TITLE IV

The director shall perform the duties of authorising officer. He or she shall implement the revenue and expenditure of the budget in accordance with the financial rules of the Union body and the principle of sound financial management under his or her own responsibility and within the limits of the appropriations authorised. Without prejudice to the responsibilities of the authorising officer as regards prevention and detection of fraud and irregularities, the Union body shall participate in fraud prevention activities of the European Anti-fraud Office. The director may delegate the powers of budget implementation to staff of the Union body covered by the Staff Regulations, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the financial rules of the Union body adopted by the management board. Those so empowered may act only within the limits of the powers expressly conferred upon them. The delegatee may subdelegate the powers received as provided for in the rules implementing this Regulation referred to in Article 114. Each act of subdelegation shall require the explicit agreement of the director. Financial actors within the meaning of Chapter 2 of this Title and other persons involved in budget implementation and management, including acts preparatory thereto, audit or control shall not take any action which may bring their own interests into conflict with those of the Union body. Where such a risk exists, the person in question shall refrain from such action and shall refer the matter to the competent authority who shall confirm in writing whether a conflict of interests exists. Where a conflict of interest is found to exist, the person in question shall cease all activities in the matter. The competent authority shall take any further appropriate action. For the purposes of paragraph 1, a conflict of interest exists where the impartial and objective exercise of the functions of a financial actor or other person, as referred to in paragraph 1, is compromised for reasons involving family, emotional life, political or national affinity, economic interest or any other shared interest with a recipient. The competent authority referred to in paragraph 1 shall be the immediate superior of the member of staff concerned. If the member of staff is the director, the competent authority shall be the management board or, where the constituent act allows it, the executive board. The Union body shall adopt rules on the prevention and management of conflict of interests. The budget of the Union body shall be implemented by the director in the departments placed under his or her authority. Technical expertise tasks and administrative, preparatory or ancillary tasks not involving the exercise of public authority or the use of discretionary powers of judgement may be entrusted by contract to external private-sector entities or bodies, where this proves to be indispensable. The duties of authorising officer and accounting officer shall be segregated and mutually exclusive. The authorising officer shall be responsible for implementing revenue and expenditure in accordance with the principle of sound financial management and for ensuring compliance with the requirements of legality and regularity. For the purposes of paragraph 1, the authorising officer shall, in accordance with the minimum standards adopted by the management board or, where the constituent act allows it, by the executive board on the basis of equivalent standards laid down by the Commission for its own departments and having due regard to the risks associated with the management environment and the nature of the action financed, put in place the organisational structure and the internal control systems suited to the performance of the duties of authorising officer. The establishment of such structure and systems shall be supported by a comprehensive risk analysis, which takes into account their cost-effectiveness. The authorising officer may establish within his or her departments an expertise and advice function to help him or her control the risks involved in his or her activities. To implement expenditure, the authorising officer shall make budgetary and legal commitments, shall validate expenditure and authorise payments and shall undertake the preliminary steps for the implementation of appropriations. Implementation of revenue shall comprise drawing up estimates of amounts receivable, establishing entitlements to be recovered and issuing recovery orders. It shall involve waiving established entitlements, where appropriate. The authorising officer shall conserve the supporting documents relating to operations carried out for a period of five years from the date of the decision granting discharge in respect of implementation of the budget of the Union body. Personal data contained in supporting documents shall be deleted where possible when those data are not necessary for budgetary discharge, control and audit purposes. In any event, as regards the conservation of traffic data, Article 37(2) of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 shall apply. Each operation referred to in Article 44 shall be subject at least to an ex ante control based on a desk review of documents and on the available results of controls already carried out, relating to the operational and financial aspects of the operation. Ex ante controls shall comprise the initiation and the verification of an operation. Initiation of an operation shall be understood as all the operations which are preparatory to the adoption of the acts implementing the budget of the Union body by the authorising officers referred to in Articles 33 and 34. Ex ante verification of an operation shall be understood as all the ex ante checks put in place by the authorising officer in order to verify the operational and financial aspects. Ex ante controls