The rules on remaining equipment apply when ECHO is the single largest donor to the action (namely it has the largest contribution in comparison to other donors) and are relevant for equipment fully charged to the action (new or second hand) and incurred. These rules are as follows:

The transfer means that the partner continues to exercise ownership and control over the equipment.

Where the Partner transfers any equipment to another DG ECHO-funded Action, it shall submit with the Final Report information on the project to which the equipment has been transferred.

Equipment has to be transferred until the equipment has reached the end of its useful lifespan. To assess this, the partner has to simulate the depreciation costs of the equipment as if it was proposed for depreciation from the date of its purchase until the end of the eligibility period for the Action.

There is no limitation to the number of times the equipment may be transferred as long as it has not been fully depreciated.

If after several transfers, the equipment does not have an economic value according to the depreciation plan but is still usable, the partner can freely decide what to do with the equipment.

The transfer to an Action funded by another Directorate General (DG) of the Commission is not possible, but the partner may charge in those cases a part of the depreciation costs to both ECHO and the other DG.

If transfer to another humanitarian aid Action funded by ECHO is not possible or appropriate, the equipment may be donated

Without ECHO prior approval to:

• Beneficiaries of the Action, i.e. the affected people of the humanitarian crisis

• Local NGOs identified as Implementing partners in the Single Form

• Local authorities identified as Implementing partners in the Single Form, e.g. local hospitals

With ECHO prior approval to:

• Local NGOs and local authorities that are not identified as Implementing partners in the Single Form

• International Organisations

• International NGOs

In such cases, the Partner shall obtain DG ECHO prior agreement through an Amendment Request procedure.

Under no circumstances may the equipment be donated to for-profit entities.

In any case, the partner has to inform ECHO about the end use of the equipment in the Final Report. Donation certificates must be kept by the partner for audit purposes but should not be attached to the Final Report.

• the equipment with a value of less than 750 euro can be retained without any limit, if the partner pledges to use them for humanitarian actions. Their final use should not be explained in the Final Report

• Equipment which cost exceeds EUR 750 but is lower than EUR 2,500 per item shall be exempted from the obligation of transfer or donation, provided that the total costs of the retained equipment items does not exceed EUR 15,000, regardless of the Action's budget or the number of the consortium members.
  
  In this case, the partner pledges to use this retained equipment for the benefit of humanitarian actions and the costs must be itemised, verifiable and reflected in the Final Report.

The partners do not have to transfer or donate the equipment in the following cases:

• the equipments' nature is specialised, sensitive or requires expert handling (e.g. de-mining equipment), and provided that the Partner pledges to use the retained equipment for the benefit of humanitarian actions until the end of its useful economic lifespan.
  
  In this case, the partner should give the reasons, explain the future use of the equipment in the Final Report and request a derogation through a modification request or, at the latest, within the final report. In both cases the Derogation will be introduced in the section 11 of the Single Form.
  
  If the derogation is accepted, the partners become the owner of the equipment and does not have to report further.

• ECHO is not the Single largest donor: in this case the partner is free to follow the other donor rules

• the Action is a Multidonor Action: in this case the partner can decide what to do with the equipment