1. Validation of legal entities and financial capacity check
Horizon 2020 Coordinators' Day
Francisco DE LA TORRE Head of Sector
Participant Validation and Support
September 8th, 2015

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

3. New participants via the
1. Validation Workflow (i)
REGISTER
LEAR
FVC
H2020 Status
Core Data
VALIDATION
New participants via the
Beneficiary Register
on the
Participant Portal
On the basis of
documents
REA VS &
DG BUDG
validate
data
Attribution
of status and
validated
PIC number
Mandatory
LEAR
nomination
process on basis of
blue-ink signature If
needed,
financial
viability
check
COMMUNICATION VIA PARTICIPANT PORTAL'S
BENEFICIARY REGISTER

4. 1. Validation Workflow (ii)
The validation of a participant is unique and stands throughout the entire H2020 programme FP7 validated entities were migrated into H2020 when programme was launched
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 generally 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).
NB: If the third party is a brand new participant, it has to go through the registration in order to obtain the PIC

5. 2. Documents for validation (i)
Legal entities form (template to be completed and signed)
VAT extract (if applicable)
Copies of Registration extract (for private organisations), law/decree (for public entities), treaty (for international organisations)
Copies of Statutes (to verify non-profit status)

6. 2. Documents for validation (ii)
Research organisations:
2 conditions have to be met:
Entity must be non-profit. This status is verified by the REA VS
Entity performs research activities. This status is based 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 wizard
(no documents required for VS)
SME wizard is part of the Beneficiary Register
More than 22,000 self-assessments have been done via the wizard
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 nomination is mandatory because of the electronic management principle governing programme implementation. The LEAR:
(i) Notifies the EU of changes in legal data/status;
(ii) Submits FVC documents if required;
(iii) Nominates in the PP the persons who act as legal representatives and signatories for the organisation and
(iv) Nominates in the PP the persons who sign financial statements.
(v) Informs own staff about the organisation's PIC
The re-validation of FP7 LEAR's started in March The REA VS contacted all most recurrent FP7 clients and has already validated more than 19,000 LEARs with extended H2020 mandate.

9. Research Executive Agency-Validation Services
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 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 name and address are sent to service-desk for creation of the LEAR account
Name and for LEAR account shall match name and address of the known ECAS account
New LEAR or new = new account
REA VS will confirm the LEAR appointment
PIN code is usually sent by service-desk via postal mail
Urgent request for PIN code: send an to 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
NEW

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 ≥ EUR.
Applicants for mono-beneficiary grants are not considered as 'coordinators'
A financial viability check can be performed on other beneficiaries at the request of the EU service in charge of the project

12. 4. Financial Viability Check (ii)
The FVC assessment is carried out by the REA via the Beneficiary Register. Ratios (weak, acceptable, good) are displayed online
At proposal level, coordinators are asked to self-declare on their financial capacity. For this self-declaration a tool is available in the Participant Portal, embedding 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 account exists, PPGMS displays explanatory message on how to request the validation of a BA
Coordinator contact should inform the LEAR to start BA creation request (upload of documents via the Beneficiary Register)
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 tab corresponding to the specific document requested (pdf copies accepted, except LEAR)
For doing so, select 'my organisations' on the Participant Portal, and click on 'View Organisation' or 'Modify Organisation'
This 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

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

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

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

18. 7. Guidance documents
The H2020 Grants Manual is published on the Participant Portal
It includes a dedicated section on the legal and financial validation rules as well as the LEAR role and tasks.

19. Thank you for your attention! Questions?