shall verify the coherence among supporting documents requested and any other information available. The extent in terms of frequency and intensity of the ex ante controls shall be determined by the authorising officer responsible taking into account risk-based and cost-effectiveness considerations. In case of doubt, the authorising officer responsible for validating the relevant payment shall request complementary information or perform an on-the-spot control in order to obtain reasonable assurance as part of the ex ante control. The purpose of the ex ante controls shall be to ascertain that: the expenditure is in order and comply with the provisions applicable; the principle of sound financial management set out in Article 29 has been applied. For the purpose of controls, a series of similar individual transactions relating to routine expenditure on salaries, pensions, reimbursement of mission expenses and medical expenses may be considered by the authorising officer to constitute a single operation. For a given transaction, the verification shall be carried out by staff other than those who initiated the operation. The staff who carry out the verification shall not be subordinate to the members of staff who initiated the operation. The authorising officer may put in place ex post controls to verify operations already approved following ex ante controls. Such controls may be organised on a sample basis according to risk. The ex post controls may be carried out on the basis of documents and, where appropriate, on the spot. The ex post controls shall verify that operations financed by the budget of the Union body are correctly implemented and in particular that the criteria referred to in Article 45(4) are complied with. The outcomes of ex post controls shall be reviewed by the authorising officer at least annually to identify any potential systemic issues. The authorising officer shall take measures to address those issues. The risk analysis referred to in paragraph 1 shall be reviewed in the light of the results of controls and other relevant information. In case of multiannual programmes, the authorising officer shall establish a multiannual control strategy, specifying the nature and extent of controls over the period and the manner how the results are to be measured year-on-year for the annual assurance process. The ex ante controls shall be carried out by staff other than those responsible for the ex post controls. The staff responsible for the ex post controls shall not be subordinate to the members of staff responsible for the ex ante controls. Where the authorising officer implements financial audits of beneficiaries as ex-post controls, the related audit rules shall be clear, consistent and transparent, and shall respect the rights of both the Union body and the auditees. Staff responsible for controlling the management of financial operations referred to in paragraph 3 shall have the necessary professional skills. They shall respect a specific code of professional standards adopted by the Union body and based on standards laid down by the Commission for its own departments. The authorising officer shall report to the management board on the performance of his duties in a form of a consolidated annual activity report containing: information on: the implementation of the body’s annual work programme, budget and staff resources referred to in Article 38, management and internal control systems including the summary of number and type of internal audits carried out by the internal auditor, the internal audit capabilities, the recommendations made and the action taken on these recommendations and on the recommendations of previous years, as referred to in Articles 82 and 83, any observations of the Court of Auditors and the actions taken on these observations, the accounts and the report on budgetary and financial management without prejudice to Articles 92, 96 and 97; a declaration of the authorising officer stating whether he has a reasonable assurance that unless otherwise specified in any reservations related to defined areas of revenue and expenditure: the information contained in the report presents a true and fair view, the resources assigned to the activities described in the report have been used for their intended purpose and in accordance with the principle of sound financial management, the control procedures put in place give the necessary guarantees concerning the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions. The consolidated annual activity report shall indicate the results of the operations by reference to the objectives set, the risks associated with the operations, the use made of the resources provided and the efficiency and effectiveness of the internal control systems, including an overall assessment of the costs and benefits of controls. The consolidated annual report shall be submitted to the management board for the assessment. No later than 1 July each year the consolidated annual activity report together with its assessment shall be sent by the management board to the Court of Auditors, to the Commission, to the European Parliament and the Council. Additional reporting requirements may be provided in the constituent act in duly justified cases, in particular when it is required by the nature of the field in which the body operates. If a member of staff, involved in the financial management and control of transactions, considers that a decision he or she is required by his or her superior to apply or to agree to is irregular or contrary to the principles of sound financial management or the professional rules which that member of staff is required to observe, he or she shall inform the director in writing who shall reply in writing. If the director fails to take action or confirms the initial decision or instruction and the member