(a)

within the scope of the Fund and within its objectives, as described in Articles 1 and 3 of the basic act;

(b)

within the eligible actions listed in Articles 4 and 6 of the basic act;

(c)

needed to carry out the activities covered by the project, forming part of the multiannual and annual programmes, as approved by the Commission;

(d)

reasonable and comply with the principles of sound financial management, in particular, value for money and cost-effectiveness;

(e)

incurred by the final beneficiary and/or the partners in the project, who shall be established and registered in a Member State, except in the case of international public sector organisations set up by intergovernmental agreements, and specialised agencies set up by such organisations, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. With regard to Article 39 of this Decision, the rules applicable to the final beneficiary shall apply mutatis mutandis to the partners in the project;

(f)

incurred in accordance with the specific provisions in the grant agreement.

(a)

it must be recorded in the accounting records of the final beneficiary;

(b)

it must be determined in accordance with the applicable accounting standards of the country where the final beneficiary is established and with the usual cost accounting practices of the final beneficiary; and

(c)

it must be declared in accordance with the requirements of applicable tax and social legislation.

—

expenditure implementing actions relating to the general objective defined in Article 3(1)(d) of the basic act; expenditures for those actions may be incurred in the territory of the Member States and in third countries,

—

actions relating to the surveillance of external borders; those actions may take place both within and beyond the territory of Member States.

(a)

they are directly linked to the realisation of the project;

(b)

incurred in accordance with national procurement rules established in the Member State;

(c)

the equipment has the technical characteristics necessary for the project and complies with applicable norms and standards;

(d)

the equipment will continue to be used for the same objectives pursued by the project, after the day of purchase and for a minimum duration of:

(a)

Where equipment is purchased before or during the lifetime of the project, the portion of equipment depreciation is eligible on the basis of the duration of use for the project and the rate of actual use for the project.

(b)

Equipment that was purchased before the lifetime of the project, but which is used for the purpose of the project, is eligible on the basis of depreciation. However these costs are ineligible if the equipment was originally purchased through a Community grant.

(c)

Purchase costs of equipment shall correspond to normal market costs and the value of the items concerned is written off in accordance with the tax and accounting rules applicable to the final beneficiary.

(a)

a certificate is obtained from an independent qualified valuer or duly authorised official body establishing that the price does not exceed the market value, either attesting that the real estate is in conformity with national regulations or specifying the points which are not in conformity that the final beneficiary plans to rectify as part of the project;

(b)

the real estate has not been purchased through a Community grant at any time prior to the implementation of the project;

(c)

the real estate is to be used solely for the purpose stated in the project for a period of at least 10 years after the end date of the project unless the Commission specifically authorises otherwise in the case of co-financing of the full or partial costs; in the case of co-financing on the basis of depreciation this period is reduced to 5 years;

(d)

the purchase of the real estate respects the principles of value for money and cost-effectiveness and is being considered as proportionate to the aim to be achieved through the implementation of the project;

(e)

in the case of co-financing on the basis of depreciation, only the portion of the depreciation of these assets corresponding to the duration of use for the project and the rate of actual use for the project is eligible; depreciation shall be calculated according to national accounting rules.

(a)

subcontracting of tasks relating to the overall management of the project;

(b)

subcontracting that adds to the cost of the project without adding proportionate value to it;

(c)

subcontracting with intermediaries or consultants where payment is defined as a percentage of the total cost of the project, unless such payment is justified by the final beneficiary by reference to the actual value of the work or services provided.

(a)

expenditure relating to the preparation, selection, appraisal, management and monitoring of actions;

(b)

expenditure relating to audits and on-the-spot checks of actions or projects;

(c)

expenditure relating to evaluations of actions or projects;

(d)

expenditure relating to information, dissemination and transparency in relation to actions;

(e)

expenditure on the acquisition, installation and maintenance of computerised systems for the management, monitoring and evaluation of the Funds;

(f)

expenditure on meetings of monitoring committees and sub-committees relating to the implementation of actions; this expenditure may also include the costs of experts and other participants in these committees, including third-country participants, where their presence is essential to the effective implementation of actions;

(g)

expenditure for the reinforcement of the administrative capacity for the implementation of the Fund.

(a)

the portion of costs for common measures is charged to the corresponding Fund in a reasonable and verifiable manner; and

(b)

there is no double financing of costs.