2001R0438 — EN — 17.01.2003 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COMMISSIONREGULATION(EC)No438/2001
of2March2001
laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 as
regardsthemanagementandcontrolsystemsforassistancegrantedundertheStructuralFunds
(OJ L 63, 3.3.2001, p. 21)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Commission Regulation (EC) No 2355/2002 of 27 December 2002 L 351 42 28.12.2002
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COMMISSIONREGULATION(EC)No438/2001
of2March2001
layingdowndetailedrulesfortheimplementationofCouncilRegu-
lation (EC) No 1260/1999 as regards the management and control
systemsforassistancegrantedundertheStructuralFunds
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June
1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds (1), and
in particular Article 53(2) thereof,
After consulting the Committee set up pursuant to Article 147 of the
Treaty,
After consulting the Committee on Agricultural Structures and Rural
Development,
After consulting the Committee on Structures for Fisheries and Aqua-
culture,
Whereas:
(1)Article 38 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 requiresMember
States to take a number of measures to ensure that Community
fundsare us ed efficiently and correctly and in accordance withthe principlesof s ound financial management.
(2)For this purpose, it is necessary for Member States to provide
adequate guidance regarding the organisation of the relevant
functionsof managing and paying authoritieslaid down by Arti-cles32 and 34 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999.
(3)Article 38 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 requirestheMember States to cooperate with the Commission in ensuring
that they have smoothly running management and control
systems and to give it all necessary assistance to undertakechecks, including sample checks.
(4)In order to harmonise standards for the certification of expendi-
ture for which paymentsfrom the Fundsunder Article 32(3) and
(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 are claimed, the content ofsuch certificates should be laid down and the nature and qualityof the information on which they rely specified.
(5)To enable the Commission to carry out the checks referred to inArticle 38(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999, Member Statesshould supply it on request with data which managing authoritiesrequire in order to fulfil the management, monitoring andevaluation requirements of that Regulation. It is necessary to
lay down the content of such data and the format and means of
transmission of computer files when data is supplied in elec-tronic form in accordance with Article 18(3)(e) of theRegulation. The Commission should ensure that computerisedand other data iskept confidential and s ecure.
(6)Commission Regulation (EC) No 2064/97 of 15 October 1997establishing detailed arrangements for the implementation ofCouncil Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88 asregardsthe financialcontrol by Member Statesof operationsco-financed by theStructural Funds(
2), asamended by Regulation (EC) No 2406/
98 (3), should be replaced. However, the provisions of Regula-
tion (EC) No 2064/97 should continue to apply to assistancegranted for the programme period 1994 to 1999 under Council2001R0438 — EN — 17.01.2003 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 290, 23.10.1997, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 298, 7.11.1998, p. 15.
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Regulation (EEC) No 2052/88 (1), aslas t amended by Regulation
(EC) No 3193/94 (2).
(7)This Regulation should apply without prejudice to the provisionsregarding on-site monitoring in the field of State aid laid down
by Article 22 of Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 of 22
March 1999 laying down detailed rulesfor the application ofArticle 93 of the EC Treaty (
3).
(8)This Regulation should apply without prejudice to the provisionsof Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 of 11November 1996 concerning on-the-spot checks and inspectionscarried out by the Commission in order to protect the European
Communities' financial interests against fraud and other irregula-
rities(
4).
(9)The provisions of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1681/94 of11 July 1994 concerning irregularitiesand the recovery of s umswrongly paid in connection with the financing of the structuralpolicies and the organisation of an information system in thisfield (
5) apply to assistance granted under Regulation (EC) No
1260/1999 by virtue of the second paragraph of Article 54 and
Article 38(1)(e) of that Regulation.
(10)ThisRegulation s hould apply in accordance with the principle of
subsidiarity, as referred to in Article 8(3) of Regulation (EC) No1260/1999, and without prejudice to the institutional, legal andfinancial systems of the Member State concerned, as referred toin the last paragraph of Article 34(1) of that Regulation.
(11)The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordancewith the opinion of the Committee for the Development and
Conversion of Regions,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
CHAPTER I
Scope
Article 1
ThisRegulation laysdown detailed rulesfor the implementation of
Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 asregardsthe management and control
systems for assistance granted under the Structural Funds that is admi-nistered by the Member States.
CHAPTER II
Managementandcontrolsystems
Article 2
1. Each Member State shall ensure that managing and paying autho-
ritiesand intermediate bodiesreceive adequate guidance on theprovision of management and control systems necessary to ensure thesound financial management of the Structural Funds in accordancewith generally accepted principles and standards, and in particular toprovide adequate assurance of the correctness, regularity and eligibility
of claims on Community assistance.
2. For the purposes of this Regulation, ‘intermediate bodies’ shall
mean all public or private bodies or services acting under the responsi-bility of managing or paying authoritiesor performing tas kson their2001R0438 — EN — 17.01.2003 — 001.001 — 3
(1) OJ L 185, 15.7.1988, p. 9.
(2) OJ L 337, 24.12.1994, p. 11.
(3) OJ L 83, 27.3.1999, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 292, 15.11.1996, p. 2.
(5) OJ L 178, 12.7.1994, p. 43.