of staff believes that such confirmation does not constitute a reasonable response to his or her concern, the member of staff shall inform the relevant panel referred to in Article 54(5) and the management board in writing. In the event of any illegal activity, fraud or corruption which may harm the interests of the Union, the member of staff shall inform the authorities and bodies designated by the applicable legislation. Contracts with external auditors carrying out audits of the financial management of the Union body shall provide for an obligation of the external auditor to inform the authorising officer of any suspected illegal activity, fraud or corruption which may harm the interests of the Union. Where powers of budget implementation are delegated or subdelegated in accordance with Article 40, Article 44(1), (2) and (3) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the authorising officers by delegation or subdelegation. The management board shall appoint an accounting officer, covered by the Staff Regulations, who shall be totally independent in the performance of his or her duties. The accounting officer shall be responsible in the Union body for: properly implementing payments, collecting revenue and recovering amounts established as being receivable; preparing and presenting the accounts in accordance with Title IX; keeping the accounts in accordance with Title IX; implementing, in accordance with Title IX, the accounting rules and the chart of accounts in accordance with the provisions adopted by the Commission’s accounting officer; laying down and validating the accounting systems and, where appropriate, validating systems laid down by the authorising officer to supply or justify accounting information; in this respect, the accounting officer shall be empowered to verify at any time compliance with validation criteria; treasury management. Two or more Union bodies may appoint the same accounting officer. Union bodies may also agree with the Commission that the accounting officer of the Commission shall also act as accounting officer of the Union body. Union bodies may also entrust the accounting officer of the Commission with part of the tasks of an accounting officer of the Union body, taking into account the cost-benefit analysis referred to in Article 29. In the case referred to in this subparagraph, they shall make necessary arrangements in order to avoid any conflict of interests. The accounting officer shall obtain from the authorising officer all the information necessary for the production of accounts which give a true and fair view of the Union body’s financial situation and of budgetary implementation. The authorising officer shall guarantee the reliability of that information. Before the adoption of the accounts by the director, the accounting officer shall sign them off, thereby certifying that the accounting officer has reasonable assurance that the accounts present a true and fair view of the financial situation of the Union body. For the purposes of the first subparagraph, the accounting officer shall verify that the accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting rules, referred to in Article 143 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012, and that all revenue and expenditure is entered in the accounts. The authorising officer shall forward any information that the accounting officer needs in order to fulfil his or her duties. The authorising officers shall remain fully responsible for the proper use of the funds they manage, the legality and regularity of the expenditure under their control and the completeness and accuracy of the information forwarded to the accounting officer. The accounting officer shall be empowered to check the information received as well as to carry out any further checks he or she deems necessary in order to sign off the accounts. The accounting officer shall make reservations, if necessary, explaining exactly the nature and scope of such reservations. Subject to paragraph 7 of this Article and Article 51, only the accounting officer shall be empowered to manage cash and cash equivalents. The accounting officer shall be responsible for their safekeeping. The accounting officer may, in the performance of his or her duties, delegate certain tasks to subordinate staff subject to the Staff Regulations, where this is indispensable for the performance of his or her duties. The instrument of delegation shall lay down the tasks entrusted to the delegatees and their rights and obligations. Where it proves indispensable for the payment of small sums and for the collection of other revenue referred to in Article 6, imprest accounts may be set up. Imprest accounts shall be endowed by the accounting officer and shall be placed under the responsibility of imprest administrators designated by him or her. The maximum amount of each item of expenditure or revenue that can be paid by the imprest administrator to third parties shall not exceed EUR 60000 and shall be specified by each Union body for each item of expenditure or revenue. Payments from imprest accounts may be made by bank credit transfer, including the direct debit system referred to in Article 74(1), cheque or other means of payment, in accordance with the instructions laid down by the accounting officer. Authorising officers by delegation and subdelegation may at any time have their delegation or subdelegation withdrawn temporarily or definitively by the authority which appointed them. The authorising officer may at any time withdraw his or her agreement to a specific subdelegation. The accounting officer or imprest administrator, or both, may at any time be suspended temporarily or definitively from their duties by the management board. In such a case, the management board shall appoint an interim accounting officer. