Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

• Language HUSRB/1203
• CBC criteria HUSRB/1203
• Financial issues HUSRB/1203
• Eligibility issues HUSRB/1203
• Application, practical information HUSRB/1203
• Implementation HUSRB/1203
• Procurement HUSRB/1203
• State Aid HUSRB/1203

Financial issues HUSRB/1203

1. Will there be any advance for projects?

   Projects selected for financing and having signed the Subsidy Contract for Community Funding will automatically receive an advance which is 15 % of the IPA subsidy. Additionally, Hungarian Project Partners will receive an advance from the Hungarian state contribution which is provided in one amount after concluding the state co-financing contract. In the present Call for Proposals, state co-financing for Project Partners from Serbia is not available.

2. Is there any limitation for the budget line "Equipment/Supply"?

   No, there is no limit for budget lines "5.1 Purchase of new equipment" and "5.2 Rent of equipment". The quality assessment will evaluate whether the planned costs are necessary, realistic and whether they are in line with the value of the purchased equipment. The Applicants should justify their planned procurements thoroughly in the Chapter 5 and 10 of the Application Form.

3. Is there any limitation for the budget line "Staff costs"?

   No, there is no percentage limit for the budget line "Staff costs". The quality assessment will  evaluate whether the planned work time and costs are realistic and in line with the complexity of the project. The Applicants should justify  planned staff costs in Chapter 14 of the Application Form.

4. Does the own contribution have to be ‘public money’?

   No, the own contribution can also be 'private money', meaning that it is not coming from the state budget or the budget of a local government. Non-profit organisations governed by private law (for example associations, foundations, etc) do not have to provide 'public money', but their own contribution, which is considered as 'private'. The eligibility criteria of the Project Partner organisation determines its potential participation, not the form of the own contribution to be made available.

5. What is the purpose of the separate project EUR bank account? Does the LB have to provide its own contribution on this bank account? Do the project partners have to provide their own contribution on this separate bank account?

   The purpose of the separate EUR bank account - to be opened by the Lead Beneficiary - is to manage the Community funding (IPA funding): receiving, further transfer to the Project Partners and transfer of eventual repayments. Own contributions should be handled on other bank accounts of the Lead Beneficiary / Project Partners.

6. What does the term 'result' mean in connection to the financial capacity of the project partners in the Application Form? Where can this data be found in the annual report or in the balances? How does the term have to be interpreted in case of organizations of the state budget?

   As a part of the annual report, the profit and loss account contains the data about the organisation's financial result (profit or loss figure) and that data should be written into the Chapter 2 'Project Partners LB/PP data' - Financial capacity of the Application Form. In case of state budgetary organisations, this result might not exist due to the nature of operations or regulations of the operations (e.g. activities of a given organisation must not result in a profit). In this instance, 0 should be written in this field of the Application Form.

7. Is it possible to pay per diems for persons who are not employed by any of the Project Partners but will take part in a project event as a participant association for example?

   Since these persons are not employed by any of the Project Partners, it is not possible to pay per diems for them.

8. Where can I find information about the per diem rates concerning different countries?

   The list of per diem rates can be found at the following link: per diem rates

9. If we would like to procure a special software for the implementation of our project, in which budget line of the Application Form should we plan the relevant costs?

   In case of procurement of off-the-shelf software (ready-made software products), the planned amount should be budgeted under "5.1 purchase of new equipment". In case you are procuring software development services, it should be budgeted under "4.11 Other" budget line.

10. Is it possible that one Project Partner within the Partnership provides the required own contribution for the whole partnership?

    No, it is not possible. All members of the Partnership (the Lead Beneficiary and the Project Partners) have to provide their own contribution separately, according to their respective budgets covering their Project part. As described in Chapter 1.6 of the Guidelines for Applicants, the implementation of specific project parts is the responsibility of the given Project Partner, both from professional and financial point of view.

11. Can a Project Partner from Serbia provide additional own contribution, i.e. more than 15%?

    The own contribution is automatically generated by the Application Form as 15% for Serbian partners. The project part should be professionally completed with this fixed amount of own contribution (detailed in the Application Form and to be reported). If your organisation decides that involvement of additional funds is crucial for some other project activities, then the additional amounts can be indicated in 'Chapter 11 Sources of Funding' of the Application Form in the field Funding from other sources); however, this extra funding will not be taken into account and reported later on as part of the project budget. Therefore, the activities implemented from the project budget and the activities implemented from additional funds should be independent from each other.

12. Can a team member receive salary from the project both on permanent and fixed term work contract?

    According to Chapter 2.4.3 of the Guidelines for Applicants: "The staff must be employed […] with a valid work contract (full-time OR part-time for the project)." This means that a team member can receive salary from the project either based on a permanent or a fixed term work contract, the combination of the two contract types is not eligible.

13. In what form does the own contribution of the Project Partners have to be provided? What has to be attached to the Application Form in this respect?

    The own contribution of the respective Project Partners has to be secured in cash (national currency or EUR according to the decision of the Applicant). In kind contributions are not eligible. At the time of submission of the application the own contribution does not have to be on the bank account; however, each Project Partner has to state the availability of funds in the Declaration by the Applicant.