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behalf in relation to final beneficiariesor the bodiesor firmscarrying
out operations.
Article 3
The management and control systems of managing and paying authori-
ties and intermediate bodies shall, subject to proportionality in relation
to the volume of assistance administered, provide for:
(a) a clear definition, a clear allocation and, as necessary to ensure
sound financial practice, an adequate separation of functions within
the organisation concerned;
(b) effective systems for ensuring that the functions are performed in a
satisfactory manner;
(c) in the case of intermediate bodies, reporting to the authority
responsible on the performance of their tasks and the meansemployed.
Article 4
Management and control systems shall include procedures to verify the
delivery of the productsand s ervicesco-financed and the reality ofexpenditure claimed and to ensure compliance with the terms of the
relevant Commission decision under Article 28 of Regulation (EC) No
1260/1999 and with applicable national and Community ruleson, inparticular, the eligibility of expenditure for support from the StructuralFunds under the assistance concerned, public procurement, State aid(including the ruleson the cumulationsof aid), protection of the envir-onment and equality of opportunity.
The proceduress hall require the recording of verificationsof individual
operations on the spot. The records shall state the work done, theresults of the verification and the measures taken in respect of discre-
pancies. Where any physical or administrative verifications are not
exhaustive, but performed on a sample of operations, the records shallidentify the operations selected and describe the sampling method.
Article 5
1. Member States shall, for each assistance, inform the Commission,
within three months of the approval of the assistance or the entry intoforce of thisRegulation, whichever isthe later, of the organis ation ofthe managing and paying authoritiesand intermediate bodies , of the
management and control systems in place in these authorites and
bodiesand of improvementsplanned purs uant to the guidance referredto in Article 2(1).
2. The communication shall contain the following information in
respect of each managing and paying authority and intermediate body:
(a) the functionsves ted in them;
(b) the allocation of functionsbetween or within their departments ,
including between the managing and paying authority where they
are the same body;
(c) the proceduresby which claimsfor reimburs ement of expenditure
are received, verified, and validated, and by which paymentstobeneficiariesare authoris ed, executed and accounted for; and
(d) the provisions for the audit of management and control systems.
3. Where a common system applies in more than one assistance, a
description of the common system may be communicated.
Article 6
The Commission shall, in cooperation with the Member State, satisfy
itself that the management and control systems presented under Article5 meet the standards required by Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 andby this Regulation, and shall make known any obstacles which theypresent to the transparency of checks on the operation of the Fundsand to the Commission's discharge of its responsibilities under Article2001R0438 — EN — 17.01.2003 — 001.001 — 4
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274 of the Treaty. Reviews of the operation of the systems shall be
undertaken on a regular basis.
Article 7
1. Member States' management and control systems shall provide a
sufficient audit trail.
2. An audit trail shall be considered sufficient where it permits:
(a) reconciliation of the summary amounts certified to the Commission
with the individual expenditure recordsand s upporting documentsheld at the variousadminis trative levelsand by final beneficiariesincluding, where the latter are not the final recipientsof funding,the bodiesor firmscarrying out operations ; and
(b) verification of the allocation and the transfers of the available
Community and national funds.
An indicative description of the information requirements for a suffi-
cient audit trail isgiven in Annex I.
2a. (a) The supporting documents regarding expenditure and checks
referred to in Article 38(6) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999
shall comprise
— documentsrelating to s pecific expenditure incurred and
declared and payments made under the assistance andrequired for a sufficient audit trail including documents
constituting proof of the actual delivery of products or
services co-financed;
— reportsand documentsrelating to checkscarried out under
Articles4, 9, 10 and 15 of thisRegulation.
The competent national authoritiess hall determine by
which body the documentsare to be held during the periodfor which retention isrequired.
(b) Documentsmus t be held either asoriginalsor on commonly
accepted data carriers.
Commonly accepted data carrierss hall include, in particular,— photocopiesof original documents ;
— microfichesof original documents ;
— electronic versions of original documents on optical data
carriers (such as CD-rom, hard disk or magnetic disk);
— documents existing in electronic version only.
The procedure for certification of conformity of documents
held on commonly accepted data carrierswith the original
document shall be laid down by the national authorities and
shall ensure that the versions held comply with national legalrequirements and can be relied on for audit purposes. Wheredocuments exist in electronic version only, the underlyingcomputer systems on which electronic versions are held must
meet accepted security standards which ensure that the docu-
mentsheld comply with national legal requirementsand canbe relied on for audit purposes.
3. The managing authority shall satisfy itself on the following
points:
(a) that there are proceduresto ens ure that the documentsreferred to in
paragraph 2a are held in accordance with the requirementsofArticle 38(6) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 and with Annex Ito thisRegulation;
(b) that a record ismaintained of the body holding them and itsloca-
tion; and2001R0438 — EN — 17.01.2003 — 001.001 — 5
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(c) that the documents are made available for inspection by the persons
and bodies who would normally have the right to inspect suchdocuments.
These persons and bodies shall be:
(i) the staff of the managing and paying authority and inter-
mediate bodies who process payment claims;
(ii) the services undertaking audits of management and control
systems;
(iii) the person or department of the paying authority responsible
for certifying interim and final payment requests under Article32(3) and (4) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 and theperson or department which issues the declaration under
Article 38(1)(f); and
(iv) mandated officialsof national audit ins titutionsand the
European Community.