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be without prejudice to any disciplinary action taken in respect of the financial actors referred to in those paragraphs. Articles 52 to 56 are without prejudice to any liability under criminal-law which the financial actors referred to in Article 52 may incur as provided for in the applicable national law and in the provisions in force concerning the protection of the Union’s financial interests and the fight against corruption involving Union officials or officials of Member States. Without prejudice to Articles 54, 55 and 56 each authorising officer, accounting officer or imprest administrator shall be liable to disciplinary action and payment of compensation as laid down in the Staff Regulations. In the event of illegal activity, fraud or corruption which may harm the interests of the Union, the matter shall be submitted to the authorities and bodies designated by the applicable legislation, in particular to European Anti-Fraud Office. The authorising officer shall be liable for payment of compensation as laid down in the Staff Regulations. The obligation to pay compensation shall apply in particular if the authorising officer, whether intentionally or through gross negligence on his or her part: determines entitlements to be recovered or issues recovery orders, commits expenditure or signs a payment order without complying with this Regulation and, where appropriate, with the rules implementing the Union body’s Financial Regulation; omits to draw up a document establishing an amount receivable, neglects to issue a recovery order or is late in issuing it or is late in issuing a payment order, thereby rendering the Union body liable to civil action by third parties. An authorising officer by delegation or subdelegation who considers that a decision, which is his or her responsibility to take, is irregular or contrary to the principle of sound financial management shall inform the delegating authority in writing. If the delegating authority then gives a reasoned instruction in writing to the authorising officer by delegation or subdelegation to take that decision, that authorising officer shall not be held liable. In the event of delegation, the authorising officer shall continue to be responsible for the efficiency and effectiveness of the internal management and control systems put in place and for the choice of the authorising officer by delegation. The specialised financial irregularities panel set up by the Commission or in which the Commission participates in accordance with Article 73(6) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012, shall exercise the same powers in respect of the Union body as it does in respect of Commission departments, unless the management board or, where the constituent act allows it, the executive board decides to set up a functionally independent panel, or to participate in a joint panel established by several bodies. For cases submitted by Union bodies, the specialised financial irregularities panel set up by the Commission or in which the Commission participates shall include one staff member of a Union body. On the basis of the opinion of the panel referred to in the first subparagraph, the director shall decide whether to initiate proceedings for disciplinary action or payment of compensation. If the panel detects systemic problems, it shall send a report with recommendations to the authorising officer and to the Commission’s internal auditor. If the opinion implicates the director, the panel shall send it to the management board and the Commission’s internal auditor. The director shall refer, in anonymous form, to opinions of the panel in his or her annual activity report and indicate the follow-up measures taken. Any member of staff may be required to compensate, in whole or in part, any damage suffered by the Union body as a result of serious misconduct on his or her part in the course of or in connection with the performance of his or her duties. The appointing authority shall take a reasoned decision, after completing the formalities laid down by the Staff Regulations with regard to disciplinary matters. An accounting officer shall be liable to disciplinary action and payment of compensation, as laid down in, and in accordance with the procedures in the Staff Regulations. An accounting officer may, in particular, become liable as a result of any of the following forms of misconduct on his or her part: losing or damaging funds, assets or documents in his or her keeping or causing them to be lost or damaged by his or her negligence; wrongly altering bank accounts or postal giro accounts; recovering or paying amounts which are not in conformity with the corresponding recovery or payment orders; failing to collect revenue due. An imprest administrator officer shall be liable to disciplinary action and payment of compensation, as laid down in, and in accordance with, the procedures in the Staff Regulations. An imprest administrator may in particular become liable as a result of any of the following forms of misconduct on his or her part: losing or damaging funds, assets and documents in his or her keeping or causing them to be lost or damaged by his or her negligence; not providing proper supporting documents for the payments he or she has made; making payments to persons other than those entitled to such payments; failing to collect revenue due. The Union body shall present to the Commission requests for payment of all or part of the Union contribution pursuant to Article 19(6) under terms and at intervals agreed with the Commission. The interest generated by funds paid to the Union body by the Commission by way of the contribution shall not be due to the budget. When the authorising officer has sufficient and reliable information in respect of any measure or situation which may give rise to