Process description and steps

The general concepts of the Grant Management Services system also apply to the reporting process.  For a detailed description of the roles mentioned in this process, see the  Roles and access rights section in the Online Manual. 

Step 1: The Coordinator and the terminated beneficiary receive a notification and log on to the Funding & Tenders  Portal

 Please note that the below tasks are only for the terminated beneficiary (so not for the other beneficiaries) and for the coordinator.   

Once a beneficiary is terminated, the coordinator and the concerned beneficiary will receive a notification via the Portal Notification System (PNS) with a "Termination report" task for completion:

1. the "Termination Report" consisting of:

• Terminated beneficiary's contribution to the Technical Part of the report (for the current reporting period up to the termination date);
  

• The Financial Statement of the terminated beneficiary (and the financial report of their Third Party, if any) and the Certificate on the Financial Statement (if required).

Note: 

• • If the "Termination Report" is not received, only the costs in approved periodic reports will be taken into account.
  • The financial statement and the use of resources contained in the beneficiary’s termination report submitted to the European Commission/Executive Agency will be automatically included in the financial part of the periodic report for the next reporting period. 
  • For lump sum grants: there will be no financial statement to be submitted and included in the termination report and in the financial part of the periodic report for the next reporting period. 

2. Report on the Distribution of Payments to the beneficiary concerned (not mandatory, to be completed by the coordinator).
If the coordinator fails to submit the report on the distribution of payments, the beneficiary whose participation was terminated will not have to repay any amounts.  

To fill in the information the beneficiary must log on to the Funding & Tenders Portal and access the relevant project. 

 The reporting process for the terminated beneficiary is available for MSCA-IF-EF/GF (MFF 2014-2020) and MSCA-PF-EF/GF (2021-2027) in case of "Change of Host Institution".

In this case, the distribution of tasks will be the following:

• the terminated Coordinator and only beneficiary (the Host institution) will have the tasks to submit:
  • the Financial Statement;
  • the Technical Part.
• the new Coordinator and only beneficiary (the new Host Institution) will have the tasks to submit:
  • the Distribution of Payments;
  • the Termination Report.

Step 2: The terminated beneficiary completes its own Financial Statement and the contribution to the Technical Part of the Termination Report. The beneficiary e-signs and submits its Financial Statement to the Coordinator

A. Completing your Financial Statement (financial part of the Termination Report)

a. Draft the financial statement.

The Participant Contact usually performs this action (also users with the roles Project Financial Signatories and Task Managers can  perform this action).

Click on the task "Financial Statement" and complete the costs.  Click  here  to find more information on how to complete your financial statement. 

Complete the requested information and, if required, upload a Certificate on the Financial Statements and fill in the necessary data.

If necessary, you may: 

• view the certificate or
• delete the certificate 

If a third party has been terminated in an interim period, and their CFS contribution exceeds the threshold:
1. The system will  ask for a CFS when they enter their costs;
2. The system will show the CFS tab when the EC assessment is opened in SyGMa.

CFS requirements for audited beneficiaries: 

• if the funding requested for non-audited costs is above the CFS submission threshold, a CFS needs to be uploaded;
• if the funding requested for non-audited costs is below the CFS submission threshold, there is no obligation to submit a CFS.

 If an audit is initiated during the reporting process, the total EU contribution eligible for CFS is updated automatically. Additionally, a warning 'icon' is displayed.

Save and click the Validation button to see whether you have filled in all information as required. Then close the current screen and return to the Funding & Tenders Portal. 

aa. Lock the financial statement for review

  The Participant Contact usually performs this action 

  Click the "Lock for Review" button, which will prevent further editing  and generate a PDF document (this might take a few minutes.) 

For MFF 2014-2020, please note that:

• for MSCA-ITN the documents for the recruitment table for the terminated beneficiary (submitted Researcher Declarations for which the terminated beneficiary is the Hosting Organisation) are generated 

• for MSCA-RISE the documents for the secondments table for the terminated beneficiary are generated (submitted Researcher Declarations for which one of the following two conditions are fulfilled: 1. the terminated beneficiary is the Sending Organisation; 2. the terminated beneficiary is the Destination (Hosting) Organisation and a Partner Organisation is the Sending Organisation)

aaa. Review the Financial Statement and sign & submit it to the coordinator  

  Only users with the role Project Financial Signatory (PFSIGN) can perform this action. 

(  Note that also users with the roles Participant Contacts, Coordinator Contacts, Primary Coordinator Contacts, Task Managers and Team Members can open the PDF to see the data, but that they can't unlock the data).

Click on the task "Financial Statement" to review the financial statement. 

Once reviewed, the Financial Statement can be unlocked ("Unlock to draft") for further editing or electronically signed & submitted ("Sign and Submit") to the coordinator.

The system will then ask you to confirm that the information is valid. 

Once you have confirmed, the system will ask you to complete your EU Login password, in order to electronically sign the Financial Statement (the comment box is optional). 

At this point you have completed your Financial Statement. Your statement has been electronically signed & submitted to the Coordinator. It is accessible via the task Termination Report composition. Please click on the Financial Statement link and then on the pdf   to consult the data you have submitted to the coordinator.

