You have just submitted your project’s final report, are still waiting for the EC feedback and want to know what to expect next. To wit:

• The EC has 90 days to review your report and release the final payment.
  
  
• During this time, you may be asked questions regarding both the technical and financial aspects of the report:
  – sent by email by your project or financial officer – it is usually used to clarify minor issues and inaccuracies.
  – shared in the form of an official suspension letter. In that case, the 90-day deadline for the EC is suspended until you provide the required clarification. You usually have 15 days to do so.

If you have already completed the above step (or didn’t get any questions) and you’ve received a review report:

• Let’s start by saying that the review report was prepared in collaboration with an external expert, whose role is to evaluate the project results and verify whether you have delivered what you promised in the submitted proposal and GA.
  
  
• It focuses primarily on the technical aspects of your project but also addresses certain management and financial matters.
  
  
• What should you do if you disagree with the findings in the review report? You have the right to provide observations, and you have 30 days to do so (as per the EC official letter).
  
  

What about the financial assessment?

• EC notes that a positive assessment of the technical work does not guarantee that the cost will be accepted – basically it means that a positive assessment of the technical aspects does not guarantee that all declared costs will be accepted (for example, in a situation where the auditor has described certain irregularities in the submitted audit report – feel free to check our article on the CFS).
  
  
• Therefore, once you receive the review report, it’s a good idea to reach out to your project officer to confirm whether you should expect any questions about the project’s finances.
  
  
• If no questions have been raised or if you have already responded to them, you will receive a payment letter with the information on the costs accepted (and those rejected) along with the calculation of the final payment (if any).
  
  
• If any costs are rejected and you disagree with the EC assessment, you have 30 days to submit observations and defend the challenged costs. The observations must be submitted via the Funding and Tenders Portal.

If you are not sure how to respond to specific comments in the review report or want to know what your chances are of defending rejected costs – just get in touch, we will be happy to help: [email protected]