Summary of reimbursement rules for travel to meetings and training schools
Summary of the most important rules for travel to meetings and training schools created according to the version 8 of the COST Vademecum as of May 2020 (Section 5 “Meetings – Financial Support” and Section 6 “Training Schools – Guidelines to follow”). Regarding the detailed explanation of the rules and the covered expenses not listed here (e.g. Visa or child-related expenses), please consult directly the COST Vademecum. These rules do NOT apply to STSMs, ITC grants and Dissemination Meetings. This summary is just meant to ease the understanding of the rules and does not overwrite any rules stated in the COST Vademecum that remains the only binding document. For the official and complete reference, please read carefully the COST Vademecum (Section 5 “Meetings – Financial Support” and Section 6 “Training Schools – Guidelines to follow”)).
E-cost account
• if you don’t have an e-cost account, please create one here.
• if you do have an account, please check your profile on e-COST (login to e-services.cost.eu, click on your name → ‘My profile’) and see if no crucial information is missing (name and last name as written in your ID card, country of residence, email, IBAN) or is either incorrect or outdated.
In general
Only travels from your residing country (as registered on the e-COST profile) to the country of the event are covered.
• Travels from or to other destinations constitute rule derogations.
• Interruptions of the travel and intermediate stays (other than for changing flights) constitute rule derogations.
• Any rule derogations have to be approved by the Grant Holder prior to making any bookings.
• You are asked to evaluate travel options considering economical factors while making your arrangements as soon as possible after receiving the e-cost invitation to the event in order to limit your expenses. Do note that cancellation insurances are eligible for reimbursement for train/bus/ferry or flight (see after).
Travel dates (door to door)
• Travel start means the day and time when you get out from your home or office and start your travel towards the location of the event.
• Travel end means the day and time when you reach your home or office at the end of your travel back from a event.
Flight, bus, trains and ferries
• For flights, expenses cannot exceed 1.200€.
• When the overall one-way travel to reach or come back from the event location covers a distance shorter than 100 km without crossing any country border (i.e. when the participant is a local one that lives near the location of the event and in the same country), bus, train and ferry travel are considered as local transport and are included in the daily allowance (see after). Viceversa, when the overall one-way travel to reach or come back from the event location covers a distance longer than 100 km or crossing a country border, bus, train and ferry travel costs are considered part of the expenses of long-distance travels, even if one of these covers a distance shorter than 100km. They are thus not included in the daily allowance and are reimbursed separately. For this latter case, the expenses have to be documented by uploading the corresponding tickets/receipts/invoices and a print out from a reputable online route planner (e.g. Google maps) showing the route taken and km traveled needs to be provided.
• For flights, only economy class tickets can get reimbursed. First, second and business class are eligible for reimbursement for bus, train and ferries as well as supplements for fast trains and sleeper trains.
• Flights are always considered long-distance travel, even domestic flights. Flight costs have to be documented by uploading tickets and itinerary/boarding passes that include the following information: date, time of departure and location of departure and arrival, date, time of arrival and location of departure and arrival, ticket class (economy for flights), name of the passenger, amount paid.
• For flights/bus/train/ferry, seat reservations, extra leg room, exit row sets, fast lane, priority boarding, luggage expenses (but no luggage insurance), administrative fees charged by travel agencies and cancellation insurances are eligible for reimbursements.
Car travel
• Car travel towards the event location or to reach the main mode of long-distance travel is reimbursed at EUR 0.35 per km. In the event that several participants are traveling in the same car, only the driver can be reimbursed. When the overall one-way travel to reach or come back from the event location covers a distance shorter than 100 km without crossing any country border (i.e. when the participant is a local one that lives near the location of the event and in the same country), car travel is considered as local transport and is included by the daily allowance (see after).
• Toll charges, car rental, special equipment are not covered.
• Car travel is up to 2000 km for the whole journey. Km to be reimbursed have to be proven with a print out of a reputable online route planner (e.g. Google maps).
Accommodation, meals and local transports – daily allowance
• The three types of expenses are covered by a daily allowance multiplied by the number of days of participation, as attested by the signatures of the participants on the attendance list, plus up to 1.4 additional days to account for expenses on the travel days (see explanations point 2 of this FAQ). Do note that unlike before, no additional days can be granted by means of a rule derogation. Participants must sign the attendance list for each day of the event they participate in order to receive the corresponding daily allowance.
• Daily allowance will be reduced by 10% for each meal that the participants do not have to pay for (e.g. the meal is provided by the local organizers or the meal is not within the timeframe of the overall travel). See point 2 of this FAQ for more details.
• The daily allowance depends on the country where the event is organized (see following table) and can be adjusted by Action MC (if it is, it will be explicitly announced when sending the invitations).
• For training schools, the Management Committee may choose to apply two different daily allowance rates, one rate for Trainers and one rate for Trainees.
Other expenses
• Any expenses not addressed above in this summary (e.g. bank fees, taxi, parking, printing fees) should be considered by default as not eligible for reimbursement, even though there are some other expenses non mentioned above that are indeed eligible (e.g. Visa and some child-related expenses). In the event that you wish to have information about a type of expense non mentioned above, please consult first the COST Vademecum and feel free to contact the Grant Holder of enetCollect <gh.enetcollect@eurac.edu> in case you need a clarification.
[ After the event ]
Claims (a.k.a. OTRR) have to be submitted within 30 calendar days after the end of the event or shorter time-spans when explicitly requested by the Grant Holder.
While submitting the OTRR, you need to upload on e-COST the following supporting documents.
• Flight, bus, train and ferry tickets and receipts (for the travels that are not considered as local transports), including information on date, time of departure and arrival and location of departure and arrival, ticket class (economy), name of the passenger, amount paid.
• In case you have eligible car expenses (i.e. not using your car for local transport, see above), a print out of Google Maps indicating the number of kilometers to reimburse should be provided.
• In case of rule derogations, and only after pre-approval by the Grant Holder, screenshot proof to show that the chosen travel option was the most economical option available. Please note that you are asked to evaluate travel options considering economical factors while making your arrangements as soon as possible after receiving the e-cost invitation to the event in order to limit your expenses.
No receipts need to be uploaded for the expenses included in the daily allowance (i.e. accommodation, meals and local transports at the event location).
Last but not least, original receipts have to be kept by participants until the end of the auditing time frame (September 2024).