F1CHAPTER IVPROVISIONS SUPPLEMENTING PART FOUR OF REGULATION (EU) No 1303/2013 APPLICABLE TO THE ERDF, THE ESF, THE COHESION FUND AND THE EMFF
SECTION IIThe audit trail and use of the data collected during audits
Article 25Detailed minimum requirements for the audit trail(Article 125(9) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013)
1.
The detailed minimum requirements for the audit trail in respect of the accounting records to be maintained and the supporting documents to be held shall be the following:
(a)
the audit trail shall allow the application of the selection criteria established by the monitoring committee for the operational programme to be verified;
(b)
in relation to grants and repayable assistance under Article 67(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, the audit trail shall allow the aggregate amounts certified to the Commission to be reconciled with the detailed accounting records and supporting documents held by the certifying authority, managing authority, intermediate bodies and beneficiaries as regards operations co-financed under the operational programme;
(c)
in relation to grants and repayable assistance under Articles 67(1)(b) and (c) and 109 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 and under Article 14(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1304/2013, the audit trail shall allow the aggregate amounts certified to the Commission to be reconciled with the detailed data relating to outputs or results and supporting documents held by the certifying authority, managing authority, intermediate bodies and beneficiaries, including where applicable documents on the method of setting the standard scales for unit costs and the lump sums, as regards operations co-financed under the operational programme;
F2(d)
in relation to costs determined in accordance with point (d) of Article 67(1) and point (a) of the first paragraph of Article 68 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, the audit trail shall demonstrate and justify the calculation method, where applicable, and the basis on which the flat rates have been decided, and the eligible direct costs or costs declared under other chosen categories to which the flat rate applies;
F3(da)
in relation to financing which is not linked to costs referred to in point (e) of the first subparagraph of Article 67(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, the audit trail shall allow verification of the achievement of the financing conditions and reconciliation of the underlying data relating to the conditions for the reimbursement of expenditure;
F2(e)
in relation to costs determined in accordance with points (b) and (c) of the first paragraph of Article 68 and with Articles 68a(1) and 68b of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, Article 14(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1304/2013 prior to the entry into force of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 and Article 19 of Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013, the audit trail shall allow the eligible direct costs to which the flat rate applies to be substantiated and verified;
(f)
the audit trail shall allow the payment of the public contribution to the beneficiary to be verified;
(g)
for each operation, as appropriate, the audit trail shall include the technical specifications and financing plan, documents concerning the grant approval, documents relating to public procurement procedures, reports by the beneficiary and reports on verifications and audits carried out;
(h)
the audit trail shall include information on management verifications and audits carried out on the operation;
(i)
without prejudice to Article 19(3) and Annexes I and II to Regulation (EU) No 1304/2013, the audit trail shall allow data in relation to output indicators for the operation to be reconciled with targets and reported data and result for the programme;
(j)
for financial instruments, the audit trail shall include the supporting documents referred to in Article 9(1)(e) of this Regulation.
F2For costs referred to in points (c) and (d), the audit trail shall allow the calculation method used by the managing authority to be verified for compliance with Article 67(5), Article 68 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 and Article 14(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1304/2013 prior to the entry into force of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046.
2.
The managing authority shall ensure that a record is available of the identity and location of bodies holding all the supporting documents required to ensure an adequate audit trail meeting all the minimum requirements laid down in paragraph 1.
Article 26Use of the data collected during audits carried out by Commission officials or authorised Commission representatives(Article 127(8) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013)
1.
The Commission shall take all necessary measures to prevent any unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, the data collected by the Commission in the course of its audits.
2.
The Commission shall use the data collected in the course of its audits for the sole purpose of fulfilling its responsibilities under Article 75 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013. The European Court of Auditors and the European Anti-Fraud Office shall have access to the data collected.
3.
The data collected shall not be sent to persons other than those in the Member States or within the Union institutions whose duties require that they have access to it in accordance with the applicable rules without the express agreement of the Member State supplying the data.