Eligibility of Costs in Interreg V-A Latvia-Lithuania Programme

1. Interreg V-A Latvia-Lithuania programme 2014-2020 INFORMATION SEMINAR 3rd Call for proposals Project budgetrequirements

2. Eligibility of costs • Only costs incurred by PP • Expenditure must have been paid out (“gone out of the PP bank account”) • Costs are directly related to the project and planned/specified in the AF • Costs must be paid out within the project duration • All costs are subject to applicable public procurement rules Interreg V-A Latvia-Lithuania Programme 2014-2020 www.latlit.eu

3. Eligibility of costs • Costs proved by delivery of works, services or supplies • Competition and public procurement • No Double Financing • Recoverable value added tax is ineligible • Sound Financial Management principles Interreg V-A Latvia-Lithuania Programme 2014-2020 www.latlit.eu

4. Eligibility of costs Budget lines Latvia-Lithuania Cross Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 www.latlit.eu

5. Eligibility of costs BL1 „Staff costs“ Staff costs can be reported either by: • Flat rate method (15% of total eligible PP direct costs) • Real costs method, when real expenditure is reported and justified with the supporting documents Staff costs reporting method cannot be changed during project implementation Latvia-Lithuania Cross Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 www.latlit.eu

6. Eligibility of costs BL1 „Staff costs“ PP does not need to document thatthe expenditure has been incurred and paid However, information on employees involved in the project management/implementation should be provided to FC upon request • If Staff costsflat rate is chosen, External project management costs (project manager, financial managers, procurement ,public relation specialists, etc.)cannot be alsoreported In BL External expertise • The calculation is done automatically • in the AF, inpartner report forms Latvia-Lithuania Cross Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 www.latlit.eu

7. Eligibility of costs BL1 „Staff costs“/ Real costs • Full-time • Part-time: • Part-time assignment with a fixed percentage of time worked on the project per month • Part–time assignment with a flexible number of hours worked on the project per month • Contracted on an hourly basis • Actual salary rate must be used • Unjustified different hourly rates/ remuneration in the frame of the same responsibilities must be avoided Latvia-Lithuania Cross Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 www.latlit.eu

8. Eligibility of costs BL2 „Office and administration costs“ The calculation is done automatically as a flat ra of 15% or 0%of eligible staff costs • PP does not need to document or to prove costs Following costs are covered by the flat rate under BL2 “Office and administration costs” and they cannot be reported under any other BL: • Office rent; Utilities (e.g. electricity, heating, water) • Office supplies; Security; Communication, IT, maintenance • General accounting, IT services, etc Latvia-Lithuania Cross Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 www.latlit.eu

9. Eligibility of costs BL3 „Travel and accommodation costs“ Travel and accommodation costs of employees of the project partner organization's must be clearly linked to the project(no ext. expert costs) In well-justified and documented cases, the PP have a possibility to cover travel and accommodation costs of guests/target group Preparation lump sum 1000EUR ERDF No cost sharing Latvia-Lithuania Cross Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 www.latlit.eu

10. Eligibility of costs BL4 „External expertise and services costs“ Costs of an external service providers Also costs of external expertise and services that are linked to an investment in infrastructure Breakdown of costs, specifications/ necessary qualification of experts provided use rounding Latvia-Lithuania Cross Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 www.latlit.eu

11. Eligibility of costs BL5 „Equipment costs“ • Equipment : • cross border character and relevance • in line with the project objective • general Specifications provided • special rules for second-hand or leased equipment, specialised cars Latvia-Lithuania Cross Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 www.latlit.eu

12. Eligibility of costs BL6 „Infrastructure and works“ Preparation costs for development of technical documentation (up 7%of works) Annexes that shall be provided: • ownership documents or lease of land or premises agreements; • cost-estimations for (re)construction works; • full set of valid  building/technical documentation (stage of readiness in order to procure constructor immediately after the project approval) • acceptance of building/technical documents by local or national construction/building boards (including permits from relevant municipalities, cultural heritage protection boards, nature protection boards and other relevant institutions if required by national legal acts) Latvia-Lithuania Cross Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 www.latlit.eu

13. Revenue/ State aid • The estimated net Revenuesmust be deducted from • the total project budget: • simplified calculations of net revenue • full calculation of the discounted net revenue ( >1M) State aid relevant activities (Economic advantage,(Potential) distorting effect on competition and trade within the EU) couldbe granted under: • the De minimis aid: Organisation can receive support (all kinds of support whether from national or EU sources) up to EUR 200 000in 3 years • forLatvian PP in the form of public service compensationgranted to certain undertakings entrusted with the operation of services of general economic interest Latvia-Lithuania Cross Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 www.latlit.eu

14. Recomendations • Avoid Excessive costs (staff, external experts,…) • Don’t stateonly lump sums ( 100 000EUR, 20 000EUR) • Provide breakdown of costs in comments section ( a+b=c) • Avoid Cost sharing (not allowed) • Provide specifications for equipment, expert services • Use rounding up to tens ( no 345,32EUR, 143233,87EUR) Latvia-Lithuania Cross Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 www.latlit.eu

15. Co financing Eligible project activities are co-financed by the ERDF at a rate of Possible national co-financing •  Latvian PP – 5% MK noteikumi Nr.200 22.04.2015 Valsts budžeta līdzekļu piešķiršanas kārtība Eiropas Strukturālo un investīciju fondu mērķa "Eiropas teritoriālā sadarbība" programmu finansējuma saņēmējiem no Latvijas • Lithuanian PP- 7.5% LR Vidaus reikalų ministro 2015-12-31 įsakymas Nr. 1V-1076 dėl Lietuvos Respublikos valstybės biudžeto lėšų, skirtų 2014 – 2020 metų Europos teritorinio bendradarbiavimo tikslo programos bendrai finansuoti, naudojimo taisyklių patvirtinimo Latvia-Lithuania Cross Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 www.latlit.eu

16. Reimbursement Reimbursement in 2 payments ( 70% / 30%) Latvia-Lithuania Cross Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 www.latlit.eu

17. Reporting processes MA makes the 2nd payment of (30% of reported eligible costs) to the LP MA makes the 1st payment (70% of reported eligible costs) to the LP JS assesses the consolidated progress report LP and PP submit their reports to the FC FC verification and issuing of FC certificates LP prepares and submits the consolidated progress report to the JS Activity 2 weeks from the end of the reporting period 2 months after the partner report is submitted via eMS 2 weeks after the consolidated progress report or final report is approved by the JS 2 weeks after the FC has issued FC certificates 2,5 months after the consolidated progress report or final report is received 2 weeks after the consolidated progress report or final report is received Deadline Total max time from end of reporting period 3 months 6months 5,5 months 3,5 months 2 weeks 2,5 months Latvia-Lithuania Cross Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 www.latlit.eu

18. Thank you for your attention