Article 48 Eligibility of costs

they are incurred during the implementation period of the project. In particular:

1. (i)

   costs relating to services and works shall relate to activities performed during the implementation period. Costs relating to supplies shall relate to delivery and installation of items during the implementation period. Signature of a contract, placing of an order, or entering into any commitment for expenditure within the implementation period for future delivery of services, works or supplies after expiry of the implementation period do not meet this requirement; cash transfers between the lead beneficiary and the other beneficiaries may not be considered as costs incurred;

2. (ii)

   F1costs incurred should be paid before the submission of the final project reports. They may be paid afterwards, provided they are listed in the final report together with the estimated date of payment;

3. (iii)

   an exception is made for costs relating to final project reports, including expenditure verification, audit and final evaluation of the project, which may be incurred after the implementation period of the project;

4. (iv)

   procedures to award contracts, as referred to in Article 52 and following, may have been initiated and contracts may be concluded by the beneficiary(ies) before the start of the implementation period of the project, provided the provisions of Article 52 and following have been respected;

they are indicated in the project's estimated overall budget;

they are necessary for the project implementation;

they are identifiable and verifiable, in particular being recorded in the accounting records of the beneficiary and determined according to the accounting standards and the usual cost accounting practices applicable to the beneficiary;

they comply with the requirements of applicable tax and social legislation;

they are reasonable, justified, and comply with the requirements of sound financial management, in particular regarding economy and efficiency;

they are supported by invoices or documents of equivalent probative value;

where the applicant can demonstrate the need to start the project before the contract is signed. Costs eligible for financing shall however not have been incurred prior to the date of the submission of the grant application; or

for costs related to studies and documentation for projects including an infrastructure component.

they are incurred after the publication of the call for proposals;

they are limited to travel and subsistence costs of staff employed by the beneficiaries, provided they meet the conditions of point (b) of paragraph 5;

they do not exceed the maximum amount fixed at programme level.

the costs of staff assigned to the project under the following cumulative conditions:

• they relate to the costs of activities which the beneficiary would not carry out if the project was not undertaken,

• they must not exceed those normally borne by the beneficiary unless it is demonstrated that this is essential to carry out the project,

• they relate to actual gross salaries including social security charges and other remuneration-related costs;

travel and subsistence costs of staff and other persons taking part in the project, provided they exceed neither the costs normally paid by the beneficiary according to its rules and regulations nor the rates published by the Commission at the time of the mission if reimbursed on the basis of lump sums, unit costs or flat rate financing;

purchase or rental costs for equipment (new or used) and supplies specifically for the purpose of the project, provided they correspond to market prices;

the cost of consumables specifically purchased for the project;

costs entailed by contracts awarded by the beneficiaries for the purposes of the project;

costs deriving directly from requirements imposed by this Regulation and the project (such as information and visibility operations, evaluations, external audits, translations) including financial service costs (such as costs of bank transfers and financial guarantees).