17 – HOW TO APPLY

1. All proposals must be submitted directly online via an Electronic Submission Portal. Paper applications are NOT accepted. Applicants shall complete online application forms, which include sections for their profile, technical proposals, and financial offers.
2. Submission is a two-step process:
   1. create a user account and register your organisation
      • To use the Online Submission Portal (the only way to apply), all participants need to create an account.
      • Once you have an account, you can register your organisation in [].
   2. submit the proposal for prequalification approval;
   3. once approval in (b) is obtained, submit the proposal for a subsequent approval (administrative and technical).

3. Access the Online Submission Portal via the following page https:// meci.gov.cy/en/departments-services/business-facilitation-unit-bfu. Submit your proposal as described above.
4. The proposal must keep to the page limits (see section [sample will be provided on the Appendix]); excess pages will be disregarded.
5. Documents must be uploaded to the right category in the Online Submission Portal otherwise the proposal might be considered incomplete and thus inadmissible. The proposal must be submitted before the call deadline (as indicated in Table 3: Bank Guarantees). After this deadline, the system is closed, and proposals can no longer be submitted.
6. Once the proposal is submitted, you will receive a confirmation e-mail (with date and time of your application). If you do not receive this confirmation e-mail, it means your proposal has NOT been submitted. If you believe this is due to a fault in the Online Submission System, you should immediately file a complaint via the IT Helpdesk webform, explaining the circumstances and attaching a copy of the proposal (and, if possible, screenshots to show what happened).
7. Details on processes and procedures are described in the Online Manual, which also contains links to FAQs and detailed instructions regarding the Online Submission System.

17.1    Questions and Answers

1. Try to find the answers through the Q&A web page in this and the other linked documentation (we have limited resources for handling direct enquiries):
   1. Online Manual
   2. FAQs on the DOSS website (for call-specific questions)
   3. Portal FAQ (for general questions).
2. Please also consult the DOSS website regularly since we will use it to publish call updates.

17.2     Contact

1. For individual questions on the Online Submission System, please contact the IT Helpdesk.
2. Non-IT related questions should be sent to the following email address: bfures@meci.gov.cy.
3. Questions received during the last five working days before the call closure will not be answered.
4. Please clearly indicate the reference of the call and topic to which your question relates.
5. Important
   1. Re-submission – Proposals may be changed and re-submitted until the deadline for submission.
   2. No double funding – There is a strict prohibition of double funding from the EU budget (except under EU Synergies actions). Outside such Synergies actions, any given action may receive only ONE grant from the EU budget and cost items may under NO circumstances be declared to two different EU actions.
   3. Rejection – By submitting the application, all applicants accept the call conditions set out in this this Call Document (and the documents it refers to). Proposals that do not comply with all the call conditions will be rejected. This applies also to applicants: All applicants need to fulfil the criteria; if any one of them doesn’t, they must be replaced, or the entire proposal will be rejected.
   4. Cancellation – There may be circumstances which may require the cancellation of the call. In this case, you will be informed via a call or topic update. Please note that cancellations are without entitlement to compensation.
   5. Language – You can submit your proposal in English or Greek (project abstract/summary should however always be in English).

Τέλος