Aid intensity and eligible costs
Article 7
1. For the purposes of calculating the aid intensity and the eligible costs, all figures used shall be taken before any deduction of tax or other charge. The eligible costs shall be supported by documentary evidence which shall be clear, specific and contemporary. The amounts of eligible costs may be calculated in accordance with the simplified cost options set out in Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 and Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, provided that the operation is at least partly financed through the EAFRD and that the category of costs is eligible according to the relevant exemption provision. 2. Aid amounts for the measures or types of operations referred to in Articles 31, 33, 34, 35, 41, 45 and 46 may be fixed on the basis of standard assumptions of additional costs and income foregone. In such cases, Member States shall ensure that the calculations and the corresponding aid contain only elements that are verifiable, are based on figures established by appropriate expertise, indicate clearly the source of the figures used, are differentiated to take account of regional or local site conditions and actual land use, where applicable and do not contain elements linked to investment costs. 3. Value added tax (VAT) shall not be eligible for aid, except where it is not recoverable under national VAT legislation. 4. Where aid is granted in a form other than a grant, the aid amount shall be the gross grant equivalent of the aid. 5. Aid payable in the future, including aid payable in several instalments, shall be discounted to its value at the moment it is granted. The eligible costs shall be discounted to their value on the date of granting the aid. The interest rate to be used for discounting purposes shall be the discount rate applicable on the date of granting the aid. 6. Where aid is granted by means of tax advantages, the discounting of aid tranches shall take place on the basis of the discount rates applicable at the various times the tax advantage takes effect. 7. Where aid is granted in the form of repayable advances which, in the absence of an accepted methodology to calculate their gross grant equivalent, are expressed as a percentage of the eligible costs and where the measure provides that in the case of a successful outcome of the project, as defined on the basis of reasonable and prudent hypothesis, the advances shall be repaid with an interest rate at least equal to the discount rate applicable on the date of granting the aid, the maximum aid intensities laid down in Chapter III may be increased by 10 percentage points.