What can we do if the person we invited to an event (e. g. expert for a seminar) and whose travel is covered by the EuropeAid project did not send his/her boarding passes or if we have only a scanned copy of these but cannot get back the originals?

Article 16 of the General Conditions applicable to EC-financed grant contracts for External Actions, in particular paragraph 16.3, specifies the type of supporting documents which must be provided by the Grant Beneficiary per each group of eligible costs reported. Boarding passes must be provided as proof of payment for travel expenses, together with any other relevant justification. Normally copies of proofs of payment are sufficient to report on expenditure. However the Grant Beneficiary must possess original copies of proofs of payment and be ready to provide them to the EC if requested, this to avoid any possibility of double-funding at the eyes of the Commission. If you are unable to retrieve the original boarding cards, you will provide for certified copies and, if these are not at all available, assemble any kind of documentation proving that the mission/participation to a seminar/conference of the said person has indeed taken place. A declaration signed by the latter shall also be annexed. When working with implementing partners, the Grant Beneficiary may provide for certified copies of proofs of payment of their expenses with financial reports, provided that the implementing partner(s) keeps the original copies safely stored for 7 years as the EC may at any time send auditors to check the correctness of projects' expenditure. It goes without saying that the same rule applies to the Grant Beneficiary.

Date: 24/11/09