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1. Every item of expenditure shall be committed, validated, authorised and paid. At the end of the periods referred to in Article 114, the unused balance of budgetary commitments shall be decommitted. When executing operations, the authorising officer responsible shall ensure that the expenditure is in compliance with the Treaties, the budget, this Regulation, and other acts adopted pursuant to the Treaties as well as with the principle of sound financial management.

2. Budgetary commitments shall be made and legal commitments entered into by the same authorising officer, except in duly justified cases. In particular, in the field of crisis management aid and humanitarian aid operations, legal commitments may be entered into by Heads of Union delegations, or in their absence by their deputies, on the instruction of the authorising officer responsible of the Commission who remains fully responsible, however, for the underlying transaction. The personnel employed by the Commission in the field of crisis management aid and humanitarian aid operations may sign legal commitments linked to payments executed from imprest accounts of a value not exceeding EUR 2 500. The authorising officer responsible shall make a budgetary commitment before entering into a legal commitment with third parties, provisioning of financial liabilities referred to in Article 214, or transferring funds to a Union trust fund referred to in Article 238. The second subparagraph of this paragraph shall not apply:

(a) to legal commitments concluded following a declaration of a crisis situation in the framework of a business continuity plan, in accordance with the procedures adopted by the Commission or by any other Union institution under its administrative autonomy;

(b) in the case of humanitarian aid operations, civil protection operations and crisis management aid, if efficient delivery of the Union’s intervention requires that the Union enter into a legal commitment with third parties immediately and if prior booking of the individual budgetary commitment is not possible;

(c) to non-financial donations. In the cases referred to in the third subparagraph, point (b), the budgetary commitment shall be booked without delay after entering into a legal commitment with third parties.

3. The authorising officer responsible shall validate expenditure by accepting that an item of expenditure is charged to the budget, after having checked the supporting documents attesting the creditor’s entitlement as per the conditions set in the legal commitment when there is a legal commitment. For that purpose, the authorising officer responsible shall:

(a) verify the existence of the creditor’s entitlement;

(b) determine or verify the reality and the amount of the claim through the endorsement ‘certified correct’;

(c) verify the conditions according to which payment is due. Notwithstanding the first subparagraph, the validation of expenditure shall also apply to interim or final reports not associated with a payment request in which case the impact on the accounting system is limited to the general accounts.

4. The validation decision shall be expressed through electronically secured signature in accordance with Article 149 by the authorising officer, or by a technically competent member of staff duly empowered by a formal decision of the authorising officer, or, exceptionally, for paper workflow take the form of a stamp incorporating that signature. With the endorsement ‘certified correct’ the authorising officer responsible, or a technically competent member of staff duly empowered by the authorising officer responsible, shall certify:

(a) for pre-financing: that the conditions required in the legal commitment for the payment of the pre-financing are met;

(b) for interim and balance payments in contracts: that the services provided for in the contract have been properly provided, the supplies properly delivered or that the work has been properly carried out;

(c) for interim and balance payments in grants: that the action or work programme carried out by the beneficiary is in all respects in compliance with the grant agreement, including, where applicable that the costs declared by the beneficiary are eligible. In the case referred to in the second subparagraph, point (c), cost estimates shall not be deemed to comply with the eligibility conditions set out in Article 189(3). The same principle shall also apply to interim and final reports not associated to a payment request.

5. In order to authorise the expenditure, the authorising officer responsible shall, after having verified that the appropriations are available, issue a payment order to instruct the accounting officer to pay the amount of expenditure which was previously validated. Where periodic payments are made with regard to services rendered, including rental services, or goods delivered, the authorising officer may, subject to that officer’s risk analysis, order the application of a direct debit system from an imprest account. The application of such a system may also be ordered if it is specifically authorised by the accounting officer in accordance with Article 86(3).