Letters of Intent:

The purpose of a letter of intent is to allow applicants sufficient time to gather the necessary information to complete their applications.

Costs incurred by the applicant prior to the date on which their letter of intent is received by the Board will be considered as retrospective, ie these costs will not be able to be considered for the grant application. However, lodging a letter of intent is no guarantee that costs incurred from the date the letter is received will be approved.

Letters of intent are valid for 90 days. The validity takes effect from the date the letter is received by the Board; no extensions can be made to this validity period.

Both Letter of Intent forms and Application forms are available from Business Development Boards. Please see page ten for contact details. Letters of Intent and applications can only be accepted if they are made on the Boards’ prescribed forms.

Applications should be made to the Manager of the Business Development Board in your area. The Manager is also available to help you complete the application form.

An original of the application form is required in each case, but photocopied or faxed supporting documents are acceptable. Applicants can initially fax their application to the Board but must then send in the original application within seven working days of the date of the faxed copy.

All parts of the application form, Parts A, B, and C, must be completed.

Applications are initially assessed by the Board staff. The staff then present these to the Board for decision.

How Are Payments Made Once The Grant Has Been Approved?

The grant is paid on a reimbursement basis. Claims against it can be made any time after the applicant has confirmed, in writing, their acceptance of the written grant offer from the appropriate Board. All claims must be made to the Board by the expiry date of the grant.

There are only two bases on which payments can be made:

1. On the applicant forwarding original receipts matched to original invoices to the Board; these should accompany the completed claim and report forms (copies of these forms are available from Business Development Boards) or

2. On the applicant supplying an Accountant’s certification of costs paid together with the completed claim and report forms. This must be from an independent Accountant in public practice (ie not in-house) and must match expenditure to the approved costs.

Claims must be made in New Zealand dollars; where transactions in foreign currencies have occurred applicants must supply conversion rates used.

What Conditions Does The Grant Have?

The scheme has nine standard conditions:

1. The applicant must notify the appropriate Board in writing of their acceptance of the grant within the time prescribed in the letter of offer; otherwise the grant offer will lapse.

2. Grants must be uplifted within the time specified in the approval, otherwise they will lapse.

3. Retrospective claims cannot be accepted.

4. No other government funds can be used for the balance of the costs funded under EGDS.

5. The grant is only paid for approved costs on the basis of original invoices matched to original receipts. Photocopied receipts and invoices are not acceptable. The only other basis on which claims can be paid is by forwarding an Accountant’s certification of costs to the Board. This must be by an independent Accountant in public practice certifying a schedule of expenditure, matching expenditure claimed to approved costs. Each claim must be made on the prescribed claim form.

6. The grant will not be paid until the Board receives a report on the findings of the work. This must be in the form prescribed by the Board at the time the grant is approved.

7. Information on grant approvals can be made publicly available by the Board.

8. Any grant approved is personal to the applicant and may not be assigned without the written authority of the Board.

9. Grants are made subject to the Board being satisfied that the information given by the applicant is true and correct and that there has not been an omission of any relevant fact nor misrepresentation made. The Board retains the right to refuse to make payments to approved applicants in cases where it determines that it has been misled by the applicant or if the applicant has been placed in receivership or declared bankrupt.

Can You Have A Time Extension To Complete The Approved Activity?

Written requests for up to one three month time extension only can be made to the appropriate Board. Boards cannot consider such requests for grants which have lapsed. Such requests must be justified by the applicant.

Can You Change The Composition Or Amount Of An Approved Grant?

Once a grant has been approved for a particular amount that amount may not be increased. Nor, may new categories of expenditure be introduced. Boards may, however, consider requests for reallocation of expenditure between approved items. In making such requests, grant claimants will have to demonstrate that the overexpenditure on specific items has occurred because of unforeseen circumstances beyond their control.