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TITLE IIU.K.GENERAL PROVISIONS ON DIRECT PAYMENTS

CHAPTER 1U.K.Common rules on direct payments

Article 5U.K.General common agricultural policy provisions

Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 and the provisions adopted pursuant thereto shall apply to the schemes provided for in this Regulation.

Article 6U.K.National ceilings

[F11.For each year, the national ceiling for the United Kingdom comprising the total value of all allocated payment entitlements, of all national reserves and regional reserves and of all the ceilings calculated in accordance with Articles 42, 47, 51 and 53 is as set out in Annex II.

Where a relevant authority makes a decision under Article 22(2) to increase the amount which represents its share of the basic payment scheme ceiling, the national ceiling set out in Annex II for the United Kingdom for the respective year may be exceeded by the sum of the increases decided pursuant to that Article in respect of that year.]

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[F33.In order to take account of the developments relating to the total maximum amounts of direct payments that may be granted, including those resulting from the decisions taken F4... in accordance with F5...[F6Articles 7A and 14] of this Regulation [F7, the Secretary of State may make regulations] adapting the national ceilings set out in Annex II to this Regulation.]

[F84.The Secretary of State may not make regulations under paragraph 3 without the consent of each of the relevant authorities for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

5.Where the relevant authority for Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland requests that the Secretary of State makes regulations under paragraph 3, the Secretary of State must have regard to that request.]

Textual Amendments

Article 7U.K.Net ceilings

1.[F9The] total amount of direct payments which may be granted in [F10the United Kingdom] pursuant to Titles III, IV and V in respect of a calendar year, after application of Article 11, shall not be higher than the corresponding ceiling set out in Annex III.

Where the total amount of direct payments to be granted in [F11a constituent nation] would be higher than [F12its share of] the ceiling set out in Annex III, [F13the relevant authority] shall make a linear reduction in the amounts of all direct payments F14....

[F152.For calendar year 2020, the estimated product of the reduction of payments referred to in Article 11 (which is reflected by the difference between the national ceiling set out in Annex II and the net ceiling set out in Annex III) shall be made available as support for measures under rural development.

2A.References to “rural development” in this Article and in Article 14 include measures which are conducive to:

(a)the conservation or enhancement of the natural beauty or amenity of the countryside (including its flora and fauna and geological and physiographical features) or of any features of archaeological interest there; or

(b)the promotion of the enjoyment of the countryside by the public; or

(c)starting, or improving the productivity of, an agricultural, horticultural or forestry activity or a rural business; or

(d)starting, promoting or improving rural services.]

3.In order to take account of the developments relating to the total maximum amounts of direct payments that may be granted, including those resulting from the decisions taken F16... pursuant to [F17Article 7A and] Article 14, [F18the Secretary of State may make regulations] adapting the ceilings set out in Annex III.

[F194.The Secretary of State may not make regulations under paragraph 3 without the consent of each of the relevant authorities for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

5.Where the relevant authority for Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland requests that the Secretary of State makes regulations under paragraph 3, the Secretary of State must have regard to that request.]

Textual Amendments

[F20Article 7AU.K.Increase in national and net ceilings

1 The Secretary of State may, having regard to the recommendations contained in the report of the Bew Review, decide to increase the total maximum amount of direct payments that could otherwise be granted in relation to the claim year 2020.

2In this Article, the “report of the Bew Review” means the report entitled “Intra-UK Allocations Review” published on 6 September 2019.]

Textual Amendments

F21Article 8U.K.Financial discipline

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Textual Amendments

Article 9U.K.Active farmer

1.No direct payments shall be granted to natural or legal persons, or to groups of natural or legal persons, whose agricultural areas are mainly areas naturally kept in a state suitable for grazing or cultivation and who do not carry out on those areas the minimum activity defined by [F22the relevant authority] in accordance with point (b) of Article 4(2).

2.No direct payments shall be granted to natural or legal persons, or to groups of natural or legal persons, who operate airports, railway services, waterworks, real estate services, permanent sport and recreational grounds.

[F23Nothing in this Regulation prevents the relevant authority from adding to the list in the first subparagraph any other similar non-agricultural businesses or activities or from removing any such additions, provided that any such additions and removals are appropriate and made on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory criteria.]

A person or group of persons falling within the scope of the first or second subparagraph shall, however, be regarded as an active farmer if it provides verifiable evidence, in the form that is required by [F24the relevant authority], which demonstrates any of the following:

(a)that the annual amount of direct payments is at least 5 % of the total receipts that it obtained from non-agricultural activities in the most recent fiscal year for which such evidence is available;

(b)that its agricultural activities are not insignificant;

(c)that its principal business or company objects consist of exercising an agricultural activity.

3.[F25Nothing in this Regulation prevents the relevant authority from deciding], on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory criteria, that no direct payments are to be granted to natural or legal persons, or to groups of natural or legal persons:

(a)whose agricultural activities form only an insignificant part of their overall economic activities; and/or

(b)whose principal activity or company objects do not consist of exercising an agricultural activity.

[F263a.[F27Nothing in this Regulation prevents the relevant authority from deciding] that no direct payments are to be granted to farmers who are not registered, for their agricultural activities, in a national fiscal or social security register.]

