Protection of the euro against counterfeiting

No, the beneficiary must pay and settle all costs related to the event.

As referred to in the call for proposals, VAT is in principle not eligible, unless non deductible.

The eligibility of VAT is regulated by article 189(4) (c) of the EU Financial Regulation.

With respect to Pericles programme, due to the particular profile of the beneficiaries, the following shall be carefully considered.

Activities engaged in by a beneficiary as a public authority are activities carried out by public bodies under the special legal regime applicable to them, thus not including activities pursued by them under the same legal conditions as those that apply to private economic operator. These activities may relate to the powers of police, customs, taxes, definition and enforcement of public policies etc. and for them VAT is in principle NOT eligible.

Examples: staff exchange between police authorities having as goal the exchange of operational information and investigation, operational support meetings.

Activities engaged in by beneficiaries as public authorities but pursued by them under the same legal conditions as those that apply to private economic operators, are activities for which, in principle, VAT is eligible. VAT is eligible when the content of the action is linked to the public authorities’ prerogatives but the same action could be equally organised by private entities.

It is noteworthy that training activities are not in principle activities carried out as a public authority, unless the national legislation designates a public body as the sole entity having such a competence. The nature of the activities to be taken into account is the training itself, even though the target audience might relate to sovereign powers (e.g. national law enforcement officers, judges or policemen). In this case the VAT is eligible.

Example: staff exchange among police authorities having as goal the training of experts in counterfeiting and the exchange of know how; conferences and seminars organized by Mints, police, Central Banks, etc.

The above examples are provided without prejudice to the applicable national law in the individual Member States (which may define other/additional public power prerogatives and activities falling under a special legal framework).

The number of months per person can be calculated as follows (indicative method): If 1 year = 215 (working) days, then 1 month = 215/12 = 17.92 (working) days.

The costs for travel and accommodation costs will be covered by their institution/body. Accommodation costs for EU staff must be excluded from your budget. In practice, you can reserve a hotel room for them, but they must settle any costs incurred.

Travel class above economy class (premium economy or business when premium economy is not available) is permitted when at least one travel segment involves at least four hours’ continuous flying time.

When the project involves purchasing equipment to be used by specialised anti‑counterfeiting authorities of non-EU countries to protect the euro against counterfeiting (which must not be the sole component of the grant agreement), enter the costs of the relevant equipment in the detailed budget table.

The number of people for whom accommodation and subsistence is reimbursed should match the number of participants. All participants need to sign an attendance list on every implementation day as proof of accommodation and subsistence cost eligibility.

Items purchased prior to the project, even if used for the purposes of the project, cannot be considered as eligible direct costs.

This includes any computer equipment, office material, furniture, etc. that the applicant needs for daily activities and that will normally be covered by indirect costs (= overheads). If you need to buy something specifically for the project, in this case you can apply a depreciation method: Complete the following info in the detailed budget table: price; depreciation method (e.g. 36 months or 60 months); number of months allocated to the project; rate of use for the action (100% or less if also used for other purposes); description of the equipment.

Air travel: original supporting documents for the outward journey – relevant invoices indicating the price, class, date and participant’s name. For online bookings, a printout of the electronic reservation.

Bus/coach/taxi: copies of tickets with price, class and date. Otherwise, the relevant invoice.

For online bookings, a printout of the electronic reservation.

Train: tickets with price, class and date, or travel agency invoice/printout of the electronic reservation (if applicable).

Car: Declaration stating the date of travel and the departure and destination addresses. Reimbursement made on the basis of the costs actually incurred and in line with the beneficiary’s usual practices on travel.

Subsistence costs are eligible for the number of project implementation days.

An implementation day is defined as a day when project agenda points are implemented, except for social events (e.g. welcome/farewell dinners/cocktails). If there are exceptional logistical reasons that justify it, this number can be increased, but only if you provide justification for it, along with the relevant supporting documents when requested.

If it is more cost-effective to arrive at the venue a day earlier than the start date – taking into account the airfare and accommodation – the additional night constitutes an eligible expense.

You can start an event in the afternoon (day 1), allowing participants to arrive in the morning, and end an event at lunchtime on the final day. This allows participants to travel to an event on the day it starts and to return on the day it ends.

Article 21.3 of the model grant agreement (‘Currency for financial statements and conversion into euros’) defines the exchange rate rules to be applied.

Some projects may require meals where local participants (who are not entitled to accommodation and subsistence) are also invited.

In such cases, the additional costs are covered by a maximum 25% of the daily subsistence allowance if covered by Commission DecisionPDF of 12 January 2021 authorising the use of unit costs for travel, accommodation and subsistence costs under an action or work programme under the 2021-2027 multi-annual financial framework (C(2021)35) or otherwise as costs actually incurred and in line with the beneficiary’s usual practices on travel, per local participant, per meal.

Under Article 10 (legal and financial set-up of the grant agreements) of the Call for Proposals, Section ‘Milestones and deliverables’, the following deliverables are mandatory for all projects:

• list of participants/attendance list;
• event feedback form, which is based on the evaluation forms completed by participants.

Please use the templates available in the ‘Protection of the Euro against Counterfeiting Programme (PERICLES)’ section of theFunding & tenders portal (reference documents).

Pursuant to Article 6.2.C.1 of the signed grant agreement under the Pericles IV Programme, the grant beneficiaries (and affiliated entities, if any) have to declare their subsistence costs based on unit costs defined in Commission Decision C(2021)35PDF, and as set out in Annex 2a to the signed grant agreement under the Pericles IV Programme.

If the subsistence costs incurred during the Programme’s implementation cannot be declared on the basis of unit costs, in line with the requirements set out in those costs should be declared as costs actually incurred. In such cases, the financial statement permits the declaration of actual costs to complement the declaration based on unit costs.

Please also have a look at Article 6.2. - C.1 – “Travel and subsistence” of the Annotated Grant AgreementPDF(pages 77 to 81) for more concrete guidance on the calculation and declaration of subsistence costs.

Examples:

• The list under art. 5(5) – Annex of Commission Decision C(2021)35PDF, (pages 13 and 14) covers the country where planned activity(ies) is/are going to take place: The subsistence costs amounts are based on the unit costs amounts indicated in the table. This means that the subsistence costs will be, in practical terms, reimbursed based on the unit costs (supporting documents are not required).
• The list under art. 5(5) – Annex of Commission Decision C(2021)35PDF, (pages 13 and 14) does not cover the country where the planned activity(ies) is/are going to take place: The subsistence costs amounts are calculated on the basis of the actual costs incurred.

You are not required to submit invoices with the final financial report. You must keep a copy of the invoices for at least 5 years after the date you paid the balance (the European Commission can ask you to supply these at any time during this period).

If the grant is no more than EUR 60 000, you only have to keep the invoices for 3 years. Your internal accounting and auditing procedures must permit all costs and revenue declared for the project to be directly reconciled with the corresponding accounting statements and supporting documents.

You must set up an analytical accounting system or an adequate internal system to make it possible to identify the sources of project funding and expenditure you incurred during the agreement period. Please refer to article 20 (record-keeping) of the general model grant agreement. You should ask your suppliers/service providers to clearly indicate the link to the project on their invoices.

Please note that info on the visibility of the project published on Communicating and raising EU visibility - European Commission.