an amount owing to the Union body, the authorising officer shall make an estimate of the amount receivable. The estimate of the amount receivable shall be adjusted by the authorising officer as soon as he or she is aware of an event modifying the measure or the situation which gave rise to the estimate being made. When establishing the recovery order on a measure or situation that had previously given rise to an estimate of amounts receivable, that estimate shall be adjusted accordingly by the authorising officer. If the recovery order is drawn up for the same amount as the original estimate of amounts receivable, that estimate shall be reduced to zero. The establishment of an amount receivable is the act by which the authorising officer: verifies that the debt exists; determines or verifies the reality and the amount of the debt; verifies the conditions according to which the debt is due. Any amount receivable that is identified as being certain, of a fixed amount and due shall be established by a recovery order to the accounting officer followed by a debit note sent to the debtor, both drawn up by the authorising officer. Amounts wrongly paid shall be recovered. Any debt not repaid on the due date laid down in the debit note shall bear interest in accordance with Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012. In duly substantiated cases, certain routine revenue items may be established provisionally. Provisional establishment shall cover the recovery of several individual amounts which need not therefore be established individually. Before the end of the financial year, the authorising officer shall amend the amounts established provisionally to ensure that they correspond to the amounts receivable actually established. The authorisation of recovery is the act by which the authorising officer instructs the accounting officer, by issuing a recovery order, to recover an amount receivable which that authorising officer has established. The accounting officer shall act on recovery orders for amounts receivable duly established by the authorising officer. The accounting officer shall exercise due diligence to ensure that the Union body receives its revenue and shall ensure that its rights are safeguarded. If actual recovery has not taken place by the due date stipulated in the debit note, the accounting officer shall inform the authorising officer and immediately launch the procedure for effecting recovery by any means offered by the law, including, where appropriate, by offsetting and, if this is not possible, by enforced recovery. The accounting officer shall recover amounts by offsetting them against equivalent claims that the Union body has on any debtor who in turn has a claim on the Union body. Such claims shall be certain, of a fixed amount and due. Where the authorising officer plans to waive or partially waive recovery of an established amount receivable, he or she shall ensure that the waiver is in order and is in accordance with the principles of sound financial management and proportionality. The waiver decision shall be substantiated. The authorising officer may delegate the waiver decision only for amounts receivable of less than EUR 5000. The waiver decision shall state what action has been taken to secure recovery and the points of law and fact on which it is based. The authorising officer shall cancel an established amount receivable in full or in part when the discovery of a mistake reveals that the amount had not been correctly established. Such cancellation shall be by decision of the authorising officer and shall be suitably substantiated. Upon actual recovery of the sum due, the accounting officer shall make an entry in the accounts and shall inform the authorising officer. A receipt shall be issued in respect of all cash payments made to the accounting officer. Partial reimbursement by a debtor subject to several recovery orders shall first be posted on the oldest entitlement unless otherwise specified by the debtor. Any partial payments shall first cover the interest. The accounting officer, in collaboration with the authorising officer, may allow additional time for payment only at the written request of the debtor, with due indication of the reasons, and provided that the following two conditions are fulfilled: the debtor undertakes to pay interest at the rate specified in Article 83 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012 for the entire additional period allowed, starting from the deadline referred to in Article 80(3)(b) of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012; in order to safeguard the rights of the Union body, the debtor lodges a financial guarantee covering the debt outstanding in both the principal sum and the interest, which is accepted by the Union body’s accounting officer. The guarantee referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph may be replaced by a joint and several guarantee by a third party approved by the Union body’s accounting officer. In exceptional circumstances, following a request by the debtor, the accounting officer may waive the requirement of a guarantee referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 when, on the basis of his assessment, the debtor is willing and able to make the payment in the additional time period but is not able to lodge such guarantee and is in a distressed situation. The accounting officer shall keep a list of amounts due to be recovered. Union body’s entitlements shall be grouped in the list according to the date of issue of the recovery order. The accounting officer shall also indicate decisions to waive or partially waive recovery of established amounts. The list shall be added to the Union body’s report on budgetary and financial management. The Union body shall establish a list of Union body entitlements stating the names of