[F284.Paragraphs 2, 3 and 3a do not apply to farmers who received direct payments for the previous year, if the amount of those direct payments was no more than the amount set by the relevant authority in accordance with this Regulation prior to exit day.]

5.In order to guarantee the protection of the rights of farmers, the [F29appropriate authority may make regulations] laying down:

(a)criteria for determining the cases where a farmer's agricultural area is to be considered to be mainly an area naturally kept in a state suitable for grazing or cultivation;

(b)criteria for establishing the distinction between receipts resulting from agricultural and non-agricultural activities;

(c)criteria for establishing the amounts of direct payments referred to in paragraphs 2 and 4, especially concerning F30... direct payments for new farmers;

(d)criteria that farmers are to meet in order to prove for the purposes of paragraphs 2 and 3 that their agricultural activities are not insignificant and that their principal business or company objects consist of exercising an agricultural activity.

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[F327.Nothing in this Regulation prevents the relevant authority from deciding that only one or two of the criteria listed in the third subparagraph of paragraph 2 applies.]

[F338.The relevant authority may decide to stop applying paragraph 2.]

Textual Amendments

[F34Article 10U.K.Minimum requirements for receiving direct payments

1.Subject to paragraph 2, the relevant authority shall not grant direct payments to a farmer where the eligible holding for which direct payments are claimed or due to be granted before the application of Article 63 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 is smaller than the area set in legislation applying to the constituent nation.

2.In the case of farmers receiving the animal-related coupled support referred to in Title IV, the area threshold determined in accordance with paragraph 1 does not apply, but the relevant authority shall not grant direct payments where the total amount of direct payments claimed or due to be granted before the application of Article 63 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 in a given calendar year is less than EUR 100.]

Textual Amendments

Article 11U.K.Reduction of payments

1.[F35The relevant authority] shall reduce the amount of direct payments to be granted to a farmer pursuant to Chapter 1 of Title III for a given calendar year by at least 5 % for the part of the amount exceeding EUR 150 000.

2.Before applying paragraph 1, [F36the relevant authority] may subtract the salaries linked to an agricultural activity actually paid and declared by the farmer in the previous calendar year, including taxes and social contributions related to employment, from the amount of direct payments to be granted to a farmer pursuant to Chapter 1 of Title III in a given calendar year. Where no data is available on the salaries actually paid and declared by the farmer in the previous calendar year, the most recent data available shall be used.

3.Where [F37the relevant authority] decides to grant a redistributive payment to farmers pursuant to Chapter 2 of Title III and to use more than 5 % [F38of its share] of the annual national ceiling F39... for that purpose, it may decide not to apply this Article.

Where [F37the relevant authority] decides to grant a redistributive payment to farmers pursuant to Chapter 2 of Title III and the application of the maximum limits set out in Article 41(4) prevents it from using more than 5 % [F38of its share] of the annual national ceiling F39... for that purpose, [F40the relevant authority] may decide not to apply this Article.

4.No advantage by means of avoiding reductions of the payment shall be granted in favour of farmers in respect of whom it is established that they artificially created, after 18 October 2011, the conditions to avoid the effects of this Article.

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F416.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

Article 12U.K.Multiple claims

The area corresponding to the number of eligible hectares in respect of which an application for a basic payment has been submitted by a farmer pursuant to Chapter 1 of Title III may be the subject of an application for any other direct payment, as well as for any other aid not covered by this Regulation, save as explicitly provided otherwise in this Regulation.

Article 13U.K.State aid

By way of derogation from Article 211(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council(1), Articles 107, 108 and 109 TFEU shall not apply to payments made by Member States in conformity with this Regulation.

[F42Article 14U.K.Flexibility between pillars

The relevant authority may make available, as additional support for measures under rural development, up to 15% of its share of the national ceiling for calendar year 2020 provided that such a decision was taken and notified to the Commission by 31 December 2019. The amount made available for rural development under this paragraph shall no longer be available for granting direct payments.]

Textual Amendments

F43Article 15U.K.Review

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Textual Amendments

CHAPTER 2U.K.Provisions applying to Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania

Article 16U.K.Gradual introduction of direct payments in Bulgaria and Romania

For Bulgaria and Romania, the ceilings fixed in accordance with Articles 42, 47, 49, 51, 53 and 65 shall, for 2015, be established on the basis of the amount set out in point A of Annex V.

F44Article 17U.K.Gradual introduction of direct payments in Croatia

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Textual Amendments

Article 18U.K.Complementary national direct payments and direct payments in Bulgaria and Romania

1.In 2015, Bulgaria and Romania may use national direct payments in order to complement payments granted under the basic payment scheme referred to in Sections 1, 2 and 3 of Chapter 1 of Title III. The total amount of those payments shall not exceed the relevant amount set out in point B of Annex V.

2.In 2015, Bulgaria may use national direct payments in order to complement payments granted under the crop-specific payment for cotton referred to in Chapter 2 of Title IV. The total amount of those payments shall not exceed the amount set out in point C of Annex V.

3.Complementary national direct payments shall be granted in accordance with objective criteria and in such a way as to ensure the equal treatment of farmers and to avoid distortions of the market and of competition.

F45Article 19U.K.Complementary national direct payments for Croatia

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Textual Amendments

F46Article 20U.K.Special national de-mining reserve for Croatia

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Textual Amendments

(1)

Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 december 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1601/96, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007 (See page 671 of this Official Journal).