The Commission shall verify compliance with the conditions of Article 12(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1266/1999, hereinafter referred to as ‘the conditions’, and the provisions of Articles 4 to 6 of and the Annex to this Regulation prior to deciding on conferral of management of aid to the applicant countries.

For the establishment of compliance with the conditions and with the provisions mentioned in the first subparagraph, the Commission shall:

• examine the national fund procedures and structures related to the implementation of the Sapard programme and Sapard agency procedures and structures and, where appropriate, procedures and structures of other bodies to which tasks may have been delegated in accordance with Articles 4(4), 5(3) and 6(2),

• carry out verifications on-the-spot.

The decision to confer management on an agency may be made on a provisional basis, provided there is compliance with the conditions and with the functions and criteria of the Annex to this Regulation and the provisions of Articles 4 to 6.

The Commission shall monitor continued compliance with the conditions and provisions of this Regulation including the Annex. If, at any stage, they are found to be no longer fulfilled, the Commission shall immediately revoke the decision and shall:

• cease to undertake any new financial obligations on the part of the Community,

• cease to transfer monies to the applicant country and

• if appropriate, make financial corrections against the applicant country.

The tasks of the competent authority shall include those set out in Article 1(3), (4), (6) and (7) of Regulation (EC) No 1663/95 mutatis mutandis. Accreditation may be provisionally granted for a period to be fixed in relation to the seriousness of the problem pending the implementation of any requisite changes to the administrative and accounting arrangements.

The decision of the competent authority to accredit the Sapard agency shall be taken on the basis of an examination covering the administrative, payment, control and accounting procedures and structures, which includes the arrangements regarding the selection of projects, tendering, contracting and the respect of procurement rules taking account of the criteria set out in the Annex. The examination shall be conducted according to internationally accepted auditing standards. In instances where a provisional accreditation is envisaged, there must be satisfactory compliance with the provisions of the Annex, in particular with the obligations for written procedures, segregation of duties, pre-project approval and pre-payment checks, payment procedures, accounting procedures, computer security, internal audit and where appropriate public procurement provisions.

The competent authority shall monitor accreditation and withdraw it, without delay, if the accreditation criteria are no longer fulfilled and shall inform immediately the Commission.

The competent authority may delegate the examination task referred to in paragraph 2 to other bodies. In all cases the national authorising officer retains overall responsibility.

The implementation task of the Sapard agency shall comprise:

• call for applications,

• F1project selection, except where for the measure in question in the approved Sapard agriculture and rural development programme (hereinafter referred to as the programme), there is only one designated beneficiary or the task of project selection has been granted to a designated body or bodies,

• checking of applications for approval of projects against terms and conditions, eligibility and against the content of the programme, including, where appropriate, public procurement provisions,

• laying down contractual obligations between the agency and potential beneficiaries and the issue of approval to commence work,

• execution of on-the-spot checks both prior to and following project approval,

• follow-up action to ensure progress of projects being implemented,

• reporting of progress of measures being implemented against indicators.

The payment task of the Sapard agency shall comprise:

• checking of payment claims,

• execution of on-the-spot checks to establish eligibility for payment,

• authorisation of payment,

• execution of payment,

• accounting of commitment and payment,

• where applicable, controls on beneficiaries after payment of aid to establish whether the terms and conditions of the grants continue to be respected.

Where functions of implementation and payment are not discharged within a single administrative structure, they may be carried out by other parties provided the provisions of paragraph 2.3 of the Annex are respected. However, in no case may the execution of payment and of accounting of commitment and payment be delegated. The project approval, on-the-spot controls and payment processes must be based on an appropriate segregation of duties.

Any proposed changes in the implementing and/or paying arrangements of the Sapard agency after its accreditation shall be submitted by the competent authority to the Commission.

The tasks of the certifying body shall include

• delivery of an attestation on the annual account of the Sapard agency as well as the Sapard euro account,

• reporting on an annual basis on the adequacy of management and control systems of the Sapard agency as regards their capability to ensure conformity of expenditure with the provisions of Article 8(1),

• verification of the existence and correctness of the national co-financing element referred to in Article 9(1).

In performing those tasks, the certifying body shall act in accordance with the provisions of Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1663/95 and guidelines set by the Commission. Where the body appointed is the national audit office or equivalent, it may delegate some or all of the examination tasks referred to in Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1663/95 to other bodies, provided the tasks are discharged effectively. The certifying body in all cases retains overall responsibility.

The attestation on the annual accounts and the audit report referred to in Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1663/95 and Article 13(1) shall be drawn up before 15 April of the following year and communicated to the Commission by 30 April at the latest.