B. Completing the contribution to the Technical Part of the Termination Report

b. Complete the Technical Part

  The Participant Contact usually performs this action (also  users with the roles Project Financial Signatories and Task Managers can perform this action)

Click on the task "Technical Part of the Termination Report" to complete the requested information. Download the template for the Technical Termination Report and complete the requested data. 

Upload the Technical Termination Report and then click the "Save" button. 

The validation button gives you an overview of errors which prevent you from saving. Close the current screen and return to the Funding & Tenders Portal.

bb. Lock the Technical Report for review 

  Only users with the role Coordinator Contact and Primary Coordinator Contact can perform this action. 

Click the "Lock for Review" button, which will prevent further editing and generate a pdf document (This might take a few minutes: keep refreshing the page to see the PDF). 

For MSCA-PF-EF/GF: Once the Technical Part is locked for review, a mobility tab containing the data introduced for the terminated beneficiary during Continuous Reporting will be automatically generated and included in the Termination Report. Apart from the Duration of the mobility, the "Mobility Declarations" table will also display the Duration (in Person/Month) within the current Reporting Period. 

You can access the Termination Report by clicking the process link.

bbb.  Review the Technical report and accept and include it for submission to the EU

  Only users with the role Coordinator Contact and Primary Coordinator Contact perform this action. 

(  Note that also users with the roles Financial Signatories, Legal Signatories, Task Managers and Team Members can open the PDF to see the data, but that they can't unlock the data, nor accept & include the report).

Once reviewed, the Technical report can be unlocked ("Unlock to draft") for further editing or accepted and included ("Accept & Include") in the Termination Report (you might have to refresh the page to see the buttons appear).

Step 3: The Coordinator completes the report on the distribution of the payments 

The Coordinator should complete the report on the distribution of the payments to the terminated beneficiary and submit it to the EU. The submission of this report is not mandatory. Yet, if the report is not received, it is considered that the coordinator did not distribute any payment to the beneficiary concerned and that the beneficiary concerned must not repay any amount to the coordinator.

  Only users with the role Coordinator Contact and Primary Coordinator Contact perform this action.

Click on Distribution of Payments to edit the report. 

Specify the total amount paid to the terminated beneficiary and related affiliated entity (if any).

Click the "Lock for Review" button, which will prevent further editing and generate a PDF document ( This might take a few minutes).

Once reviewed, the Distribution of Payments report can be unlocked ("Unlock to draft") for further editing or accepted and included ("Accept & Include") in the Termination Report (you might have to refresh the page to see the buttons appear).

Once included in the Termination Reporting, the Distribution of Payments report can be further edited by clicking the  button.

Step 4: The Coordinator approves the elements of the Termination Report & submits to the EU

The Coordinator must review and explicitly approve those elements of the Termination Report, which s/he wishes to submit to the EU. The coordinator can:

• s/he can unlock the Technical Part of the Termination Report for further editing (by clicking the   button)
• accept or reject a Financial Statement back to a beneficiary for further editing  (by clicking the or the   button)
• s/he can unlock the Distribution of Payments Statement for further editing (by clicking the   button)

To approve or reject an element of the Termination Report, click on the task Termination  Report composition. The screen below appears. Click on the Include /Redo button to approve or reject an element (Financial Statement, Technical Part of the Termination Report, Distribution of Payments Statement). 

Only users with the role Coordinator Contact and Primary Coordinator Contact can perform this action. 

Once the elements of the Termination Report are approved, the Termination Report can be submitted to the EU. 

To submit click on the button Submit to EU  (  at least the technical part needs to be included for the Submit to EU button to become available). 

Only users with the role Coordinator Contact and Primary Coordinator Contact can perform this action. 

A confirmation message will be prompted.

The process goes to the status Submitted and the process turns blue (this means the process is in the hands of the EU now). 

For MFF 2014-2020, please note that: 

• For MSCA-ITN the following constraints apply:
  • the Researcher Declarations pertaining to the Terminated Beneficiary can't extend after the Beneficiary Termination Date: if any of the submitted Researcher Declarations pertaining to the Terminated Beneficiary have an end date that’s later than the Beneficiary Termination Date, then the Financial Statement or the Technical Part of the Termination Report cannot be locked for review.
    In order to proceed, users responsible for Researcher Declarations that exceed the Beneficiary Termination Date will have to update the Recruitment/Secondment periods and set a correct end date.
  • it is mandatory that the Researcher Declarations are consistent between the Researchers Screen, the terminated Beneficiary Financial Statement, and the Technical Part of the Termination Report, that is, the Researcher Declarations for the Terminated Beneficiary should not be changed once either the Financial Statement or the Technical Part have been locked for review. The system will not prevent such changes, but the submission of the Termination Report will be blocked if any inconsistency is detected. In order to proceed, concerned users will have to restore consistency by either changing back the Researcher Declarations or re-opening the Technical/Financial parts in order for them to be updated before they are locked again.
  • The Coordinator will be able to edit and delete any Researcher Declaration (independently of whether the Recruiting Organisation is terminated or not).
    
