Treasury and accounting arrangements
1. In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 10, each Member State shall credit own resources to the account opened in the name of the Commission with its Treasury or the body it has appointed.
This account shall be kept in national currency and is free of charge.
2. Member States or the bodies appointed by them shall transmit to the Commission, by electronic means:
(a)
on the working day on which the own resources are credited to the account of the Commission, a statement of account or a credit advice showing the entry of the own resources;
(b)
without prejudice to point (a), at the latest on the second working day following the crediting of the account, a statement of account showing the entry of the own resources.
3. The amounts credited shall be accounted for in euro in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 9 ) (‘Financial Regulation’) and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012 ( 10 ) .
Determining amounts, timing for making available, adjustments
1. After deduction of collection costs in accordance with Article 2(3) and Article 10(3) of Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom, entry of the traditional own resources referred to in Article 2(1)(a) of that Decision shall be made at the latest on the first working day following the nineteenth day of the second month following the month during which the entitlement was established in accordance with Article 2 of this Regulation.
However, for entitlements shown in separate accounts under the second subparagraph of Article 6(3) of this Regulation, the entry must be made at the latest on the first working day following the nineteenth day of the second month following the month in which the entitlements were recovered.
2. If necessary, Member States may be invited by the Commission to bring forward by one month the entry of resources other than the VAT-based own resource and the GNI-based own resource on the basis of the information available to them on the fifteenth of the same month.
Each entry brought forward shall be adjusted the following month when the entry mentioned in paragraph 1 is made. This adjustment shall entail the negative entry of an amount equal to that given in the entry brought forward.
3. The VAT-based own resource and the GNI-based own resource, taking into account the effect on these resources of the correction granted to the United Kingdom for budgetary imbalances and of the gross reduction granted to Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria and Sweden, shall be credited on the first working day of each month, the amounts being one-twelfth of the relevant totals in the budget, converted into national currencies at the rates of exchange of the last day of quotation of the calendar year preceding the budget year, as published in the Official Journal of the European Union , C Series.
For the specific needs of paying expenditure of the EAGF pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, and depending on the Union's cash position, Member States may be invited by the Commission to bring forward by one or two months in the first quarter of the financial year the entry of one-twelfth or a fraction of one-twelfth of the amounts in the budget for the VAT-based own resource and the GNI-based own resource, taking into account the effect on these resources of the correction granted to the United Kingdom for budgetary imbalances and of the gross reduction granted to Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria and Sweden.
After the first quarter, the monthly entry requested may not exceed one-twelfth of the VAT and GNI-based own resources, while remaining within the limit of the amounts entered in the budget for that purpose.
The Commission shall notify the Member States thereof in advance, no later than two weeks before the entry requested.
The eighth subparagraph concerning the amount to be entered in January each year and the ninth subparagraph applicable if the budget has not been finally adopted before the beginning of the financial year shall apply to these advance entries.
Any change in the uniform rate of the VAT-based own resource, in the rate of the GNI-based own resource, in the correction granted to the United Kingdom for budgetary imbalances and in its financing referred to in Article 4 and 5 of Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom, and in the financing of the gross reduction granted to Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria and Sweden shall require the final adoption of an amending budget and shall give rise to readjustments of the twelfths which have been entered since the beginning of the financial year.
These readjustments shall be carried out when the first entry is made following the final adoption of the amending budget if it is adopted before the sixteenth of the month. Otherwise they shall be carried out when the second entry following final adoption is made. By way of derogation from Article 11 of the Financial Regulation, these readjustments shall be entered in the accounts in respect of the financial year of the amending budget in question.
Calculation of the twelfths for January of each financial year shall be based on the amounts provided for in the draft budget, referred to in Article 314(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of European Union (TFEU) and converted into national currencies at the rates of exchange of the first day of quotation following 15 December of the calendar year preceding the budget year; the adjustment shall be made with the entry for the following month.