They may require that extractsor copiesof the documentsor
accounting recordsreferred to in thisparagraph be s upplied to them.
Article 8
The managing or paying authority shall keep an account of amounts
recoverable from payments of Community assistance already made,
and ensure that the amounts are recovered without unjustified delay.
After recovery, the paying authority shall repay the irregular paymentsrecovered, together with interest received on account of late payment,by deducting the amountsconcerned from itsnext s tatement of expen-diture and request for payment to the Commission, or, if this isinsufficient, by effecting a refund to the Community. The paying
authority shall send the Commission once a year, in annex to the fourth
quarterly report on recoveriess upplied under Regulation (EC) No1681/94, a statement of the amounts awaiting recovery at that date,classified by the year of initiation of the recovery proceedings.
CHAPTER III
Certification ofexpenditure
Article 9
1. The certificatesof s tatementsof interim and final expenditure
referred to in Article 32(3) and (4) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999shall be drawn up in the form prescribed in Annex II by a person ordepartment within the paying authority that isfunctionally independent
of any services that approve claims.
2. Before certifying a given statement of expenditure, the paying
authority shall satisfy itself that the following conditions are fulfilled:
(a) the managing authority and intermediate bodieshave fulfilled the
requirementsof Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999, in particularArticle 38(1)(c) and (e) and Article 32(3) and (4), and observedthe terms of the Commission's decision under Article 28 of theRegulation;
(b) the statement of expenditure includes only expenditure:
(i) that hasbeen actually effected within the eligibility period laid
down in the decision in the form of expenditure by final bene-ficiaries, within the meaning of paragraphs 1.2, 1.3 and 2 of
Rule No 1 of the Annex to Commission Regulation (EC) No
1685/2000 (
1), which can be supported by receipted invoices
or accounting documentsof equivalent probative value;
(ii) that hasbeen incurred in operationsthat were s elected for
funding under the particular assistance concerned in accor-dance with itss election criteria and proceduresand have been2001R0438 — EN — 17.01.2003 — 001.001 — 6
(1) OJ L 193, 29.7.2000, p. 39.
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subject to Community rules throughout the period during
which the expenditure wasincurred; and
(iii) from measures for which all State aid has been formally
approved by the Commission, where relevant.
3. So that the sufficiency of the control systems and the audit trail
can alwaysbe taken into account before a s tatement of expenditure is
presented to the Commission, the managing authority shall ensure thatthe paying authority iskept informed of the proceduresoperated by themanaging authority and by intermediate bodiesto:
(a) verify the delivery of the productsand s ervicescofinanced and the
reality of expenditure claimed;
(b) ensure compliance with the applicable rules; and
(c) maintain the audit trail.
4. In cases where the managing authority and the paying authority
are or belong to the same body, this body shall ensure that procedures
offering equivalent standards of control to those stipulated in para-graphs2 and 3 are applied.
CHAPTER IV
Samplechecksonoperations
Article 10
1. Member States shall organise checks on operations on an appro-
priate sampling basis, designed in particular to:
(a) verify the effectiveness of the management and control systems in
place;
(b) verify selectively, on the basis of risk analysis, expenditure declara-
tionsmade at the variouslevelsconcerned.
2. The checks carried out before the winding-up of each assistance
shall cover at least 5 % of the total eligible expenditure and be based
on a representative sample of the operations approved, taking account
of the requirements of paragraph 3. Member States shall seek to spreadthe implementation of the checksevenly over the period concerned.They shall ensure an appropriate separation of tasks as between suchchecksand implementation or payment proceduresconcerning opera-
tions.
3. The selection of the sample of operations to be checked shall take
into account:
(a) the need to check an appropriate mix of typesand s izesof opera-
tions;
(b) any risk factors which have been identified by national or Commu-
nity checks;
(c) the concentration of operationsunder certain intermediate bodiesor
certain final beneficiaries, so that the main intermediate bodies andfinal beneficiariesare checked at leas t once before the winding-up
of each assistance.
Article 11
Through the checks, the Member States shall endeavour to verify the
following:
(a) the practical application and effectiveness of the management and
control systems;
(b) for an adequate number of accounting records, the correspondence
of those records with supporting documents held by intermediate
bodies, final beneficiaries, and the bodies or firms carrying out theoperations;
(c) the presence of a sufficient audit trail;2001R0438 — EN — 17.01.2003 — 001.001 — 7
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(d) for an adequate number of expenditure items, that the nature and
timing of the relevant expenditure comply with Community provi-sions and correspond to the approved specifications of the
operation and the worksactually executed;
(e) that the use or intended use of the operation is consistent with the
use described in the application for Community co-financing;
(f) that the Community financial contributionsare within the limits
provided for in Article 29 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 andany other applicable Community provisions and are paid to final
beneficiarieswithout any reductionsor unjus tified delay;
(g) that the appropriate national co-financing hasin fact been made
available; and
(h) that the co-financed operationshave been implemented in accor-
dance with Community rulesand policiesasrequired by Article12 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999.
