Clearance of accounts
Prior to 31 May of the year following the budget year in question and on the basis of the information transmitted in accordance with point (c) of Article 102(1), the Commission shall adopt implementing acts, containing its decision on the clearance of the accounts of the accredited paying agencies. Those implementing acts shall cover the completeness, accuracy and veracity of the annual accounts submitted and shall be without prejudice to the content of decisions subsequently adopted pursuant to Article 52.
Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 116(2).
Conformity clearance
1. Where it finds that expenditure falling within the scope of Article 4(1) and Article 5 has not been effected in conformity with Union law and, in respect of the EAFRD, has not been effected in conformity with the applicable Union and national law referred to in Article 85 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, the Commission shall adopt implementing acts determining the amounts to be excluded from Union financing. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 116(2).
2. The Commission shall assess the amounts to be excluded on the basis of the gravity of the non-conformity recorded. It shall take due account of the nature of the infringement and of the financial damage caused to the Union. It shall base the exclusion on the identification of amounts unduly spent and, where these cannot be identified with proportionate effort, may apply extrapolated or flat-rate corrections. Flat-rate corrections shall only be applied where, due to the nature of the case or because the Member State has not provided the Commission with the necessary information, it is not possible with proportionate effort to identify more precisely the financial damage caused to the Union.
3. Before the adoption of any decision to refuse financing, the findings from the Commission's inspection and the Member State's replies shall be notified in writing, following which the two parties shall attempt to reach agreement on the action to be taken. At that point in the procedure the Member States shall be given the opportunity to demonstrate that the actual extent of the non-compliance is less than in the Commission's assessment.
If agreement is not reached, the Member State may request the opening of a procedure aimed at reconciling, within a period of four months, each party's position. A report of the outcome of the procedure shall be submitted to the Commission. The Commission shall take into account the recommendations in the report before deciding on any refusal of financing and shall give reasons if it decides not to follow those recommendations.
4. Financing may not be refused for:
(a)
expenditure as indicated in Article 4(1) which is effected more than 24 months before the Commission notifies the Member State in writing of its inspection findings;
(b)
expenditure on multiannual measures falling within the scope of Article 4(1) or within the scope of the programmes as indicated in Article 5, where the final obligation on the recipient occurs more than 24 months before the Commission notifies the Member State in writing of its inspection findings;
(c)
expenditure on measures in programmes, as indicated in Article 5, other than those referred to in point (b) of this paragraph, for which the payment or, as the case may be, the final payment, by the paying agency, is made more than 24 months before the Commission notifies the Member State in writing of its inspection findings.
5. Paragraph 4 shall not apply in the case of:
(a)
irregularities covered by Section III of this Chapter;
(b)
national aids for which the Commission has initiated the procedure laid down in Article 108(2) TFEU or infringements which the Commission has notified to the Member State concerned by a letter of formal notice in accordance with Article 258 TFEU;
(c)
infringements by Member States of their obligations under Chapter III of Title V of this Regulation, provided that the Commission notifies the Member State in writing of its inspection findings within 12 months following receipt of the Member State's report on the results of its checks on the expenditure concerned.
Commission powers
1. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts laying down rules on:
(a)
the clearance of accounts provided for in Article 51 with regard to the measures to be taken in connection with the adoption of the decision and its implementation, including the information exchange between the Commission and the Member States and the deadlines to be respected;
(b)
the conformity clearance provided for in Article 52 with regard to the measures to be taken in connection with the adoption of the decision and its implementation, including the information exchange between the Commission and the Member States and the deadlines to be respected as well as the conciliation procedure provided for in that Article, including the establishment, tasks, composition and working arrangements of the conciliation body.
2. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 116(3).
3. In order to enable the Commission to protect the financial interest of the Union and to ensure the provisions relating to the conformity clearance provided for in Article 52 are applied efficiently, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 115, concerning the criteria and methodology for applying corrections.