If the budget has not been finally adopted at the latest two weeks before the entry for January of the following financial year, the Member States shall enter on the first working day of each month, including January, one-twelfth of the amount of the VAT-based own resource, and the GNI-based own resource, taking into account the effect on these resources of the correction granted to the United Kingdom for budgetary imbalances and of the gross reduction granted to Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria and Sweden, entered in the last budget finally adopted; the adjustment shall be made on the first due date following final adoption of the budget if it is adopted before the sixteenth of the month. Otherwise, the adjustment shall be made on the second due date following final adoption of the budget.
4. Each Member State shall, on the basis of the annual statement on the VAT-based own resource base provided for in Article 7(1) of Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1553/89, be debited with an amount calculated from the information contained in that statement by applying the uniform rate adopted for the previous financial year and credited with the 12 payments made during that financial year. However, each Member State's VAT-based own resource base to which that rate is applied may not exceed the percentage determined by Article 2(1)(b) of Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom of its GNI, as referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 2(7) of that Decision. The Commission shall calculate the balance and shall inform the Member States in time for them to enter it in the account referred to in Article 9(1) of this Regulation on the first working day of December of the same year.
5. Any corrections to the VAT-based own resource base under Article 9(1) of Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1553/89 shall give rise for each Member State concerned whose base, allowing for those corrections, does not exceed the percentages determined by Articles 2(1)(b) and 10(2) of Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom to the following adjustments to the balance referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article:
—
the corrections under the first subparagraph of Article 9(1) of Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1553/89 made by 31 July shall give rise to a general adjustment to be entered in the account referred to in Article 9(1) of this Regulation on the first working day of December of the same year. However, a particular adjustment may be entered before that date if the Member State concerned and the Commission are in agreement;
—
where the measures which the Commission takes under the second subparagraph of Article 9(1) of Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1553/89 to correct the base lead to an adjustment of the entries in the account referred to in Article 9(1) of this Regulation, that adjustment shall be made on the date specified by the Commission pursuant to those measures.
The changes to GNI referred to in paragraph 7 of this Article shall also give rise to an adjustment of the balance of any Member State whose base, allowing for the corrections referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph, is capped at the percentages determined by Articles 2(1)(b) and 10(2) of Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom.
The Commission shall inform the Member States of these adjustments in time for them to enter them in the account referred to in Article 9(1) on the first working day of December of the same year.
However, a particular adjustment may be entered at any time if the Member State concerned and the Commission are in agreement.
6. On the basis of figures for aggregate GNI at market prices and its components from the preceding year, supplied by the Member States in accordance with Article 2(2) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1287/2003, each Member State shall be debited with an amount calculated by applying to GNI the rate adopted for the previous financial year and credited with the payments made during that previous financial year. The Commission shall work out the balance and shall inform the Member States in time for them to enter it in the account referred to in Article 9(1) of this Regulation on the first working day of December of the same year.
7. Any changes to the GNI of previous financial years pursuant to Article 2(2) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1287/2003, subject to Article 5 thereof, shall give rise for each Member State concerned to an adjustment to the balance established pursuant to paragraph 6 of this Article. This adjustment shall be established in the manner laid down in the first subparagraph of paragraph 5 of this Article. The Commission shall inform the Member States of these adjustments so that they can enter them in the account referred to in Article 9(1) of this Regulation on the first working day of December of the same year. After 30 September of the fourth year following a given financial year, any changes to GNI shall no longer be taken into account, except on points notified within this time limit either by the Commission or by the Member State.
8. The operations referred to in paragraphs 4 to 7 constitute modifications to revenue in respect of the financial year in which they occur.
The amount of revenue set out in the budget for the current financial year may be increased or reduced, by means of an amending budget, by the amount resulting from those operations in accordance with Article 1(2) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 608/2014.
9. There shall be no subsequent revision of the financing of the gross reductions granted to Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria and Sweden in the event of modifications of the GNI data pursuant to Article 2(2) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1287/2003.
Opt-out adjustment
1. Where, pursuant to the TFEU and its Protocols 21 and 22, a Member State does not take part in the financing of a specific Union action or policy, it shall be entitled to an adjustment, calculated in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article, of the amount it has paid in own resources in respect of each year in which it has not taken part.
2. The Commission shall calculate the adjustment during the year following the financial year concerned, at the same time as it determines the GNI balances provided for in Article 10 of this Regulation.
