Commission Regulation (EC) No 885/2006 (repealed)Show full title

(A) Procedures for authorising claims

The agency shall adopt the following procedures:

(i)

The agency shall lay down detailed procedures for the receipt, recording and processing of claims, including a description of all documents to be used.

(ii)

Each official responsible for authorisation shall have at his disposal a detailed checklist of the verifications he is required to undertake, and shall include in the supporting documents of the claim his attestation that those checks have been performed. That attestation may be made by electronic means. There shall be evidence of review of the work by a senior staff member.

(iii)

A claim shall be authorised for payment only after sufficient checks have been made to verify that it complies with Community rules. Those checks shall include those required by the Regulation governing the specific measure under which aid is claimed, and those required pursuant to Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 to prevent and detect fraud and irregularity with particular regard to the risks incurred. For the EAFRD there shall in addition be procedures for verifying that the criteria for the granting of aid have been respected and that all applicable Community rules have been complied with, particularly the rules on public procurement and respect of the environment.

(iv)

The management of the agency shall, at an appropriate level, be informed on a regular and timely basis of the results of controls carried out, so that the sufficiency of those controls may always be taken into account before a claim is settled.

(v)

The work performed shall be described in detail in a report accompanying each claim, batch of claims or, when appropriate, in a report covering one marketing year. The report shall be accompanied by an attestation of the eligibility of the approved claims and of the nature, scope and limits of the work done. For the EAFRD there shall in addition be an assurance that the criteria for the granting of aid have been respected and that all applicable Community rules have been complied with, particularly the rules on public procurement and respect of the environment. If any physical or administrative checks are not exhaustive, but performed on a sample of claims, the claims selected shall be identified, the sampling method described, the results of all inspections and the measures taken in respect of discrepancies and irregularities reported upon. The supporting documents shall be sufficient to provide assurance that all the required checks on the eligibility of the authorised claims have been performed.

(vi)

Where documents (in paper or electronic form) relating to the claims authorised and controls effected are retained by other bodies, both those bodies and the agency shall set up procedures to ensure that the location of all such documents that are relevant to specific payments made by the agency is recorded.