Payment of the aid, including advance payments of aid

1. Advances of aid shall only be paid by the competent authority upon presentation of an application in accordance with Article 3a of this Regulation and, where the lodging of the security referred to in Article 15b of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/127 ( *2 ) is required, of the documentary evidence of the lodging of the security, unless the competent authority already has proof that the security has been lodged.

2. Aid for the reimbursement of the expenses incurred in the implementation of the school scheme shall only be paid by the competent authority upon presentation of an application together with the required supporting evidence in accordance with Article 4. Aid shall be paid within 3 months of the date of submission of the aid application unless administrative inquiries have been initiated.

Where an advance has been paid, the payment of the aid equals the difference between the amount of the aid to be paid and the amount of the advance paid.

( *2 ) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/127 of 7 December 2021 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 of the European Parliament and of the Council with rules on paying agencies and other bodies, financial management, clearance of accounts, securities and use of euro ( OJ L 20, 31.1.2022, p. 95 ).’;"

in Article 6, paragraph 2, is replaced by the following:

‘2. Transfers between definitive allocations, according to Article 23a(4), third subparagraph, point (b), of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, where no transfers between indicative allocations have been made, shall be notified either in the request for Union aid referred to in Article 3 of this Regulation or in the notification referred to in the second subparagraph of this paragraph.

Where Member States make transfers of definitive allocations after 31 January in accordance with the first subparagraph of this paragraph, they shall notify them to the Commission by 31 August following the school year concerned.’

Article 9 is amended as follows:

paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1. Member States shall take all necessary measures to comply with this Regulation. Those measures shall include systematic administrative checking of all applications for advances of aid referred to in Article 3a and applications for aid referred to in Article 4, prior to the payment. Member States shall check, for each application, a representative sample of the supporting documents submitted with the application.’

paragraph 2 is deleted

paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:

‘4. In case of aid applied for relating to the supply and distribution of products and accompanying educational measures, the administrative checks conducted with respect to aid applications referred to in Article 4 shall be supplemented by on-the-spot checks in accordance with Article 10.’.

COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2023/1449 of 12 June 2023 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/39 as regards payment of the aid, transfers between allocations and administrative checks