the debtors and the amount of the debt, where the debtor has been ordered to reimburse by a court decision that has the force of res judicata and where no or no significant reimbursement has been made for one year following its pronouncement. The list shall be published, with due regard to the protection of personal data in accordance with the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001. As far as personal data referring to natural persons are concerned, the information published shall be removed once the amount of the debt has been fully reimbursed. The same shall apply to personal data referring to legal persons for whom the official title identifies one or more natural persons. The decision to include the debtor on the list of Union body entitlements shall be taken in compliance with the principle of proportionality and shall take into account, in particular the significance of the amount. Entitlements of the Union body in respect of third parties and entitlements of third parties in respect of the Union body shall be subject to a limitation period of five years. Where the Union body collects fees and charges referred to in Article 6(1)(a), an overall provisional estimate of such fees and charges shall be made at the beginning of each financial year. Where fees and charges are entirely determined by legislation or decisions of the management board, the authorising officer may abstain from issuing recovery orders and directly draw up debit notes after having established the amount receivable. In this case all details of the Union body’s entitlement shall be registered. The accounting officer shall keep a list of all debit notes and provide the number of the debit notes and the global amount in the Union body’s report on budgetary and financial management. Where the Union body uses a separate invoicing system, the accounting officer shall regularly, and at least on a monthly basis, enter the accumulated sum of fees and charges received into the accounts. The Union body shall provide services by virtue of the tasks entrusted to it only after the corresponding fee or charge has been paid in its entirety. However, in exceptional circumstances, a service may be provided without prior payment of the corresponding charge or fee. In cases where service has been provided without prior payment of the corresponding charge or fee, Articles 60 to 66 shall apply. Every item of expenditure shall be committed, validated, authorised and paid. Every commitment of expenditure shall be preceded by a financing decision. The annual work programme of the Union body shall be equivalent to a financing decision for the activities it covers, provided that the elements set out in Article 32(3) are clearly identified. Administrative appropriations may be implemented without a prior financing decision. A budgetary commitment is the operation by which the appropriation necessary to cover subsequent payments to honour legal commitments is reserved. A legal commitment is the act whereby the authorising officer enters into or establishes an obligation which results in a charge. Budgetary commitments shall fall into one of the following three categories: individual: the budgetary commitment is individual when the recipient and the amount of the expenditure are known; global: the budgetary commitment is global when at least one of the elements necessary to identify the individual commitment is still not known; provisional: the budgetary commitment is provisional when it is intended to cover routine administrative expenditure and either the amount or the final payees are not definitively known. The provisional budget commitment shall be implemented either by the conclusion of one or more individual legal commitments giving rise to an entitlement to subsequent payments or, in exceptional cases relating to expenditure on staff management, directly by payments. Budgetary commitments for actions extending over more than one financial year may be broken down over several years into annual instalments only where the constituent act or basic act so provides or where they relate to administrative expenditure. In respect of any measure which may give rise to expenditure chargeable to the budget of the Union body, the authorising officer shall make a budgetary commitment before entering into a legal commitment with third parties. The obligation to make a budgetary commitment before entering into a legal commitment as provided for in paragraph 1, shall not be applicable to legal commitments concluded following a declaration of a crisis situation in the framework of a business continuity plan, in accordance with the procedures adopted by the Union body. Global budgetary commitments shall cover the total cost of the corresponding individual legal commitments concluded up to 31 December of year N+1. Subject to Articles 69(4) and 87(2) individual legal commitments relating to individual or provisional budgetary commitments shall be concluded by 31 December of year N. At the end of the periods referred to in the first and the second subparagraph, the unused balance of such budgetary commitments shall be decommitted by the authorising officer. The amount of each individual legal commitment adopted following a global budgetary commitment shall, prior to signature, be registered by the authorising officer in the budgetary accounts and booked to the global budgetary commitment. The budgetary and legal commitments entered into for actions extending over more than one financial year shall, except in the case of staff expenditure, have a final date for implementation set, in accordance with the principle of sound financial management. Any parts of such commitments which have not been executed six months after the date referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall be decommitted in accordance with