Article 12
The checks shall establish whether any problems encountered are of a
systemic character, entailing a risk for other operations carried out by
the same final beneficiary or administered by the same intermediatebody. They shall also identify the causes of such situations, any furtherexamination which may be required and the necessary corrective andpreventive action.
Article 13
Member States shall inform the Commission by 30 June each year, and
for the first time by 30 June 2001, of their application of Articles 10 to12 in the previous calendar year and in addition provide any necessarycompletion or updating of the description of their management andcontrol systems communicated under Article 5.
Article 14
The provisions of this chapter shall apply, mutatis mutandis ,t o
amountsrecoverable referred to in Article 8.
CHAPTER V
Declarationatwinding-upoftheassistance
Article 15
The person or department designated to issue declarations on winding-
up of the assistance under Article 38(1)(f) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/
1999 shall have a function independent of:
(a) the designated managing authority;
(b) the person or department within the paying authority responsible
for drawing up the certificatesreferred to in Article 9(1);
(c) intermediate bodies.
It shall conduct its examination according to internationally accepted
auditing standards. It shall be supplied by the managing and paying
authoritiesand intermediate bodieswith all information required andbe given access to the records and supporting evidence necessary fordrawing up the declaration.
Article 16
Declarations shall be based on an examination of the management and
control systems, of the findings of checks already carried out and,
when necessary, of a further sample check of transactions. The personor department issuing the declaration shall make all necessary enquiriesto obtain reasonable assurance that the certified statement of expendi-ture iscorrect and that the underlying trans actionsare legal andregular.2001R0438 — EN — 17.01.2003 — 001.001 — 8
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Declarations shall be drawn up on the basis of the indicative model in
Annex III and shall be accompanied by a report which shall include allrelevant information to justify the declaration, including a summary of
the findingsof all checkscarried out by national and Community
bodies to which the declarant has had access.
Article 17
If the presence of important management or control weaknesses or the
high frequency of irregularitiesencountered doesnot allow the provi-sion of a positive overall assurance as to the validity of the requestfor payment of the final balance and the final certificate of expenditure,
the declaration shall refer to these circumstances and shall estimate the
extent of the problem and itsfinancial impact.
In such a case the Commission may ask that a further check be carried
out with a view to the identification and rectification of irregularities
within a specified period of time.
CHAPTER VI
Form and content of accounting information to be held and
communicatedtotheCommissiononrequest
Article 18
1. The accounting recordson operationsreferred to in Annex I s hall
as far as possible be held in computerised form. Such records shall bemade available to the Commission on specific request for the purpose
of carrying out documentary and on-the-spot checks, without prejudice
to the requirementsto communicate updatingsof financial plansunderArticle 18(3)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 and financial infor-mation under Article 32 thereof.
2. The Commission shall agree with each Member State the content
of computer recordsto be made available under paragraph 1, the meansby which they are communicated, and the length of the period requiredto develop any necessary computer systems taking account of theagreement referred to in Article 18(3)(e) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/
1999. The scope of the information that may be requested, and the
preferred technical specifications for the transfer of computer files tothe Commission, are indicated in Annexes IV and V.
3. At the written request of the Commission, the Member States
shall deliver to the Commission the records referred to in paragraph 1
within 10 working daysof receipt of the reques t. A different periodmay be agreed between the Commission and the Member State, parti-cularly where the recordsare not available in computeris ed form.
4. The Commission shall ensure that the information forwarded by
the Member States or collected by it in the course of on-the-spotinspections is kept confidential and secure in accordance with Article287 of the Treaty and the Commission's rules on the use of and accessto information.
5. Subject to the relevant national laws, Commission officials shall
have access to all documents prepared either with a view to orfollowing controlscarried out under thisRegulation and to the data
held, including those stored in computer systems.
CHAPTER VII
General andfinalprovisions
Article 19
In the case of forms of assistance where there are beneficiaries in more
than one Member State, the Member Statesconcerned s hall agree withone another the necessary common arrangements to ensure soundfinancial management, taking account of national law, and shall informthe Commission of the arrangements agreed. The Commission and the2001R0438 — EN — 17.01.2003 — 001.001 — 9
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Member States concerned shall provide one another with any necessary
administrative assistance.
Article 20
The provisions of this Regulation are without prejudice to the obliga-
tion of Member Statesunder Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 to give
the Commission sufficient information to appraise plans, including
information on the measures taken to implement Article 34(1) of theRegulation, and to the Commission's right to require further informa-tion before adopting itsdecis ionsunder Article 28 of the Regulation.
Article 21
Nothing in thisRegulation s hall prevent Member Statesapplying rules
more rigorous than those prescribed herein.
Article 22
Regulation (EC) No 2064/97 ishereby repealed.Its provisions shall, however, continue to apply to assistance granted
for the programme period 1994 to 1999 under Regulation (EEC) No2052/88.