The calculation shall be made on the basis of the figures relating to the relevant financial year:
(a)
aggregate GNI at market prices and its components,
(b)
the budgetary outturn of operational expenditure corresponding to the measure or policy in question.
The adjustment shall be equal to the product of multiplying the total amount of the expenditure in question, with the exception of that financed by participating third countries, by the percentage that the GNI of the Member State entitled to the adjustment represents of the GNI of all Member States. The adjustment shall be financed by the participating Member States according to a scale determined by dividing their respective GNI by the GNI of all the participating Member States. For the purposes of calculating the adjustment, amounts shall be converted between the national currency and the euro at the exchange rate on the last day of quotation of the calendar year preceding the budget year concerned.
The adjustment for each relevant year shall be made only once and it shall be final in the event of subsequent modification of the GNI figure.
3. The Commission shall inform the Member States in good time of the amount of the adjustment so that they can credit it to the account referred to in Article 9(1) of this Regulation on the first working day of December.
Interest on amounts made available belatedly
1. Any delay in making the entry in the account referred to in Article 9(1) shall give rise to the payment of interest by the Member State concerned.
However, recovery of amounts of interest below EUR 500 shall be waived.
2. In the case of Member States belonging to the Economic and Monetary Union, the interest rate shall be equal to the rate as published in the Official Journal of the European Union , C series which the European Central Bank applied to its main refinancing operations, on the first day of the month in which the due date fell, increased by two percentage points.
This rate shall be increased by 0,25 of a percentage point for each month of delay. The increased rate shall be applied to the entire period of delay.
3. In the case of Member States not belonging to the Economic and Monetary Union, the rate shall be equal to the rate applied on the first day of the month in question by the Central Banks for their main refinancing operations, increased by two percentage points, or, for the Member States for which the Central Bank rate is not available, the most equivalent rate applied on the first day of the month in question on the Member State's money market, increased by two percentage points.
This rate shall be increased by 0,25 of a percentage point for each month of delay. The increased rate shall be applied to the entire period of delay.
4. For the payment of interest referred to in paragraph 1, Article 9(2) and (3) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Irrecoverable amounts
1. Member States shall take all requisite measures to ensure that the amounts corresponding to the entitlements established under Article 2 are made available to the Commission as specified in this Regulation.
2. Member States shall be released from the obligation to place at the disposal of the Commission the amounts corresponding to entitlements established under Article 2 which prove irrecoverable for either of the following reasons:
(a)
for reasons of force majeure;
(b)
for other reasons which cannot be attributed to them.
Amounts of established entitlements shall be declared irrecoverable by a decision of the competent administrative authority finding that they cannot be recovered.
Amounts of established entitlements shall be deemed irrecoverable, at the latest, after a period of five years from the date on which the amount has been established in accordance with Article 2 or, in the event of an administrative or judicial appeal, the final decision has been given, notified or published.
If part payment or payments have been received, the period of five years at maximum shall start from the date of the last payment made, where this does not clear the debt.
Amounts declared or deemed irrecoverable shall be definitively removed from the separate accounts referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 6(3). They shall be shown in an annex to the quarterly statement referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 6(4) and, where applicable, in the quarterly descriptions referred to in Article 5 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 608/2014.
3. Within three months of the administrative decision mentioned in paragraph 2 of this Article or in accordance with the time limits referred to in that paragraph, Member States shall provide a report to the Commission with information on those cases where paragraph 2 of this Article has been applied provided the established entitlements involved exceed EUR 50 000.
That report shall include all the facts necessary for a full examination of the reasons referred to in paragraph 2(a) and (b) of this Article, which prevented the Member State concerned from making available the amounts in question, and the recovery measures the Member State took in the case or cases in question.
That report shall be made on a form established by the Commission. For that purpose the Commission shall adopt implementing acts. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 16.
4. The Commission shall, within six months from the receipt of the report provided for in paragraph 3, communicate its comments to the Member State concerned.
Where the Commission finds it necessary to request additional information, the six-month time-limit shall run from the date of receipt of the requested supplementary information.