Article 16. The amount of a budget commitment corresponding to a legal commitment for which no payment within the meaning of Article 75 has been made within two years of the signing of the legal commitment shall be decommitted, except where that amount relates to a case under litigation before judicial courts or arbitral bodies or where there are special provisions laid down in basic acts. When adopting a budget commitment, the authorising officer shall ensure that: the expenditure has been charged to the correct item in the budget of the Union body; the appropriations are available; the expenditure is in compliance with the applicable provisions, in particular those of the constituent act, the financial rules of each Union body and all acts adopted pursuant to them; the principle of sound financial management is respected. When registering a legal commitment by physical or electronic signature, the authorising officer shall ensure that: the commitment is covered by the corresponding budgetary commitment; the expenditure is legal and regular and in compliance with the applicable provisions, in particular those of the constituent act, the financial rules of each Union body and all acts adopted pursuant to them; the principle of sound financial management is respected. Validation of expenditure is the act whereby the authorising officer: verifies the existence of the creditor’s entitlement; determines or verifies the reality and the amount of the claim; verifies the conditions according to which payment is due. Validation of any expenditure shall be based on supporting documents attesting the creditor’s entitlement, on the basis of a statement of services actually rendered, supplies actually delivered or work actually carried out, or on the basis of other documents justifying payment, including recurring payments of subscriptions or training courses. The authorising officer shall personally check the supporting documents or shall, on his own responsibility, ascertain that this has been done, before taking the decision validating the expenditure. The validation decision shall be expressed by the signing of a ‘passed for payment’ voucher by the authorising officer. In a non-computerised system, ‘passed for payment’ shall take the form of a stamp incorporating the signature of the authorising officer. In a computerised system, ‘passed for payment’ shall take the form of validation using the personal password of the authorising officer. The authorisation of expenditure is the act by which the authorising officer, having verified that the appropriations are available, instructs the accounting officer, by issuing a payment order, to pay an amount of expenditure which the authorising officer has validated. Where periodic payments are made with regard to services rendered, including rental services, or goods delivered, and subject to the authorising officer’s risk analysis, the authorising officer may order the application of a direct debit system. The payment order shall be dated and signed by the authorising officer, then sent to the accounting officer. The supporting documents shall be kept by the authorising officer in accordance with Article 44(5). Where appropriate, the payment order sent to the accounting officer shall be accompanied by a document certifying that the goods have been entered in the inventories referred to in Article 106(1). Payment shall be made on production of proof that the relevant action has been carried out in accordance with the provisions of the basic act or the contract or grant agreement, and shall cover one of the following operations: payment of the entire amount due; payment of the amount due in any of the following ways: pre-financing, which may be divided into a number of payments after the signature of the contract or grant agreement or after notification of the grant decision; one or more interim payments as a counterpart of a partial execution of the action; payment of the balance of the amounts due where the action is completely executed. Pre-financing shall provide a float. It may be split into a number of payments in accordance with sound financial management. An interim payment, which may be repeated, may cover expenditure incurred for the implementation of the decision or agreement or to pay for services, supplies or works completed and/or delivered at interim stages of the contract. It may clear pre-financing in whole or in part, without prejudice to the provisions of the basic act. The closure of the expenditure shall take the form of the payment of the balance which may not be repeated and which clears all preceding expenditure, or a recovery order. A distinction shall be made in the budgetary accounting between the different types of payment referred to in paragraph 1 at the time each payment is made. Payment of expenditure shall be made by the accounting officer within the limits of the funds available. The payment of expenditure shall be carried out within the time limits specified in, and in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 and Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012. Where revenue and expenditure operations are managed by means of computer systems, documents may be signed by a computerised or electronic procedure. The Union body shall establish and apply uniform standards for the electronic exchange of information with third parties participating in procurement and grant procedures. In particular, they shall, to the greatest possible extent, design and implement solutions for the submission, storage and processing of data submitted in grant and procurement procedures, and to this end, shall put in place a single electronic data interchange area for applicants, candidates and tenderers. The authorising officer shall make known without delay the need to supply evidence and/or documentation, their