Article 23
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
ThisRegulation s hall be binding in itsentirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.2001R0438 — EN — 17.01.2003 — 001.001 — 10
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ANNEX I
INDICATIVE DESCRIPTION OF INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS
FORASUFFICIENTAUDITTRAIL (Article 7)
A sufficient audit trail, as referred to in Article 7(2), is present when, for a given
assistance:
1. Accounting recordskept at the appropriate management level provide
detailed information about expenditure actually incurred in each co-financed
operation by final beneficiariesincluding, where the latter are not the final
recipientsof funding, the bodiesand firmscarrying out the operations . The
accounting recordss how the date they were created, the amount of each
item of expenditure, the nature of the supporting documents and the date
and method of payment. The necessary documentary evidence (e.g. invoices)
isattached.
2. For itemsof expenditure relating only partly to the co-financed operation, the
accuracy of the allocation of the expenditure between the operation co-
financed and other operations is demonstrated. The same applies to types of
expenditure that are considered eligible only within certain limits or in
proportion to other costs.
3. The technical specifications and financial plan of the operation, progress
reports, the documents concerning the grant approval and tendering and
contracting procedures, and reports on inspections of the products and
services co-financed in the operation are also kept at the appropriate manage-ment level.
4. For declaring expenditure actually incurred in co-financed operationsto an
intermediate body lying between the final beneficiary or the body or firm
carrying out the operation and the paying authority, the information referred
to in paragraph 1 isaggregated into a detailed s tatement of expenditure for
each operation covering all individual itemsof expenditure for the purpos e
of calculating the total certified amount. The detailed statements of expendi-
ture constitute supporting documents for the accounting records of the
intermediate body.
5. Intermediate bodieskeep accounting recordsfor each operation and for the
total amountsof expenditure certified by final beneficiaries . Intermediate
bodiesreporting to the paying authority des ignated under Article 9(o) of
Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 present to it a list of the operations approved
under each assistance, identifying each operation in detail and indicating the
final beneficiary, the date of approval of the grant, the amountscommitted
and paid and the period of the expenditure, and the total expenditure by
measure and subprogramme or priority. This information constitutes
supporting documentation for the accounting records of the paying authority
and isthe bas isfor the preparation of the declarationsof expenditure to be
presented to the Commission.
6. In cases of final beneficiaries reporting directly to the paying authority, the
detailed statements of expenditure referred to in paragraph 4 constitute
supporting documentation for the accounting records of the paying authority,
which is responsible for drawing up the list of co-financed operations
referred to in paragraph 5.
7. Where there ismore than one intermediate body between the final benefi-
ciary or the body or firm carrying out the operation and the paying
authority, each intermediate body for its area of responsibility requires
detailed statements of expenditure from the body below it as supporting
documentation for its own accounting records, from which it provides at least
a summary of the expenditure on each individual operation to the body above
it.
8. In the case of computerised transfer of accounting data, all the authorities
and bodiesconcerned obtain s ufficient information from the lower level to
justify their accounting records and the sums reported upwards, so as to
ensure a sufficient audit trail from the total summary amounts certified to
the Commission down to the individual expenditure items and the supporting
documentsat the level of the final beneficiariesand the bodiesand firms
carrying out the operations.2001R0438 — EN — 17.01.2003 — 001.001 — 11
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ANNEX II
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ANNEX III
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ANNEX IV
1.SCOPE OF INFORMATION ON OPERATIONS TO BE MADE
AVAILABLE TO THE COMMISSION ON REQUEST FOR THE
PURPOSEOFDOCUMENTARYANDON-THE-SPOTCHECKS
The data requested may include the following, the precise content being subject
to agreement with the Member State for the Fund concerned (Regional, Social,
EAGGF Guidance Section, Fisheries). The field numbers represent the record
structure preferred when compiling computer files for transfer to the Commis-
sion (1).
A. DATA ON OPERATION (asper grant approval decis ion)
Field 1. Operational programme/Single Programming Document CCI code
(see ‘Code commun d'identification’)
Field 2. Operational programme/Single Programming Document name
Field 3. Priority (or technical assistance) code
Field 4. Priority (or technical assistance) nameField 5. Programme component (measure, submeasure, action, etc.) codeField 6. Programme component (measure, submeasure, action, etc.) name
Field 7. Structural Fund
Field 8. Paying authorityField 9. Managing authorityField 10. Intermediate body or bodies(other than managing authority) to
which final beneficiary declaresexpenditure
Field 11. Code of operation (
2)
Field 12. Name of operationField 13. Name of region or area where operation islocated/carried out
Field 14. Region or area code
Field 15. Short description of operationField 16. Start of eligibility period for expenditureField 17. End of eligibility period for expenditure
Field 18. Body issuing grant approval (
3)
Field 19. Approval dateField 20. Reference number of final beneficiary (
4)
Field 21. Reference number of body or firm responsible to the final benefi-
ciary for carrying out the operation (if not final beneficiary)
Field 22. Currency (if not euro)Field 23. Total cost of operation (
5)
Field 24. Total eligible cost of operation (6)
Field 25. Expenditure for cofinancing (7)
Field 26. Community contributionField 27. Community contribution in % (if recorded in addition to field 26)Field 28. National public funding
Field 29. National central government funding
Field 30. National regional public funding2001R0438 — EN — 17.01.2003 — 001.001 — 20
(1) See instructions on compiling computer files in point 2 of Annex V.
