is received by the Contracting Authority.  on the first day of the month in which the time-limit expired  plus seven percentage points. The interest  shall be payable for the time elapsed between the expiry of the payment deadline and the date on  which the Contracting Authority’s account is debited. By way of exception  when the interest calculated  in accordance with this provision is lower than or equal to EUR 200  it shall be paid to the consultant  only upon demand submitted within two months of receiving late payment.  29.3. Once the deadline referred to above has expired  the Consultant – unless the consultant is a  government department or public body in a European Union Member State - may  within two months  of receipt of late payment  receive default interest:  – at the rate applied by the European Central Bank to its main refinancing transactions in euro  as  published in the Official Journal of the European Union  C series  where payments are in euro;  – at the rediscount rate applied by the central bank of the beneficiary country if payments are in the  currency of that country   29.4. Payments due from the Contracting Authority shall be made into the bank account notified by the  Consultant in accordance with Article 7.8.  29.5. The Contracting Authority will make payments in euro or in the national currency  in accordance with  Article 7.1 of the Special Conditions. Where payment is in euro  for the purposes of the Provision for  incidental expenditure  actual expenditure shall be converted into euro at the rate published on the  Infor-Euro on the first working day of the month in which the invoice is dated. Where payment is in the  national currency  it shall be converted into the national currency at the rate published on the Infor- Euro on the first working day of the month in which the payment is made.  29.6. For fee-based contracts  invoices must be accompanied by copies of  or extracts from  the  corresponding approved timesheets referred to in Article 24.2 to verify the amount invoiced for the  time input of the experts. A minimum of 7 hours worked are deemed to be equivalent to one day  worked. For all experts  their time input must be rounded to the nearest whole number of days worked  for the purposes of invoicing.  29.7. Payment of the final balance shall be subject to performance by the Consultant of all its obligations  relating to the implementation of all phases or parts of the services and to the approval by the  Contracting Authority of the final phase or part of the services. Final payment shall be made only after  the final progress report and a final statement  identified as such  shall have been submitted by the  Consultant and approved as satisfactory by the Contracting Authority.  29.8. If any of the following events occurs and persists  the Contracting Authority may  by written notice to  the Consultant  suspend in whole or in part  payments due to the Consultant under the Contract:  (a) the Consultant defaults in the implementation of the tasks;  (b) any other condition for which the Consultant is responsible under the contract and which  in  the opinion of the Contracting Authority  interferes  or threatens to interfere  with the successful  completion of the project or the contract;  29.9. All payments made by the Contracting Authority into the bank account specified in the contract will  have liberating effect.  30.1. If the pre-financing payment stated in Article 7.2 of the Special Conditions exceeds EUR 100 000  or  if no proof documents have been provided for the selection criteria  the Consultant must provide a  financial guarantee for the full amount of the pre-financing payment. The financial guarantee  to be  approved by the Contracting Authority  shall be in the format provided for in the contract and may be  provided in the form of a bank guarantee  a banker's draft  a certified cheque  a bond provided by an  insurance and/or bonding company  an irrevocable letter of credit or a cash deposit made with the  Contracting Authority and issued by financial institution with a minimum investment grade rating issued  by any of international credit rating agencies. This financial guarantee must remain valid until it is  released by the Contracting Authority in accordance with Article 30.5 or Article 30.6  as appropriate.  Where the contractor is a public body the obligation for a financial guarantee may be waived Page 14 of 19  The payment obligations of the European Commission under this contract shall cease at most 18 months after  the end of the period of implementation of the tasks  unless the contract is terminated in accordance with  Article 36.1 of the General Conditions.  ARTICLE 30. FINANCIAL GUARANTEE 