TITLE IGENERAL
Article 5Identification of farmers
Without prejudice to Article 22(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, the single system to record the identity of each farmer provided for by Article 18(1)(f) of that Regulation shall guarantee a unique identification with regard to all aid applications submitted by the same farmer.
Article 6Identification of agricultural parcels
1.The identification system for agricultural parcels referred to in Article 20 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 shall operate at reference parcel level such as cadastral parcel, or production block which shall ensure unique identification of each reference parcel.
Member States shall, moreover, ensure that agricultural parcels are reliably identified and shall in particular require the single application to be furnished with particulars or accompanied by documents specified by the competent authority that enable each agricultural parcel to be located and measured. The GIS shall operate on the basis of a national geodetic system.
2.The Member State shall ensure that with regard to at least 75 % of the reference parcels being subject to an aid application, at least 90 % of the respective area is eligible pursuant to the single payment scheme. The assessment shall be made on an annual basis using appropriate statistical methods.
3.In respect of the area payment for nuts provided for in Chapter 4 of Title IV of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, the Member States for which the national guaranteed area fixed in Article 84(3) of that Regulation is more than 1 500 ha, shall introduce, as from 1 January 2006, an additional layer of GIS information relating to the number of trees per parcel, their type, their positioning and the calculation of the orchard’s surface.
Article 7Identification and registration of payment entitlements
1.The system for the identification and registration of payment entitlements provided for in Article 21 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 shall be an electronic register at Member State level and shall, in particular with regard to the cross-checks provided for in Article 24 of this Regulation, ensure effective traceability of the payment entitlements, in particular as regards the following elements:
(a)holder;
(b)value;
(c)date of establishment;
(d)date of last activation;
(e)origin, in particular with regard to its attribution, original or national reserve, purchase, lease, inheritance;
(f)kind of entitlement, in particular set-aside entitlements, entitlements subject to special conditions in accordance with Article 48 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, and entitlements with authorisation in accordance with Article 60 of that Regulation;
(g)where applicable, regional restrictions.
2.Member States in which there is more than one Paying Agency, may decide to operate the electronic register at Paying Agency level. In that case, the Member State concerned shall ensure that the different registers are compatible with each other.
Article 8General principles in respect of agricultural parcels
1.A parcel that contains trees shall be considered an agricultural parcel for the purposes of the area-related aid schemes provided that agricultural activities referred to in Article 51 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 or, where applicable, the production envisaged can be carried out in a similar way as on parcels without trees in the same area.
2.With regard to forage area:
(a)where a forage area is used in common, the competent authorities shall notionally allocate it between the individual farmers in proportion to their use or right of use of it;
(b)for the purposes of applying Article 131 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, each forage area must be available for rearing animals for a minimum period of seven months, starting on a date to be determined by the Member State, which shall be between 1 January and 31 March.
(c)for the purposes of applying Article 131 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, where a forage area is situated in a Member State other than that of the farmer's principal place of business, that area shall be deemed, at the request of the farmer, to be part of that farmer's holding provided that it is situated in the immediate vicinity of the holding and that a major part of all the agricultural land used by that farmer is situated in the Member State in which he has his principal place of business.
Article 9Control system as regards cross-compliance
Member States shall establish a system guaranteeing an effective control on the respect of cross-compliance. That system shall, in accordance with Chapter III of Title III of this Regulation, in particular provide for:
where the competent control authority is not the Paying Agency, the transfer of the necessary information concerning the farmers applying for direct payments from the Paying Agency to the specialised control bodies and/or, where applicable, via the coordinating body referred to in Article 23(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003;
the methods to be applied for the selection of control samples;
indications with regard to the nature and extent of the checks to be carried out;
control reports containing in particular any detected non-compliance and an assessment of its severity, extent, permanence and repetition;
where the competent control authority is not the Paying Agency, the transfer of the control reports from the specialised control bodies either to the Paying Agency or the coordinating body referred to in Article 23(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 or both;
the application of the system of reductions and exclusions by the Paying Agency.
Member States may, moreover, provide for a procedure according to which the farmer indicates to the Paying Agency the elements necessary to identify the requirements and standards applicable to him.
Article 10Payment of aid
1.Without prejudice to the time period provided for in Article 28 (2) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 or any rules providing for the payment of advances in accordance with paragraph 3 of that Article, direct payments falling within the scope of this Regulation shall not be made before the checks with regard to eligibility criteria, to be carried out by the Member State pursuant to this Regulation, have been finalised.
2.With regard to checks of cross-compliance specified in chapter III of Title III of the present Regulation where such checks cannot be finalised before payment, any undue payments shall be recovered according to Article 73 of the this Regulation.