GRANT CONTRACT
The Grant Contract is the main legal document governing the project — it sets out responsibilities, reporting requirements, eligibility of costs, accounting and payment rules for the whole partnership.
What makes up the Grant Contract
Nine annexes (I–IX) form the Grant Contract — compulsory, and may not be amended without written CA/IBFM agreement.
Description of the Action & Logframe
The project as proposed at application. Impact, outcomes, outputs and indicators must be closely monitored — changes affecting results need prior written agreement.
General Conditions
Administrative provisions: reporting, ownership of equipment, monitoring, accounts, checks, extension, suspension, termination, payment methods.
Budget of the Action
Detailed financial structure agreed before signature. Amendments follow the rules in Section 4 (Amendments to the Contract).
Award Procedures
Procurement rules for Grant beneficiaries when purchasing services, supplies or works (mainly budget headings 3–6). See Section 6.
Payment Request & FIF
Standard template to request funds, plus the Financial Identification Form for bank account details — used for every pre-financing and the final balance.
Report Models
Templates for Interim narrative, Final narrative and Financial report — used depending on the reporting phase. See Section 8.
Expenditure Verification ToR
Required only for grants above €100,000. Independent auditor's report follows this template. See Section 5.
Financial Guarantee
Required only if foreseen under Article 4 of the Special Conditions, to secure the CA/IBFM's initial payment.
Transfer of Ownership
Used when equipment/supplies are transferred to local partners or final beneficiaries — certificate due with the final report.
Rules to keep in mind throughout implementation
EU finances a %, not a part
The EU co-finances a percentage of total eligible costs — not a specific activity or line.
Grant amount is capped
No increase in the Grant is possible, even if eligible costs turn out higher than budgeted.
Procurement rules apply
Any contract awarded for the project must follow Annex IV — transparency, confidentiality, fair competition, no conflict of interest.
Visibility is mandatory
All necessary measures must ensure the visibility of EU financing, per the EC visibility guidance.
No cash, no fund transfers out
Payments go by bank transfer; no transfers from the project account except to parties directly involved in the project.
Keep hard-copy records
Procedures, outputs and expenditures must be recorded and filed with supporting documents for verification.
No double financing
The same expenditure can never be financed twice from EU funds or from more than one source.
No-profit rule
Any project income must be declared; if a profit results, the Grant is reduced by the EU's share of that profit.
Parties to the contract
The Grant beneficiaries and the CA/IBFM are the only parties. The Coordinator represents the whole partnership before the CA/IBFM and Programme bodies.
Implementation period
Starts as stipulated in Article 2 of the Special Conditions — track it closely, it anchors every deadline in this Manual.
Execution period
Ends when the balance is paid, and in any event at the latest 18 months after the end of the implementation period.