Editorial Note on Part 246
Editorial Note: Nomenclature changes to part 246 appear at 76 FR 35097, June 16, 2011.

§ 246.17 Closeout procedures. ( a ) *General.* State agencies shall submit preliminary and final closeout reports for each fiscal year. All obligations shall be liquidated before closure of a fiscal year grant. Obligations shall be reported for the fiscal year in which they occur.
( b ) *Fiscal year closeout reports.* State agencies— ( 1 ) Shall submit to FNS, within 30 days after the end of the fiscal year, preliminary financial reports which show cumulative actual expenditures and obligations for the fiscal year, or part thereof, for which Program funds were made available;
( 2 ) Shall submit to FNS, within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year, final fiscal year closeout reports;
( 3 ) May submit revised closeout reports. FNS will reimburse State agencies for additional costs claimed in a revised closeout report up to the State's original grant level, if costs are properly justified and if funds are available for the fiscal year pertaining to the request. FNS will not be responsible for reimbursing State agencies for unreported expenditures later than one year after the end of the fiscal year in which they were incurred.
( c ) *Grant closeout procedures.* When grants to State agencies are terminated, the following procedures shall be performed in accordance with 2 CFR part 200, subpart D and USDA implementing regulations 2 CFR part 400 and part 415. ( 1 ) FNS may disqualify a State agency's participation under the Program, in whole or in part, or take such remedies as may be legal and appropriate, whenever FNS determines that the State agency failed to comply with the conditions prescribed in this part, in its Federal-State Agreement, or in FNS guidelines and instructions. FNS will promptly notify the State agency in writing of the disqualification together with the effective date. A State agency shall disqualify a local agency by written notice whenever it is determined by FNS or the State agency that the local agency has failed to comply with the requirements of the Program.
( 2 ) FNS or the State agency may disqualify the State agency or restrict its participation in the Program when both parties agree that continuation under the Program would not produce beneficial results commensurate with the further expenditure of funds. The State agency or the local agency may disqualify the local agency or restrict its participation in the Program under the same conditions. The two parties shall agree upon the conditions of disqualification, including the effective date thereof, and, in the case of partial disqualification, the portion to be disqualified.
( 3 ) Upon termination of a grant, the affected agency shall not incur new obligations for the disqualified portion after the effective date, and shall cancel as many outstanding obligations as possible. FNS will allow full credit to the State agency for the Federal share of the noncancellable obligations properly incurred by the State agency prior to disqualification, and the State agency shall do the same for the local agency.
( 4 ) A grant closeout shall not affect the retention period for, or Federal rights of access to, grant records as specified in § 246.25. The closeout of a grant does not affect the State or local agency's responsibilities regarding property or with respect to any Program income for which the State or local agency is still accountable.
( 5 ) A final audit is not a required part of the grant closeout and should not be needed unless there are problems with the grant that require attention. If FNS considers a final audit to be necessary, it shall so inform OIG. OIG will be responsible for ensuring that necessary final audits are performed and for any necessary coordination with other Federal cognizant audit agencies or the State or local auditors. Audits performed in accordance with § 246.20 may serve as final audits providing such audits meet the needs of requesting agencies. If the grant is closed out without the audit, FNS reserves the right to disallow and recover an appropriate amount after fully considering any recommended disallowances resulting from an audit which may be conducted later.
[50 FR 6121, Feb. 13, 1985, as amended at 71 FR 56731, Sept. 27, 2006; 81 FR 66494, Sept. 28, 2016; 83 FR 14173, Apr. 3, 2018]