of the total amount of the aid to be granted to a beneficiary for a given operation;
(c)those advances are covered by expenditure paid by beneficiaries in implementing the operation and supported by receipted invoices or accounting documents of equivalent probative value at the latest within three years following the year of the payment of the advance or on 31 December 2023, whichever is earlier, failing which the next payment application shall be corrected accordingly.
5.Each payment application which includes advances of the type referred to in paragraph 4 shall separately disclose the total amount paid from the operational programme as advances, the amount which has been covered by expenditure paid by beneficiaries within three years of the payment of the advance in accordance with point (c) of paragraph 4, and the amount which has not been covered by expenditure paid by beneficiaries and for which the three year period has not yet elapsed.
6.The Commission shall, in order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Article, adopt implementing acts laying down the model for payment applications. These implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 150(3).
Article 132U.K.Payment to beneficiaries
1.Subject to the availability of funding from initial and annual pre-financing and interim payments, the managing authority shall ensure that a beneficiary receives the total amount of eligible public expenditure due in full and no later than 90 days from the date of submission of the payment claim by the beneficiary.
No amount shall be deducted or withheld and no specific charge or other charge with equivalent effect shall be levied that would reduce amounts due to beneficiaries.
2.The payment deadline referred to in paragraph 1 may be interrupted by the managing authority in either of the following duly justified cases:
(a)the amount of the payment claim is not due or the appropriate supporting documents, including the documents necessary for management verifications under point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 125(4), have not been provided;
(b)an investigation has been initiated in relation to a possible irregularity affecting the expenditure concerned.
The beneficiary concerned shall be informed in writing of the interruption and the reasons for it.
Article 133U.K.Use of the euro
1.Member States which have not adopted the euro as their currency on the date of an application for payment shall convert the amounts of expenditure incurred in national currency into euro. Those amounts shall be converted into euro using the monthly accounting exchange rate of the Commission in the month during which the expenditure was registered in the accounts of the certifying authority of the operational programme concerned. The exchange rate shall be published electronically by the Commission each month.
2.By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the ETC Regulation may establish specific rules on the timing for conversion into euro.
3.When the euro becomes the currency of a Member State, the conversion procedure set out in paragraph 1 shall continue to apply to all expenditure recorded in the accounts by the certifying authority before the date of entry into force of the fixed conversion rate between the national currency and the euro.
Article 134U.K.Payment of pre-financing
1.The initial pre-financing amount shall be paid in instalments as follows:
(a)in 2014: 1 % of the amount of support from the Funds and the EMFF for the entire programming period to the operational programme or 1,5 % of the amount of support from the Funds and the EMFF for the entire programming period to the operational programme when a Member State has been receiving financial assistance since 2010, in accordance with Articles 122 and 143 TFEU, or from the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), or is receiving financial assistance on 31 December 2013 in accordance with Articles 136 and 143 TFEU;
(b)in 2015: 1 % of the amount of support from the Funds and the EMFF for the entire programming period to the operational programme or 1,5 % of the amount of support from the Funds and the EMFF for the entire programming period to the operational programme when a Member State has been receiving financial assistance since 2010, in accordance with Articles 122 and 143 TFEU, or from the EFSF, or is receiving financial assistance on 31 December 2014 in accordance with Articles 136 and 143 TFEU;
(c)in 2016: 1 % of the amount of support from the Funds and the EMFF for the entire programming period to the operational programme.
If an operational programme is adopted in 2015 or later, the earlier instalments shall be paid in the year of adoption.
2.An annual pre-financing amount shall be paid before 1 July in the years 2016 to 2023. It shall be a percentage of the amount of the support from the Funds and the EMFF for the whole programming period to the operational programme as follows:
2016: 2 %
2017: 2,625 %
2018: 2,75 %
2019: 2,875 %
2020 to 2023: 3 %.
3.When calculating the amount of initial pre-financing referred to in paragraph 1, the amount of support for the entire programming period shall exclude the amounts from the performance reserve which were initially allocated to the operational programme.
When calculating the amount of annual pre-financing referred to in paragraph 2 up to and including 2020, the amount of support for the entire programming period shall exclude the amounts from the performance reserve which were initially allocated to the operational programme.
Article 135U.K.Deadlines for presentation of interim payment applications and for their payment
1.The certifying authority shall submit on a regular basis an application for interim payment in accordance with Article 131(1) covering amounts entered in its accounting system in the accounting year. However, the certifying authority, where it considers it to be necessary, may include such amounts in payment applications submitted in subsequent accounting years.
2.The certifying authority shall submit the final application for an interim payment by 31 July following the end of the previous accounting year and, in any event, before the first application for interim payment for the next accounting year.
3.The first application for interim payment shall not be made before the notification to the Commission of the designation of the managing authorities and certifying authorities in accordance with Article 124.
4.Interim payments shall not be made for an operational programme unless the annual implementation report has been sent to the Commission in accordance with the Fund-specific rules.
5.Subject to available funding, the Commission shall make the interim payment no later than 60 days after the date on which a payment application is registered with the Commission.
Article 136U.K.Decommitment
1.The Commission shall decommit any part of the amount in an operational programme that has not been used for payment of the initial and annual pre-financing and interim payments by 31 December of the third financial year following the year of budget commitment under the operational programme or for which a payment application drawn up in accordance with Article 131 has not been submitted in accordance with Article 135.
2.That part of commitments still open on 31 December 2023 shall be decommitted if any of the documents required under Article 141(1) has not been submitted to the Commission by the deadline set out in Article 141(1).