V alidation of legal entities and financial viability check

1. Validation of legal entities and financial viability check Horizon 2020 Coordinators' Day Antonio BALESTRIERIHead of Sector Participant Validation and Support September 23rd, 2016

2. Outline of the Presentation • Validation workflow • Documents for validation • The LEAR • Financial Viability • Bank accounts • Messages and documents via PP • Guidance Documents

3. 1. Validation Workflow (i) VALIDATION Core Data LEAR H2020Status FVC REGISTER Mandatory appointment Based blue-ink signature documents Validated on the basis of Documents by REA VS & DG BUDG Attribution of status and validated PIC number If needed, financial viability check New participants via the Beneficiary Register COMMUNICATION VIA PARTICIPANT PORTAL'S BENEFICIARY REGISTER

4. 1. Validation Workflow (ii) • The validation of a Participant is done once and lasts for the whole duration of the H2020 programme. • During the validation of a legal entity, the REA VS verifies: • (i) legal existence, • (ii) H2020 status of an applicant, • (iii) Mandate of the LEAR and • (iv) financial viability (when required). • Validation is always performed on the basis of supporting documents • Validation is required for all beneficiaries and third parties. The PIC of third parties, usually included in the consortium during grant preparation, must be introduced in the Participant Portal Grant Management Service (PPGMS).

5. 2. Documents for validation (i) • Legal entities form (template to be completed, dated, stamped and signed) • VAT extract(< 6 months) • If not registered for VAT – proof of VAT exemption • Registration extract(<6 months) – for privatelaw body • Law/decree/decision – for public law body • Treaty – for international organisations • Statutes– for non-profit organisations Based on supporting documents, the H2020 status of the applicantisdetermined

6. 2. Documents for validation (ii) To qualify as "Research" organisation: • Twoconditions have to be met: • Entity must be non-profit. This statusisverified by the REA VS • Entityperformsresearchactivities. This statusisbased on self-declaration(no legal documents required) NB Definition of non-profit organisations: "A legal entity which, by its legal form, is non-profit making AND/OR which has a statutory obligation not to distribute profits to its shareholders or individual members "

7. 2. Documents for validation (iii) SME status via the web-based SME self-assessment (no documents required for VS) • SME self-assessment is part of the Beneficiary Register • REA VS will carry out ex-post checks of the SME status on a random basis and/or upon request of the operational services • In this case, supporting documents will be required

8. 3. The LEAR (i) Under H2020 the LEAR appointment is mandatory. The LEAR: • (i) Notifies the EU of changes in legal data/status; • (ii) Submits legal and financial documents if required; • (iii) Nominates 'Account Administrators' and individuals authorised to sign: • Grant agreements and amendments (Legal signatories i.e. LSIGN) • Financial statements (Financial signatories, i.e. FSIGN) • (v) Informs own staff about the organisation's PIC

9. 3. The LEAR (ii) Documents required for LEAR's extended mandate: • Letter of Appointment (duly signed by legal representative) • Roles and Duties (duly signed by both LEAR and legal representative) • Declaration of Consent (duly signed by legal representative) • Copy ID card of the LEAR • Copy ID card of the legal representative • Proof of empowerment of the legal representative Original signed forms (pdf copies and electronic signatures are NOT accepted) to be sent via postal mail to: Research Executive Agency-Validation Services COV2 – 13/132 B-1049 BRUSSELS Belgium

10. 3. The LEAR (iii) Once LEAR data validated in the Beneficiary Register: • The LEAR's ECAS account needs to be linked to the PIC • Name and email in PP LEAR section shall match name and email address of the linked ECAS account • New LEAR or new email = new account • REA VS will confirm the LEAR (re)appointment • PIN code is usually sent by service-desk via postal mail • Urgent request for PIN code: send an email to EC-Research-IT-helpdesk@ec.europa.eu OR • Provide in the LEAR appointment form the mobile phone number of the LEAR, which will be used by the service-desk only to communicate the PIN code

11. 4. Financial Viability Check (i) • In general, the financial capacity is checked if: • The beneficiary is a coordinator, and • The requested EU funding for the project is ≥ 500 000EUR. • Applicants for mono-beneficiary grants are not considered as 'coordinators' • A financialviability check canbeperformed on otherbeneficiariesat the request of the EU service in charge of the project

12. 4. Financial Viability Check (ii) • The FVC assessment is carried out via the Beneficiary Register. Ratios (weak, acceptable, good) are displayed online • At proposal level, coordinators are asked to self-declare their financial capacity. A self-declaration tool available in the Participant Portal, embeds the same calculations of the formal FVC. Those results, though, are not binding for EU services and if needed later on, a FVC will be performed by the REA VS against supporting documents • Final decision on the participation of an applicant with a 'weak' FVC result (based on the ratios) is taken by the EU services responsible for each individual project

13. 5. Bank accounts • Search for bank account is available in Participant Portal Grant Management Service (PPGMS) when session is open • If no accountexists, PPGMS displays explanatory message on how to request the validation of a BA • Coordinator contact shallinformthe LEAR to start BA creationrequest (upload of documents via the BeneficiaryRegister) • REA VS will launch BA creation and inform LEAR when validation is completed • Pdf copies are accepted. Original forms not required

14. 6. Messages and documents via PP (i) • Upload of documents for validation can be done from the Participant Portal, under the "Documents" tab (pdf copies accepted, except LEAR) • To do so, select 'My Organisations' on the Participant Portal, and click on 'Modify Organisation'. It can be done by the LEAR (for a "valid" PIC) or self-registrant (for a "declared" PIC) • Check "Messages" under PIC for follow-up requests from REA VS • The "Activity log" provides an overview of latest VS requests and actions

15. 6. Messages and documents via PP (ii)

16. 6. Messages and documents via PP (iii) • Messages are exchanged via the Participant Portal and can be seen in the system. • Messages from the REA VS are also sent as email to the participant.

17. 6. Messages and documents via PP (iv)

18. 7. Guidance documents (i) • The H2020 Grants Manual is published on the Participant Portal http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/funding/reference_docs.html#h2020-grants-manual-lev • It includes a dedicated section on the legal and financial validation rules as well as the LEAR role and tasks.

19. 7. Guidance documents (ii) Recurrent issues during the validation process • Incorrect email of self-registrant or LEAR (IT helpdesk) • PIN code not received by the LEAR (IT helpdesk) • Delay in receiving original LEAR documents • Translations of documents from non-EU participants: must be certified + official + legal

20. Thank you for your attention!