Payments made by the Netherlands as a purchaser of the JSF
As a purchaser of the JSF, the Netherlands pays a price for the aircraft and for all the various parts, training materials, tools, etc. that go with it. The JPO invoices the Netherlands for the prices in question.
The relative share of the invoices from suppliers that is paid by the Netherlands depends on the aircraft specifications set by the Dutch government. This means that the percentage for which the Netherlands is responsible may vary from one invoice item to another.
Every purchaser has laid down its own specific requirements, both for the JSF itself and for the mode of delivery. For example, certain countries have ordered certain parts that other countries have not ordered – or ordered them in a different form. The Netherlands and Norway, for example, want their JSFs to be fitted with a brake parachute for landing on short runways. This is not an important consideration for other countries.
The manufacturers produce aircraft and parts for various countries as part of a single delivery batch. The invoices they subsequently submit relate to all sorts of different supplies, e.g. aircraft parts, tool sets, initial sets of spare parts, initial training and other goods and services.
|
Invoice from LM/P&W |
Cost allocation formula |
|---|---|
| Items | Share % |
|
Item 1 |
NL: 3,762% US: 75,354% No: 5,487% Etc. |
| Item 2 Aircraft part (y) |
NL: 2,985% US: 76,091% No: 4,729% Etc. |
| Item 3 Aircraft part (z) |
NL: 1,831% US: 82,553% No: 1,954% Etc. |
| Etc. |
The JPO decides which item is intended for which country, and hence who has to pay how much of the invoice amount for a particular item. The percentage share may vary from one invoice item to another, thus generating a separate cost allocation formula for each item. This is why it is so difficult to calculate the distribution of costs over the various JSF purchasers.
Audit report on the financial processes relating to the JSF programme
In 2018, we audited the financial processes relating to the JSF programme. The financial processes relating to the JSF programme>>, the aim being to ascertain whether the JPO was invoicing the Netherlands for the right amounts.
Our audit team found that the greatest risk of errors lay in the calculation of the amounts that purchasers had to pay for the JSF. This was due to the fact that this process involved complex calculations, some of which were performed manually by the JPO. The fact that the payment process is not the same as that for the contributions paid by the partners in the programme is another factor contributing to the relatively high incidence of errors.
The conclusion we drew in our report was that, although errors were made in the allocation of costs in the US, the team at the Dutch Ministry of Defence was able to detect and rectify these errors. The audit demonstrated the importance of making clear arrangements about the financial processes and reporting procedures in future international cooperation programmes.