(2) An ‘operation’ isa project or action carried out by the ‘final beneficiary’ or, where the
latter isnot the final recipient of funding, by a body or firm acting under itsres pons i-bility, which concerns similar activities, and which is usually the subject of a singlegrant approval decision. Data on individual operations is required, not aggregate data
encompassing the activities of ‘final beneficiaries’ who do not themselves carry out
the operations (see also Annex I of this Regulation and paragraphs 1.2, 1.3 and 2 ofRule No 1 of the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1685/2000 on the eligibility of expen-diture. However, in the case of schemes with multiple small beneficiaries, thesubmission of aggregate data may be agreed.
(
3) See paragraph 3 of Annex I.
(4) As designated under the third subparagraph of Article 32(1) of Regulation (EC) No
1260/1999 for the purpose of declaring expenditure.
(5) Including non-eligible costs excluded from base for calculating public financing.
(6) Costs included in base for calculating public financing.
(7) Article 29(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999.
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Field 31. National local public funding
Field 32. Other national public funding
Field 33. Private financingField 34. EIB financingField 35. Other financingField 36. Intervention by category aud subcategory in accordance with section
3 of thisAnnex
Field 37. Location in urban/rural areas(
1)
Field 38. Effect on the environment (2)
Field 39. Effect on equality of opportunity (3)
Field 40. Indicator (4)
Field 41. Unit of measurement of indicator
Field 42. Indicator target value for operation
B. EXPENDITURE DECLARED ON OPERATION
The information requested may be limited to the records of expenditure declared
per operation by the final beneficiary (section 1). By agreement with the
Member State, the information requested may relate to records of individual
paymentsby the final beneficiary or the body or firm carrying out the operation,
if not the final beneficiary (section 2).
1.Expenditure declared by final beneficiary for inclusion in expenditure
declarationstoCommission
Field 43. Code of operation (= field 11)
Field 44. Name of operation (= field 12)Field 45. Reference number of claim
Field 46. Expenditure declared aseligible for cofinancing
Field 47. Community contributionField 48. Community contribution in % (if recorded in addition to field 47)Field 49. National public fundingField 50. National central government funding
Field 51. National regional public funding
Field 52. National local public fundingField 53. Other national public fundingField 54. Private financingField 55. EIB financingField 56. Other financing
Field 57. Name of body declaring expenditure if not final beneficiary (
5)
Field 58. Accounting date (date of creation of record) (6)
Field 59. Location of detailed supporting documents for the claim by the final
beneficiary (7)
Field 60. Start of period over which expenditure incurred
Field 61. End of period over which expenditure incurredField 62. Revenue deducted from declared expenditure, if anyField 63. Financial correctionsdeducted from claim, if anyField 64. Expenditure declared and certified by paying authority (euro)Field 65. Date of expenditure declaration by paying authority2001R0438 — EN — 17.01.2003 — 001.001 — 21
(1) Location of operation is(a) urban, (b) rural or (c) not geographically delimited.
(2) The operation (a) hasthe environment asitsmain focus , (b) isenvironment-friendly,
(c) isenvironmentally neutral.
(3) The operation (a) has equality between the sexes as its main focus, (b) is positive in
termsof male-female equality or (c) isneutral in termsof s uch equality.
(4) Main monitoring indicatorsto be indicated (s ubject to agreement with Member State).
(5) If the final beneficiary declaresexpenditure to intermediate bodiesor to managing
authority which pass on the claim to the paying authority, the Commission may requestdetailsof the expenditure declarationsat each level in order to follow the audit trail(see paragraph 5 of Annex I).
(
6) Paragraph 1 of Annex I.
(7) Audit trail: paragraph 8 of Annex I.
▼B
Field 66. Euro rate or ratesapplied (1)
Field 67. Date of any on-the-spot verification
Field 68. Body carrying out on-the-spot verification
Field 69. Indicator (2) (= 40)
Field 70. Unit of measurement of indicator (= 41)Field 71. Degree of achievement of target for operation at date of declaration
(%)
Field 72. Degree of achievement of target for operation at date of declaration
compared with planned progress according to initial plan (%)
2.Data on individual payments by the final beneficiary or the body or firm
carrying outtheoperation(byagreement)
Field 73. Amount of payment
Field 74. Reference number of payment
Field 75. Payment date (
3)
Field 76. Accounting date (4)
Field 77. Location of detailed supporting documents for the payment by the
final beneficiary (5)
Field 78. Payee (supplier of goods and services; contractor): name
Field 79. Payee: reference number
2.CLASSIFICATIONOFAREASOFINTERVENTION
A. Areasof intervention
The list below of areas of Structural Fund intervention is based on Article 36 of
Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 and has been compiled to help the Commission
services report on Structural Fund activity.
In addition to itsus e in the annual reportson the Structural Fundsand itscontri-
bution to clear communication on the various Community policies, such
information by category is necessary to enable the Commission to respond to
requests for information from EC institutions, from the Member States and
from the public.
Thisbreakdown into categoriesispart of the management and information
activitiesrelated to the programmes , and isnot meant to replace the breakdown
on which the programme priorities, or the specific impacts identified and
measures during the evaluation exercises, are based.
