Amendments are those changes to essential elements of the Action proposed by one of the Parties (Partner or DG ECHO) which require a reaction (approval or rejection) from  the other Party.

The list of essential elements includes:

• The project name;
• The project summary;
• The Region or Country of implementation;
• The start date, end date and duration of the Action;
• The reporting schedule (Continuous Report and/or Final Periodic Report);
• The budget of the Action (total budget, DG ECHO’s grant amount and funding rate %);
• The % of the prefinancing;
• Principal and specific objective(s), results and indicators;
• Number and type of final beneficiaries: an amendment is not necessary when the number of final beneficiaries changes due to the factual day-to-day evolution of the number of final beneficiaries reached. A Modification Request requiring DG ECHO approval is needed when the Partner becomes reasonably confident that the expected number of final beneficiaries will not be reached. When the total number increases without affecting other conditions or elements of the Grant Agreement the Partner shall report such change in the Final Periodic Report, but no amendment is required. A Modification Request requiring DG ECHO approval should be submitted in case of increase of the number of final beneficiaries requiring additional financial resources; in this case, the approval will depend on the availability of budget. If resources are not available, other elements of the Action might have to be modified (e.g. reduced results or activities, etc.);
• Addition or removal of co-beneficiaries;
• Requests concerning remote management and EEOCs;
• Requests for pre-defined alternative arrangements or exceptional alternative arrangements  in Chapter 14 of the e-Single Form;  
• Mandatory information to be detailed in case of cash transfers to final beneficiaries;

When the Partner needs to modify any of the above-mentioned elements, it has to submit a Modification Request including the reasons for the amendment and, where applicable, appropriate supporting documents (for example, when adding a new co-beneficiary a duly signed Accession Form must be submitted).

When requesting an amendment to DG ECHO, the Partner must submit a Modification Request (MR) in APPEL, following this workflow.

If the amendment does not impact a specific chapter of the e-Single Form (for example, modification to the reporting deadlines), the Partner has to explain the request in Chapter 16.

If the amendment involves a specific chapter of the e-Single Form (for example, an indicator), the Partner has to over-write outdated information directly in the relevant chapter and provide a justification in Chapter 16.

The Modification Request must be submitted by the Partner via APPEL at the latest 30 calendar days before the end of the implementation period, to ensure continuity and certainty in the implementation of the Action. However, in exceptional and duly justified cases, the Partner may request an amendment after the end of the implementation period of the Action (at the latest, with the submission of the Final Periodic Report).

DG ECHO will notify the Partner of the acceptance or rejection of the proposed amendment within 45 calendar days via a formal communication sent to the official e-mail address provided by the Partner. This deadline may be extended if further assessment is needed. If no response is received within the deadline, the request is considered tacitly rejected.

The amendment enters into force on the day of the signature of DG ECHO and takes effect on the date of entry into force unless a different date has been agreed by the parties. In case of addition of new co-beneficiary(ies) via MR, the latter will assume the rights and obligations under the Agreement with effect from the date specified in the Accession Form.