form and prerequisite content, as well as, where appropriate, the indicative timetable for completion of award procedures. Where, due to an obvious clerical error on the part of the applicant or tenderer, the applicant or tenderer omits to submit evidence or to make statements, the evaluation committee or, where appropriate, the authorising officer shall, except in duly justified cases, ask the applicant or tenderer to provide the missing information or clarify supporting documents. Such information or clarifications shall not substantially change the proposal or alter the terms of the tender. Where a procedural act of an authorising officer adversely affects the rights of an applicant or tenderer, beneficiary or contractor, it shall contain an indication of the available means of administrative and/or judicial redress for challenging that act. In particular, the nature of the redress, the body or bodies before which it can be brought, as well as time limits for their exercise shall be indicated. The Union body shall have an internal auditing function which shall be performed in compliance with the relevant international standards. The internal audit function shall be performed by the Commissions’ internal auditor. The internal auditor may be neither authorising officer nor accounting officer neither of the Union body nor of the Commission The internal auditor shall advise the Union body on dealing with risks, by issuing independent opinions on the quality of management and control systems and by issuing recommendations for improving the conditions of implementation of operations and promoting sound financial management. The internal auditor shall be responsible, in particular, for: assessing the suitability and effectiveness of internal management systems and the performance of departments in implementing programmes and actions by reference to the risks associated with them; assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of the internal control and audit systems applicable to each operation for implementation of the budget of the Union body. The internal auditor shall perform his or her duties in relation to all the Union body’s activities and departments. The internal auditor shall enjoy full and unlimited access to all information required to perform his or her duties. The internal auditor shall take note of the consolidated annual activity report of the authorising officer and any other pieces of information identified. The internal auditor shall report to the management board and the director on his or her findings and recommendations. The internal auditor shall also report in any of the following cases: critical risks and recommendations have not been addressed, there are significant delays in the implementation of the recommendations made in previous years. The management board or, where the constituent act allows it, the executive board, and the director shall ensure regular monitoring of the implementation of audit recommendations. The management board or, where the constituent act allows it, the executive board shall examine the information referred to in the Article 47(1)(a) and whether the recommendations have been fully and timely implemented. The Union body shall make available the contact details of the internal auditor to any natural or legal person involved in expenditure operations, for the purposes of confidentially contacting the internal auditor. The reports and findings of the internal auditor shall be accessible to the public only after validation by the internal auditor of the action taken for their implementation. The independence of the internal auditor, his or he liability for action taken in the performance of his or her duties and the right for the internal auditor to bring action before the Court of Justice of the European Union shall be determined in accordance with Article 100 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012. The management board or, where the constituent act allows it, the executive board may establish, with due regard to cost effectiveness and added value, an internal audit capability which shall perform its duties in compliance with the relevant international standards. The purpose, authority and responsibility of the internal audit capability shall be provided for in the internal audit charter and shall be subject to the approval of the management board or, where the constituent act allows it, of the executive board. The annual audit plan of an internal audit capability shall be drawn up by the Head of internal audit capability taking into consideration, inter alia, the director’s assessment of risk in the Union body. It shall be reviewed and approved by management board or, where the constituent act allows it, by the executive board. The internal audit capability shall report to the management board and the director on his or her findings and recommendations. If the internal audit capability of a single Union body is not cost-effective or is not able to meet international standards, the Union body may decide to share an internal audit capability with other Union bodies functioning in the same policy area. In such cases the management board or, where the constituent act allows it, the executive board of the concerned Union bodies shall agree on the practical modalities of the shared internal audit capability. The internal audit actors shall cooperate efficiently through exchanging information and audit reports and, where appropriate, establishing joint risk assessments, and carrying out joint audits. The management board or, where the constituent act allows it, the executive board, and the director shall ensure regular monitoring of the implementation of internal audit capability’s recommendation.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-01 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.