In drawing up the measures within the Structural Fund programmes, Member
States retain the possibility of using a classification best suited to their own
national and regional situation, which may, if they so wish, be based on the
Commission's classification. It is important, however, that the Commission be
in a position to draw up summaries on the Fund activities by different areas of
intervention. Thus, the programming complement should show the link between
each measure and the corresponding category in the Commission list. This link
could, for example, be shown by applying the appropriate code to each measure
or by clarifying the correspondence between national codes and the Commis-
sion's categories. The annual implementation reports on programmes should
also show the link.
The list is not new but is based on the 14 basic categories used in Objective 1
programmesin the additionality exercis e during the previousprogramming
period.2001R0438 — EN — 17.01.2003 — 001.001 — 22
(1) Indicate rate applied for each amount declared by final beneficiary if several declara-
tionshave been made.
(2) Main monitoring indicatorsto be indicated (s ubject to agreement with Member State).
(3) Paragraph 1 of Annex I.
(4) Paragraph 1 of Annex I.
(5) Paragraph 8 of Annex I.
▼B
B. Additional information
In the context of the financial management of the operations, the Commission
hasindicated the type of information which the Member State mus t make avail-
able, namely whether:
1. the location of the project is(a) urban, (b) rural or (c) not geographically
delimited;
2. the project (a) hasthe environment asitsmain focus , (b) isenvironment-
friendly, (c) isenvironmentally neutral;
3. the project (a) has equality between the sexes as its main focus, (b) is posi-
tive in termsof male-female equality or (c) isneutral in termsof s uch
equality.
The availability of thisinformation in the context of financial management and
the requirement to use the following classification will allow the Commission to
meet the needsof Europe'scitizens .
3.CLASSIFICATION
1. Productive environment
11 Agriculture
111 Investments in agricultural holdings
112 Setting up of young farmers113 Agriculture-specific vocational training114 Improvement of processing and marketing of agricultural products
12 Forestry
121 Investments in forest holdings
122 Improving the harvesting, processing and marketing of forestry
products
123 Promoting new outlets for use and marketing of forestry products124 Establishment of associations of forest holders125 Restoring forestry production potential damaged by natural disasters
and introducing prevention instruments
126 Planting of non-farm land127 Improving and maintaining ecological stability of protected woodlands128 Forestry-specific vocational training
13 Promoting the adaptation and the development of rural areas
1301 Land improvement
1302 Reparcelling
1303 Setting up of farm relief and farm management services
1304 Marketing of quality agricultural products1305 Basic services for the rural economy and population1306 Renovation and development of villagesand protection and cons erva-
tion of the rural heritage
1307 Diversification of agricultural activities and activities close to agri-
culture, to provide multiple activitiesor alternative incomes
1308 Agricultural water resources management
1309 Development and improvement of infrastructure connected with the
development of agriculture
1310 Encouragement for tourist activities1311 Encouragement for craft activitiesrelated to farms
1312 Protection of the environment in connection with land, forestry and
landscape conservation as well as with the improvement of animal
welfare
1313 Restoring agricultural production potential damaged by natural disas-
tersand introducing appropriate prevention ins truments
1314 Financial engineering
14 Fisheries
141 Adjustment of fishing effort
142 Renewal and modernisation of the fishing fleet2001R0438 — EN — 17.01.2003 — 001.001 — 23
▼B
143 Processing, marketing and promoting of fisheries products
144 Aquaculture145 Fishing port facilities and protection and development of aquatic
resources
146 Socioeconomic measures and aids for temporary cessation of activities
and other financial compensation
147 Operations by members of the trade, small-scale coastal fishing and
inland fishing
148 Measures financed by other Structural Funds (ERDF, ESF)
15 Support for large firms
151 Investment in physical capital (plant and equipment, co-financing of
state aid)
152 Environment-friendly technologies, clean and economical energy tech-
nologies
153 Business advisory services (including internationalisation, exporting
and environmental management, purchase of technology)
154 Services to stakeholders (health and safety, providing care for depen-
dants)
155 Financial engineering
16 Support for SMEs and craft businesses
161 Investment in physical capital (plant and equipment, co-financing of
state aid)
162 Environment-friendly technologies, clean and economical energy tech-
nologies
163 Business advisory services (information, business planning, consul-
tancy services, marketing, management, design, internationalisation,
exporting, environmental management, purchase of technology)
164 Shared business services (business estates, incubator units, stimulation,
promotional services, networking, conferences, trade fairs)
165 Financial engineering166 Services in voluntary/third sector (providing care for dependants,
health and safety, cultural activities)
167 SME- and craft-specific vocational training
17 Tourism
171 Physical investment (information centres, tourist accommodation,
catering, facilities)
172 Non-physical investment (development and provision of tourist
services, sporting, cultural and leisure activities, heritage)
173 Shared services for the tourism industry (including promotional activ-