    

• For MSCA-RISE the following constraints apply:

  • the Researcher Declarations pertaining to the Terminated Beneficiary can't extend after the Beneficiary Termination Date: if any of the submitted Researcher Declarations pertaining to the Terminated Beneficiary have an end date that’s later than the Beneficiary Termination Date, then the Financial Statement or the Technical Part of the Termination Report cannot be locked for review.
    In order to proceed, users responsible for Researcher Declarations that exceed the Beneficiary Termination Date will have to update the Recruitment/Secondment periods and set a correct end date.
  • it is mandatory that the Researcher Declarations are consistent between the Researchers Screen, the terminated Beneficiary Financial Statement, and the Technical Part of the Termination Report, that is, the Researcher Declarations for the Terminated Beneficiary should not be changed once either the Financial Statement or the Technical Part have been locked for review. The system will not prevent such changes, but the submission of the Termination Report will be blocked if any inconsistency is detected. In order to proceed, concerned users will have to restore consistency by either changing back the Researcher Declarations or re-opening the Technical/Financial parts in order for them to be updated before they are locked again.
  • The Coordinator will be able to edit and delete any Researcher Declaration (independently of whether the Sending Organisation or the Secondment Organisation is terminated or not).

Step 5: The EU reviews the submitted  Termination Report.   

Upon submission, the EU will assess the  Termination Report. In case the EU judges that the  Termination Report is incomplete, the EU can request for a revision of the report. In this case, the coordinator and terminated beneficiary will be notified via Formal Notifications, and the cycle repeats as of Step 1 and the EU will re-assess, upon re-submission of the revised Termination Report. In case the EU judges that the  Termination Report is complete, the EU will assess any costs submitted by the terminated beneficiary. On the basis of the submitted costs and the distribution of payments to the terminated beneficiary, the EU will calculate the 'amount which is due' for the terminated beneficiary.  

Further the EU will complete the process for the  Termination Report. As a result, the terminated beneficiary and the coordinator will be notified in a  Beneficiary  Termination Calculation Pre-information Letter, via Formal Notifications, about the 'amount which is due' and the balance, and: 

• If the balance is in favour of the terminated beneficiary, those amounts will be included in the calculation of the next payment to the consortium (interim or final) 

• if the balance is in favour of the consortium (i.e. the beneficiary has received excess), it must repay the amount, usually to the consortium via the coordinator. 

Step 6a: The Coordinator does not agree with the content of the Beneficiary Termination Calculation Letter and uploads observations 

A letter containing the decision regarding the 'amount which is due' is sent by the EU via a Formal Notification. The Coordinator and the terminated beneficiary will be notified about the sending of this letter via the Participant Notification System. The Formal Notification will be found under "My Notifications" section of the Funding & Tenders Portal and needs acknowledgment of receipt.

To acknowledge the Formal Notification, click on the link and, when prompted, provide your EU Login password and click  Sign.

You will now be able to download all letter attachment individually (by clicking on the corresponding arrow) or an archive (by clicking  Download .zip).

After receiving this letter and its attachments, the Coordinator has 30 days to submit observations on the letter, if it does not agree with its content (including any observations by the terminated beneficiary). 

If you need to consult the letter, you can find it in the task that has been just created for the upload of observations - click the link to the document to download it.

The letter is also stored under  Process Documents  - it can be accessed and downloaded from there. To download it, click the link and then the download icon:

To upload the observations document, click on the Upload button:

Then click Add new attachment to attach the document:

To remove the attached document, you just need to click on the "X". 

Once the uploading is finished, click OK:

After uploading the observations, click Submit to EU to send them to the EU. A notification will be sent to the Commission to inform that the observations have been submitted.

If the Observations document has been successfully submitted, the corresponding action is not available anymore. The submitted Observations document will be added to the Process documents section.

Step 6b: The Coordinator agrees with the content of the Beneficiary Termination Calculation Letter and closes the process without observations

If the Coordinator and the terminated beneficiary agree with the content of the letter, complete the process without sending any observations. For this, you need to click the Close without Observations button:

After the observations have been submitted or the process has been closed without observations, the EU will state its final position via a Formal Notification containing the "Beneficiary Termination Calculation Final Letter". 

The Coordinator will be notified about the sending of this letter via the Participant Notification System. The Formal Notification will be found under "My Notifications" section of the Funding & Tenders Portal and needs acknowledgment of receipt.

As before, to acknowledge the Formal Notification, click on the link and, when prompted, provide your EU Login password and click  Sign. You will be then able to download all letter attachment individually (by clicking on the corresponding arrow) or an archive (by clicking  Download .zip).

The process will be now completed and can be found in the  Archived Processes  section.

Step 7: The Coordinator confirms the reimbursement from the terminated beneficiary 

In case of the beneficiary has received amounts in excess, the coordinator will have to confirm that it has been reimbursed by the terminated beneficiary . 

To upload the confirmation document, click on the  Upload  button:

Then click  Add new attachment  to attach the document:

To remove the attached document, you just need to click on the  "X" . 

Once the uploading is finished, click  OK :

After uploading the confirmation, click Complete  to send it to the EU. 

If the confirmation document has been successfully submitted, the corresponding action is not available anymore.