Section 3: Mandates entrusted by local authorities and their public establishments

The provisions of this paragraph lay down the accounting and financial terms and conditions for mandates entrusted by local authorities and their public establishments pursuant to II, III or, with the exception of Article D. 1611-21, of IV of article L. 1611-7.

The public accountant of the principal shall be consulted on any proposed mandate. On expiry of a period of one month, he is deemed to have given his opinion. The principal shall send him a copy of the mandate as soon as it has been concluded.

The mandate shall specify in particular: 1° The nature of the operations to which the mandate relates; 2° The duration of the mandate and the conditions of its possible termination; 3° The powers of the mandating body; 4° The conditions under which the funds necessary for the expenditure are made available to the mandating body ; 5° Where the mandating body is responsible for recovering undue payments resulting from payments…

Prior to the execution of the mandate, the authorised body without a public accountant shall take out insurance covering the pecuniary consequences of the civil liability it may incur as a result of the acts it performs under the mandate.

In all the documents that it draws up under the mandate, the representative body shall indicate the name of the principal and state that it is acting in the name and on behalf of the principal.

The mandated body without a public accountant opens an account with the State intended for the execution of all treasury operations relating to this mandate, to the exclusion of all other operations. When the principal makes the funds required for expenditure available to the mandated body, the latter shall immediately pay all the funds made available to it by the principal into the account mentioned in the previous paragraph. .

The authorised body keeps separate accounts showing all income and expenses recorded and all cash movements under the mandate.

Where the mandate provides for the authorised body to have a standing advance, the principal’s authorising officer shall set the amount of the advance, subject to the ceiling laid down in the mandate.

Where the authorised body is responsible for the recovery of any undue payments and it is within its powers to pursue compulsory enforcement and take precautionary measures, it may not rely on an enforcement order issued by the principal. He shall pursue compulsory enforcement in accordance with the rules applicable to his own claims, using one of the enforcement orders mentioned in 1° to 6° of Article L. 111-3 of…

The authorised body shall render the accounts provided for in Article D. 1611-22 at least once a year. This presentation must be made within a timeframe that allows the principal’s public accountant to produce his management account or financial account. The accounts produced by the agent show all expenditure and revenue transactions described by type without any contraction between them, as well as all cash transactions by type. They also…