ities, networking, conferences and trade fairs)
174 Tourism-specific vocational training
18 Research, technological development and innovation (RTDI)
181 Research projects based in universities and research institutes
182 Innovation and technology transfers, establishment of networks and
partnerships between businesses and/or research institutes
183 RTDI Infrastructure184 Training for researchers
2. Human resources
21 Labour market policy
22 Social inclusion23 Developing educational and vocational training not linked to a specific
sector (persons, firms)
24 Workforce flexibility, entrepreneurial activity, innovation, information and
communication technologies (persons, firms)
25 Positive labour market actions for women2001R0438 — EN — 17.01.2003 — 001.001 — 24
▼B
3. Basic infrastructure
31 Transport infrastructure
311 Rail
312 Roads
3121 National roads
3122 Regional/local roads3123 Cycle tracks313 Motorways
314 Airports
315 Ports316 Waterways
317 Urban transport
318 Multimodal transport319 Intelligent transport systems
32 Telecommunications infrastructure and information society
321 Basic infrastructure
322 Information and communication technology (including security and
safe transmission measures)
323 Servicesand applicationsfor the citizen (health, adminis tration, educa-
tion)
324 Servicesand applicationsfor SMEs(electronic commerce and trans ac-
tions, education and training, networking)
33 Energy infrastructures (production, delivery)
331 Electricity, gas, petroleum products, solid fuel
332 Renewable sources of energy (solar power, wind power, hydroelectri-
city, biomass)
333 Energy efficiency, cogeneration, energy control
34 Environmental infrastructure (including water)
341 Air
342 Noise343 Urban and industrial waste (including hospital and dangerous waste)344 Drinking water (collection, storage, treatment and distribution)
345 Sewerage and purification
35 Spatial planning and rehabilitation
351 Upgrading and rehabilitation of industrial and military sites
352 Rehabilitation of urban areas
353 Protection, improvement and regeneration of the natural environment
354 Maintenance and restoration of the cultural heritage
36 Social and public health infrastructure
4. Miscellaneous
41 Technical assistance and innovative actions (ERDF, ESF, EAGGF, FIFG)
411 Preparation, implementation, monitoring, publicity
412 Evaluation
413 Studies
414 Innovative actions415 Information to the public2001R0438 — EN — 17.01.2003 — 001.001 — 25
▼B
ANNEX V
PREFERRED TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE TRANSFER
OFCOMPUTERFILESTOTHECOMMISSION
1.Transfermeans
Most means in current use can be employed, subject to prior agreement with
the Commission. The following is a non-exhaustive list of the preferred
means.
1. Magnetic medium
— floppy disk: 3,5 inch 1,4 Mb (Dos/Windows)
optional compression into ZIP format.
— DAT cartridge
4 mm DDS-1 (90 m)
— CD-ROM (WORM)
2. Electronic file tranfer
— direct messaging by E-mail
for filesof 5 Mb or les soptional compression into ZIP format
— transfer by FTP
optional compression into ZIP format.
2.Preferred standard for the compilation of an extract from Member
States'Computerfiles
The preferred standard file has the following characteristics:
1. Every record starts with a three character code identifying the informa-
tion contained in thisrecord. There are two typesof records :
(a) recordson the operation identified by the code ‘PRJ’ containing
general information on the operation. The record attributes(fields1
to 42) are those described in Point 1.A in annex IV.
(b) expenditure recordsidentified by the code ‘PAY’ containing detailed
information on expenditure declared on the operation. The record
attributes (fields 43 to 79) are those described in Point 1.B annex IV.
2. ‘PRJ’ recordscontaining information for an operation are immediately
followed by several ‘PAY’ records containing expenditure information
for the operation, or else PRJ and PAY records may be supplied in sepa-
rate files.
3. The fields will be separated by a semi-colon (‘;’). Two consecutive semi-
colonsindicate that no data isgiven for the field (‘empty field’).
4. Recordswill vary in length. Each record will end with a code ‘CR LF’
or ‘Carriage return — Line feed’ (in hexadecimal: ‘OD 0A’).
5. The file will be in ASCII code.
6. Numeric fields representing amounts:
(a) Decimal separator: ‘.’
(b) When necessary, the symbol (‘+’ or ‘-’) will appear on the far left,
followed immediately by the figures.
(c) Fixed number of decimals.
(d) No spaces between digits; no spaces between thousands.
7. Date field: ‘DDMMYYYY’ (day in two digits, month in two digits, year
in four digits).
8. Data in text format must not be put between quotation marks (‘ ’). It
goes without saying that the semi-colon separator ‘;’ must not be used
in data in text format.
9. All fields: no spaces at the beginning or end of a field.
10. Files satisfying the above rules will look like the following (example):
PRJ;1999FI161D0002;Objective 1 Eastern Finland;2;Business Develop-
ment;l;Investment Support;…
PAY;1234;Joensuu Business Park;2315;103300;51650;50 %…
11. In the case of files from Greece, either ELOT-928 or ISO 8859-7 coding
should be applied.2001R0438 — EN — 17.01.2003 — 001.001 — 26
▼B
3.Documentation
Each file must be accompanied by checksums for the following:
1. number of records
2. total amount
3. sum of subtotals for each assistance
For each field expressed by a code, the meanings of the codes used will be
attached to the file.
The sum of the records in the computer file by assistance and subprogramme
(priority) must correspond to the payment declarations submitted to the
Commission for the period specified in the request for information. Any
discrepancies are to be justified in a note attached to the file.2001R0438 — EN — 17.01.2003 — 001.001 — 27