Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/67 of 20 October 2022 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing standardised off-the-shelf sampling methodologies and modalities to cover one or more programming periods
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/67of 20 October 2022supplementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing standardised off-the-shelf sampling methodologies and modalities to cover one or more programming periodsTHE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and financial rules for those and for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa PolicyOJ L 231, 30.6.2021, p. 159., and in particular Article 79(4) thereof,Whereas:(1)Through the Guidance on sampling methods for audit authoritiesGuidance on sampling methods for audit authorities, Programming periods 2007-2013 and 2014-2020 (EGESIF_16-0014-01, 20.1.2017)., the Commission services assisted Member States’ authorities in building solid sampling methodologies for carrying out audits of operations to support their annual audit opinions for the implementation of the regulatory framework for the 2007-2013 and the 2014-2020 programming periods. Following the experience and knowledge acquired in that context, Article 79(4) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 envisages as a novelty for the 2021-2027 programming period the use of standardised off-the-shelf sampling methodologies embedded in a delegated act.(2)This Delegated Regulation setting out off-the-shelf sampling methodologies supplements Article 79 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 and therefore should apply to audits of operations supported by all Funds covered by Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 for the programming period 2021-2027.(3)Given that one statistical sample may cover one or more programmes receiving support from the European Regional Development Fund ("ERDF"), the European Social Fund Plus ("ESF+"), the Cohesion Fund and the Just Transition Fund ("JTF"), this Delegated Regulation should lay down modalities to cover a group of programmes by the use of a common sample for these Funds. In addition, for these Funds, the common sample may cover one or more programming periods.(4)In accordance with Article 98(4) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the assurance package does not concern the total amount of eligible expenditure incurred by beneficiaries and paid in implementing operations or the corresponding public contribution made or to be made linked to specific objectives for which enabling conditions are not fulfilled with the exception of operations that contribute to the fulfilment of enabling conditions. It is therefore appropriate to exclude from the sampling population such expenditure, until the accounting year where it will be included in payment applications for reimbursement.(5)Sampling units with negative values or null values should be part of a separate negative population for which an error rate should not be calculated. The audit authorities should be allowed to include the audit of negative units in the audit of accounts or to carry out separate sampling procedures for a negative population. Consequently, it should be clarified that only sampling units with positive values should be part of the audit population for which the total error rate is calculated.(6)In accordance with Article 36(5) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, the Union contribution for technical assistance can be reimbursed in the form of flat-rate financing. The modalities for the treatment of such expenditure in the sampling methodologies should be laid down.(7)Article 80 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 provides for single audit arrangements which can affect sampling procedures. The options available to the audit authorities to apply such single audit arrangements should be clarified as regards operations which cannot be audited in accordance with paragraph 3 of that Article. In particular, the decision to use either the exclusion or replacement of sampling units should be taken by the audit authorities based on their professional judgement. The same treatment can also be applied where supporting documentation of the sampled operations is not available.(8)In accordance with the guidance and established practice in the 2007-2013 and 2014-2020 programming periods, different methodological options using equal probability selection and probability proportional to size selection have been offered to and applied by audit authorities. Based on that experience, sampling rules should be laid down to allow continuity of known methodological options. Audit authorities should be able to use any of the sampling designs including stratification options proposed under this Delegated Regulation for the selection of the main sample.(9)The off-the-shelf sampling methodologies should include multi-period sampling to facilitate the organisation of audit work for the accounting year. Two different approaches for the recalculation of the sample size after the first sampling period should be offered to audit authorities to reflect the established practice and to offer flexibility to use the most advantageous statistical option.(10)With a view to simplifying sampling procedures as well as reducing the administrative burden on beneficiaries and the administrative costs, the audit authorities, when applying the off-the-shelf sampling methodologies, should be able to cap the size of a statistical sample at the level of 50 sampling units. Such an option should be made available for all programmes assessed in category 1 and 2 in accordance with the classification of management and control systems with regard to their effective functioning, set out in Annex XI of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, which are not covered by a sample size of 30 in the framework of enhanced proportionate arrangements pursuant to Article 83 of that Regulation.(11)Where capped sample sizes are not used or where they are applied within multi-period sampling procedures and the audit authorities would like to maintain the capped sample size despite underestimated forecasts of population size or expenditure, information should be provided about how to determine technical sampling parameters. In particular, following established practice and the regulatory framework in the 2007-2013 and 2014-2020 programming periods, it is expected that for systems assessed as having high reliability the confidence level should not be less than 60 % whereas for systems assessed as having low reliability the confidence should not be less than 90 %. Following experience with unilateral testing in the 2014-2020 programming period, the audit authorities should have an option to use bilateral or unilateral testing in their sampling procedures. As the anticipated standard deviation and anticipated error reflect expected values for the population under audit, it is appropriate to clarify that such parameters can be established using a pilot sample, historical data derived from previous sampling procedures and professional judgement.(12)In accordance with Article 79(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, it is possible to use non-statistical sampling methods for populations below 300 sampling units. This Delegated Regulation should set out also off-the-shelf non-statistical sampling methodologies. In that context, it is also appropriate to clarify that the sampling units of exhaustive strata can be included in the minimum coverage of the 10 % of the sampling units in the sampling population.(13)In principle, all the expenditure in the selected sample of operations should be audited. However, to allow for efficient audit procedures during audits of operations, the audit authorities should have the possibility to audit the sampling units of the selected sample using a subsampling methodology, provided it allows for the adequate extrapolation of errors.(14)This Delegated Regulation should not apply to the specific rules on common samples of operations for Interreg programmes to be drawn by the Commission pursuant to Article 49(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1059 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilRegulation (EU) 2021/1059 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 on specific provisions for the European territorial cooperation goal (Interreg) supported by the European Regional Development Fund and external financing instruments (OJ L 231, 30.6.2021, p. 94).. However, statistical and non-statistical off-the-shelf methodologies could be used when audit authorities carry out a sampling exercise in accordance with Article 49(10) of that Regulation and Article 79 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060.(15)The off-the-shelf sampling methodologies laid down in this Delegated Regulation supplement Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 and do not limit the application of other sampling methodologies by the audit authorities under Article 79 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060,HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: