• Because it is an important topic for most economic operators, the Arta Albă Editorial Office sent to MIPE a set of questions regarding non-reimbursable financing measures POC 4.1.1. and POC 4.1.1. BIS.
• You can read the response of officials from the Ministry of Investments and European Projects below.
As a result of your request, registered within Ministry of Investments and European Projects with no. 56168/06.04.2023, we inform you of the following:
1. What is the date on which the financing contracts will be posted in the MySMIS platform in the final approved form?
In MySMIS, in order to reach the implementation stage, it is not enough to upload the final contracts, but also the steps of the evaluation/contracting process that was carried out in IMM Recover. The assessment results in IMM Recover remain the same, as does the funding contract that reflects the assessment results. No other contracts are issued in MySMIS in any other form.
During this period, at the AM POC level, sustained efforts are being made to complete the flows of beneficiaries at various stages in MySMIS, which have already been completed for 99% of the 4.1.1 and 4.1.1 BIS beneficiaries. As funding contracts will be signed/transmitted that will require translation into MySMIS, the flows will be created for those projects as well.
2. Can procurement procedures be carried out without the final posting of the Financing Agreement in the MySMIS platform? This question is also related to the relatively short implementation period.
Procurement procedures can be started before the flow is completed in the MySMIS system. We remind you that it is possible for a beneficiary to request a user and password for the platform https://beneficiar.fonduri-ue.ro:8080 prior to uploading the financing contract in MySMIS, because the contract is the one processed in IMM Recover, as a result of the evaluation or entered into force after the evaluation.
Specifically, beneficiaries will request access credentials (user and password) to the e-mail address: achizitiiprivati.poc@mfe.gov.ro (this address being used exclusively for requesting credentials), transmitting the following elements related to the project:
Region:
County:
Address:
SMIS code:
Project name:
Date signed:
Project completion date:
Registration number: (number of the financing contract concluded between MIPE and the beneficiary)
Beneficiary Name:
Beneficiary address:
Contact person name:
Contact person function:
Contact telephone:
FAX contact:
Contact email:
If notices are required with respect to purchases, before this is possible in MySMIS, they can be done by sending the completed standard form to the address monitoring.poc@mfe.gov.ro.
3. There are delays in the transmission of credentials (login data) for procurement procedures - what is the explanation and what possibilities exist to expedite their communication? What solutions are available to beneficiaries who have not received access to the MySMIS system to be able to make purchases with installments?
What other solutions are available to beneficiaries to meet the 31 December 2023 deadline for completion of expenditure given that they have not been given access to MySMIS and many equipment suppliers do not have stock to deliver by the program deadlines ?
So far, no significant delays have been reported in this process, with AM POC granting more than 1300 credentials to the beneficiaries of actions 4.1.1 and 4.1.1 BIS.
4. According to the latest clarifications sent by the Ministry of Investments and European Projects, it is mentioned that the implementation deadline during which payments can be made remains inflexible 31.12.2023, with the specification that delivery, reception, installation (assembly), commissioning can to be carried out even after this date, within a period of - probably - 4 months; this provision can be favorable, with the specification that the development of a contract for the supply of goods requires as the last payment a percentage of the value reserved after commissioning and carrying out technological tests.
In this context, a forced determination to make the last payment no later than 31.12.2023 - without the delivery of machinery/equipment on this date - could lead to the possibility of non-compliance with the goods delivery contract on the part of the supplier, in the situation where the payments are performed in full. What solution would be possible to promote in this situation?
I HAVE POC is looking into this opportunity for POC beneficiaries, and will publish information on this as soon as the details are determined.
5. Verbal communication through the CALL CENTER service - in order to obtain quick and punctual information - is absolutely non-existent and impossible (calls are never answered - statement verified and confirmed by hundreds of call attempts); this communication tool would be very useful, given that it is always recommended to formulate written questions sent to the e-mail address, which are answered with very long delays or even not answered at all; can't identify a solution for operative call pickup?
The call center number receives hundreds of calls every week, even outside call center hours (9.00-14.00), but calls that come in while the operators are engaged in another conversation cannot be answered. Beneficiaries were supported including by responding to emails with speed and calling back. Those who were unable to contact us through the call center encountered these difficulties precisely because of the high volume of telephone information requests compared to the human resources available to the management authority.
6. There is a significant number of appeals filed with reference to the evaluation results; the analysis of appeals and the response to them will generate delays in contracting and - by default - in implementation - if the result of the evaluation will be favorable. Is there a time frame for completing the evaluation of submitted appeals? When is the settlement made in this case? After the full payment is made or when the PIF (Commissioning Minutes) is completed?
At the AM POC level, from September 19, 2022 until now, a number of more than 750 appeals have been filed by the applicants of calls related to 4.1.1. State aid, 4.1.1. De minimis aid, 4.1.1. BIS – constructions and 4.1.1. BIS – food, this stage is still ongoing. Until now, the appeals settlement commissions have made every effort to analyze and resolve more than 600 appeals, therefore we estimate that in the next period the answers for the other submitted appeals will also be completed. All appeals will be answered as they are resolved.
The settlement, for all financing contracts, will be made when all the conditions necessary to achieve this stage are met, for each individual case. All projects related to these actions, including those that have gone through the appeal procedure, as mentioned in point 4, have a deadline of 31.12.2023 for the completion of implementation, especially in terms of spending.
Article written by Gabriela Dan, Editor of Arta Albă
Read on White Art and: 4.1.1 or "chronicle of a deferred measure"
