(a) The budget plan is the financial expression of the project or program as approved during the award process. It may include either the sum of the Federal and non-Federal shares, or only the Federal share, depending upon DoD Component requirements. It shall be related to performance for program evaluation purposes whenever appropriate.
(b) Recipients are required to report deviations from budget and program plans, and request prior approvals for budget and program plan revisions, in accordance with this section.
(c) Recipients shall immediately request, in writing, prior approval from the cognizant grants officer when there is reason to believe that within the next seven calendar days a programmatic or budgetary revision will be necessary for certain reasons, as follows:
(1) The recipient always must obtain the grants officer's prior approval when a revision is necessary for either of the following two reasons (i.e., these two requirements for prior approval may never be waived):
(i) A change in the scope or the objective of the project or program (even if there is no associated budget revision requiring prior written approval).
(ii) A need for additional Federal funding.
(2) The recipient must obtain the grants officer's prior approval when a revision is necessary for any of the following six reasons, unless the requirement for prior approval is waived in the terms and conditions of the award (i.e., if the award document is silent, these prior approvals are required):
(i) A change in a key person specified in the application or award document.
(ii) The absence for more than three months, or a 25 percent reduction in time devoted to the project, by the approved project director or principal investigator.
(iii) The inclusion of any additional costs that require prior approval in accordance with applicable cost principles for Federal funds and recipients' cost share or match, in Sec. 34.17 and Sec. 34.13, respectively.
(iv) The inclusion of pre-award costs. All such costs are incurred at the recipient's risk (i.e., the DoD Component is under no obligation to reimburse such costs if for any reason the recipient does not receive an award, or if the award is less than anticipated and inadequate to cover such costs).
(v) A ``no-cost'' extension of the project period that does not require additional Federal funds and does not change the approved objectives or scope of the project.
(vi) Any subaward, transfer or contracting out of substantive program performance under an award, unless described in the application and funded in the approved awards. This provision does not apply to the purchase of supplies, material, or general support services, except that procurement of equipment or other capital items of property always is subject to the grants officer's prior approval under Sec. 34.21(a), if it is to be purchased with Federal funds, or Sec. 34.13(a)(7), if it is to be used as cost sharing or matching.
(3) The recipient also must obtain the grants officer's prior approval when a revision is necessary for either of the following reasons, if specifically required in the terms and conditions of the award document (i.e., if the award document is silent, these prior approvals are not required):
(i) The transfer of funds among direct cost categories, functions and activities for awards in which the Federal share of the project exceeds $100,000 and the cumulative amount of such transfers exceeds or is expected to exceed 10 percent of the total budget as last approved by the DoD Component. No DoD Component shall permit a transfer that would cause any Federal appropriation or part thereof to be used for purposes other than those consistent with the original intent of the appropriation.
(ii) For awards that provide support for both construction and nonconstruction work, any fund or budget transfers between the two types of work supported.
(d) Within 30 calendar days from the date of receipt of the recipient's request for budget revisions, the grants officer shall review the request and notify the recipient whether the budget revisions have been approved. If the revision is still under consideration at the end of 30 calendar days, the grants officer shall inform the recipient in writing of the date when the recipient may expect the decision.