1.When an operation is complete, the Special Committee may decide, on the basis of a proposal by the administrator or by a Member State, that the administrator, with the assistance of the accounting officer and of the operation commander, shall submit to the Special Committee the financial statements for that operation, at least up to the date on which it was completed, and, if possible, up to the date on which it was wound up. The deadline imposed on the administrator may not be less than four months from the date on which the operation was completed.
2.If the financial statements cannot, within the given deadline, include the revenue and expenditure connected with the winding up of that operation, that revenue and expenditure shall appear in the financial statements for Athena and shall be examined by the Special Committee in the context of the procedure foreseen in Article 42.
3.The Special Committee shall, based on an opinion of the College of Auditors, approve the financial statements for the operation which have been submitted to it. It shall grant a discharge to the administrator, the accounting officer and each operation commander for the operation in question.
4.If reimbursement cannot be done by deduction from the contributions due to Athena, the balance of the budget outturn shall be repaid to the Member States concerned according to the GNI key of the year of reimbursement.