within the scope of the Fund and within its objectives, as described in Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the basic act; within the eligible actions and measures listed in Articles 4 and 5 of the basic act; needed to carry out the activities covered by the project, forming part of the multiannual and annual programmes, as approved by the Commission; reasonable and comply with the principles of sound financial management, in particular, value for money and cost-effectiveness; incurred by the final beneficiary and/or the partners in the project, who shall be established and registered in a Member State, except in the case of international public sector organisations set up by intergovernmental agreements, and specialised agencies set up by such organisations, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. With regard to Article 39(2) of this Decision, the rules applicable to the final beneficiary shall apply mutatis mutandis to the partners in the project; linked to the target groups defined in Article 7 of the basic act; incurred in accordance with the specific provisions in the grant agreement.

In the case of multiannual actions within the meaning of Article 15(6) of the basic act, only the part of the action co-financed by an annual programme is considered to be a project for the application of these eligibility rules.

Projects supported by the Fund shall not be financed by other sources covered by the Community budget. Projects supported by the Fund shall be co-financed by public or private sources.

Projects supported by the Fund must be of a non-profit-making nature. If, at the end of the project, the sources of income, including receipts, exceed expenditure, the contribution to the project from the Fund shall be reduced accordingly. All sources of income for the project must be recorded in the final beneficiary’s accounts or tax documents, and must be identifiable and controllable.

Project income shall come from all financial contributions granted to the project by the Fund, from public or private sources, including the final beneficiary’s own contribution, and from any receipts generated by the project. “Receipts” for the purpose of this rule covers revenue received by a project during the eligibility period as described in point I.4, from sales, rentals, services, enrolment/fees or other equivalent income.

The Community contribution resulting from the application of the principle of non-profit, as referred to under Article 12(c) of this Decision, will be the “total eligible cost” minus the “contribution from third parties” and “receipts generated by the project”.

Costs relating to a project must be incurred and the respective payments (except for depreciation) made after 1 January of the year referred to in the financing decision approving the annual programmes of the Member States. The eligibility period is until 30 June of the year N + 2, meaning that the costs relating to a project must be incurred before this date.

An exception to the eligibility period provided for in paragraph 1 is made for technical assistance for Member States (refer to point IV.3).

Expenditure shall correspond to payments made by the final beneficiary. These must be in the form of financial (cash) transactions, with the exception of depreciation.

As a rule, expenditure shall be justified by official invoices. Where this cannot be done, expenditure shall be supported by accounting documents or supporting documents of equivalent evidential value.

it must be recorded in the accounting records of the final beneficiary; it must be determined in accordance with the applicable accounting standards of the country where the final beneficiary is established and with the usual cost accounting practices of the final beneficiary; and it must be declared in accordance with the requirements of applicable tax and social legislation.

As necessary, the final beneficiaries are obliged to keep certified copies of the accounting documents justifying income and expenditure incurred by the partners in relation to the project concerned.

The storage and processing of records provided for in paragraphs 2 to 4 must comply with the national data protection legislation.

incurred by the final beneficiaries defined in point I.1.1(e); and incurred in the territory of the Member States or of third countries.

Partners in the project registered and established in third countries may participate in projects only on a no-cost basis, except in the case of international public sector organisations set up by intergovernmental agreements, and specialised agencies set up by such organisations, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

The costs of consumables, supplies and general services are eligible provided that they are identifiable and directly necessary for the implementation of the project.

Costs needed to meet the requirements linked to Union co-financing, such as publicity, transparency, evaluation of the project, external audit, bank guarantees, translation costs, etc., are eligible as direct costs.

Legal consultancy fees, notarial fees and costs of technical and financial experts are eligible.

The eligible indirect costs for the action are those costs which, with due regard for the conditions of eligibility described in point I.1.1, are not identifiable as specific costs directly linked to performance of the project.

By way of derogation from point I.1.1(e) and point 1.5, the indirect costs incurred in carrying out the action may be eligible for flat rate funding fixed at not more than 7 % of the total eligible direct costs.

Organisations receiving an operating grant from the Union budget cannot include indirect costs in their forward budget.