§ 3015.120 - Closeout.

(a) Each grant or subgrant shall be closed out as soon as possible after expiration or notice of termination.

(b) The following shall apply when closing out USDA grants:

(1) Upon request from the recipient, any allowable reimbursable cost not covered by previous payments shall be promptly paid by USDA.

(2) Any unobligated balance of cash advanced to the recipient shall be immediately refunded to the awarding agency or managed in accordance with USDA instructions.

(3) Within a maximum period of 90 days following the date of expiration or termination of a grant, all financial performance and related reports required by the terms of the agreement shall be submitted to the awarding agency by the recipient. USDA reserves the option of extending the due date for any report and may waive any report that it considers to be unnecessary.

(4) The provisions formally expressed and agreed to within the grant arrangement shall dictate the settlement of any upward or downward adjustments of the Federal share of costs.

(c)(1) A grant closeout shall not affect the retention period for, or Federal rights of access to, grant records. (See Subpart D of this part).

(2) The closeout of a grant does not affect the recipient's responsibilities regarding property under Subpart R of this part or with respect to any program income the recipient is still accountable for under Subpart F of this part.

(3) Final audits (See Attachment L, Circular A-102 and Attachment K of Circular A-110) are not a required part of the grant or subgrant closeout procedures. Normally, a final audit should not be needed unless there are problems with a grant or subgrant that require audit attention. If a USDA agency considers a final audit to be necessary, it shall contact the OIG Region within which the recipient or subrecipient is located and inform OIG of the situation. OIG shall be responsible for assuring that necessary final audits are performed and for any necessary coodination with other Federal cognizant audit agencies, recipients or State and local auditors. Audits performed in accordance with Subpart I may serve as final audits providing such audits meet the needs of the requesting agency.

(4) If a grant is closed out without audit, the awarding agency reserves the right to disallow and recover an appropriate amount after fully considering any recommended disallowances resulting from an audit which may be conducted later.