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Automatic Decommitment
The date of 31 December is a reminder for those who manage programmes of the decommitment targets to be met.
To find out more about what decommitment is and how it works please consult the INTERACT presentation on decommitment.
The decommitment rule (Article 93 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006) was amended in June 2010. The article by Sheila Maxwell and Przemyslaw Kniaziuk in the December 2010 Interact Newsletter, on page 9, describes the changes introduced to the amendment of the regulation as well as the new method of calculating decommitment targets.
Here you will find some tips on the management of the decommitment risk - Outcomes of the INTERACT seminars on decommitment in ETC programmes, 24 November 2009, Lyon and 28 January 2010, Porto – Article by Sheila Maxwell
And here you will find some more ideas on avoiding decommitment – Outcomes of the INTERACT Cross-programme Analysis on irregularities, recoveries and decommitment, 23 March 2011 Brussels.
Here you will find results of Cross-programme analysis on irregularities, recoveries and decommitment carried out in 2011:
Cross-programme analysis on irregularities, recoveries and decommitment
You can also consult the tool Management of automatic decommitment within the framework of INTERREG III programmes, but please note that it refers to the programming period of 2000-2006.
Questions and answers on automatic decommitment
1. When should advanced payments be deducted from the decommitment target? Should they be deducted only from the first year's target or can you split it among the following years?
Advanced payments are used to reduce the first decommitment target. There is no advantage in splitting the advanced payments.
2. Are submitted project forecasts reliable for the planning of programme financial resources or are they too optimistic?
Project forecasts are normally extremely optimistic. Training of partners on how to prepare forecasts is highly recommended as there can often be confusion between spend forecasts and claim forecasts. For the purpose of managing the decommitment risk, it is important that the forecasts relate to the 'spend' that the partner expects to include in the payment claim to the JTS/MA. This amount can be different to the amount which the partner actually expects to spend as there may be invoices which have not been received or paid, etc. at the time the claim is prepared.
Project spend forecasts are however essential for the effective management of automatic decommitment. When they are reliably prepared, they can give a very good indication as to whether or not there is an automatic decommitment problem.
3. Who should cover the consequences of decommitment? Is the decommitment applicable to the programme budget only or to project budgets as well?
The decommitment procedure diminishes the resources of a programme. The decommitment is generally applicable to the programme's budget, but if the total programme's budget resources have been committed before the decommitment occurs, the projects' budget cuts are unavoidable. Project partners should be aware of this and a respective clause should be put in the subsidy contract. If the decommitment procedure is instituted, the programme Monitoring Committee decides which priority should be affected by the budgetary cuts. The Monitoring Committe also decides which projects should be affected in the case of project budget cuts (eg. only low performing ones or all projects).
Any decommitment to the programme´s budget can influence the programme´s outputs, as the programme will achieve limited outputs with limited budgetary resources. Therefore, apart from programme´s budget amendement, the amendment of the programme's targets should also be considered.
Answers are provided by Sheila Maxwell, an external expert. Please note that these answers are an opinion of an experienced practitioner and not an official position. INTERACT does not warrant or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, product, or process disclosed in or related with this document.
