E.1 - Are travel costs included in Fees and Charges?
Not all travel costs are included in fees or charges; they are charged separately under the following conditions:
- For certification tasks, the fee corresponding to the task does not include the travel costs outside the EU member states (Article 6 (1) and (2) of Implementing Regulation 2019/2153.
- For services related to certification tasks, the travel costs are charged in the same manner as the certification task (Article 6 (1) and (2)).
- For other services (i.e. Training services subject to charges) the cost of travel within and outside the EU member states shall be invoiced in addition to the charges due. Please note that the "e" component is not applicable (Ref. Article 6 and Part IIa Point C of the Annex to CIR (EU) 2019/2153).
- All travel costs shall be divided accordingly amongst applicants if an expert worked on more than one project in the course of a single trip.
- An itemized breakdown of costs shall be provided without supporting documents (e.g. hotel bills, air fare) to protect the personal and financial data of the experts involved
E.2 - How are travel costs charged when they arise from trips which started after 1st January 2020?
|
Activity type |
Travel inside / outside EU |
Charging of travel costs |
| Certification tasks and services related to certification tasks | inside EU | No |
| Certification tasks and services related to certification tasks | outside EU | Yes |
| Training services subject to charges | inside / outside EU | Yes |
E.3 - Standard "per diem" rates for days spent on business trips by experts
Per Diems cover all expenses at the place of assignment including accommodation, meals, incidental expenses and travel allowances paid to staff. The standard rate varies according to the country and is published regularly by the European Commission.
Per diems are charged only for trips which include an overnight stay.
E.4 - Transport costs
Further to the Agency’s travel policy, all experts must use the most appropriate and cost-effective means of transport. As far as possible, public or shared transport shall be used.
Air travel
All flight tickets shall be booked according to the following conditions:
- in economy class or equivalent, at the lowest available rates, taking into account the times of meetings and/or special features of the mission for all segments that involve up to four hours continuous flying time;
- in business class or equivalent, at the lowest available rates, taking into account the times of meetings and/or special features of the mission if the travel includes at least one segment involving at least four hours continuous flying time
If lower fare prices require a weekend stay (Sunday rule), additional per diems may be charged.
Rail travel
All journeys shall be booked in first-class, taking the shortest and most cost-effective route.
E.5 - Travel time
The time spent by an expert in the means of transport is charged at the hourly rate. In general, Standard number of travel hours per destination is used. The standard travel time is comprised of various components:
- Travel time is counted from the time of departure from the normal place of work of the expert (or home, if he/she leaves directly from home) to his/her arrival at the destination. The destination shall be the place at which the certification task or service is to be performed.
- No travel time shall be charged for any kind of transport delay, regardless of the cause.
- No more than 12 hours travel time shall be charged to any calendar day. For the purpose of travel time calculation, a calendar day is calculated on the basis of the local time at destination. This means that if an expert leaves Chicago the evening of day N and lands in Cologne on day N+1 he / she would have been travelling over 2 calendar days.
E.6 - What is the “e” - component?
When travelling to non-EU destinations to conduct certification or service related tasks, the travel costs inside the territories of the Member States have to be deducted from the total travel costs. This is done through the application of the "e" component. The "e" component covers the average time spent by experts in the means of transport inside the territories of the Member States multiplied by the hourly fee as well as the average ticket costs inside the member states. The "e" component shall be clearly indicated in the travel costs break downs provided by the Agency. The total amount of the "e" component shall be revised once a year.
Please find below the evolution of the e-component value, in Euro:
| 1/6/2009 - 31/5/2010 | -1.175,00 |
| 1/6/2010 - 31/5/2011 | -1.187,00 |
| 1/6/2011 - 31/5/2012 | -1.212,00 |
| 1/6/2012 - 31/5/2013 | -1.270,00 |
| 1/6/2013 - 31/3/2014 | -1.300,00 |
| 1/4/2014 - 31/12/2014 | -1.200,00 |
| 1/1/2015 - 31/12/2015 | -1.210,00 |
| 1/1/2016 - 31/12/2016 | -1.210,00 |
| 1/1/2017 - 31/12/2017 | -1.210,00 |
| 1/1/2018 - 31/12/2018 | -1.228,00 |
| 1/1/2019 - 31/12/2019 | -1.248,00 |
| 1/1/2020 - 31/12/2020 | -1.220,00 |
| 1/1/2021 - 31/12/2021 | -1.233,00 |
| 1/1/2022 - 31/12/2022 | -1.253,00 |
| 1/1/2023 - 31/12/2023 | -1.350,00 |
| 1/1/2024 - 31/12/2024 | -1.461,00 |
E.7 - Do I have to pay travel cancellation costs?
If the Agency cancels a trip upon request of the Applicant, any cancellation costs incurred shall be charged to the Applicant. If the trip has to be cancelled upon request of the Agency, cancellation costs shall be borne by the Agency.