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CHAPTER 4U.K.SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Section 1U.K.Declaration and transfer of payment entitlements

Article 24U.K.Declaration and use of payment entitlements

[F11. Payment entitlements may only be declared for payment once per year by the farmer who holds them at the latest date for lodging the single application in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 796/2004.

However, where a farmer makes use of the possibility to amend the single application in accordance with Article 15 of that Regulation, he may also declare payment entitlements which he holds at the date of his notification of the amendments to the competent authority provided that the payment entitlements concerned are not declared by another farmer in respect of the same year.

Where the farmer acquires the payment entitlements concerned by way of a transfer from another farmer and where that other farmer had already declared those payment entitlements, the additional declaration of those payment entitlements shall only be admissible if the transferor has already informed the competent authority of the transfer in accordance with Article 25(2) of this Regulation and withdraws those payment entitlements from his own single application, within the time-limits set out in Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 796/2004.]

F22.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F33. Farmers may give up voluntarily payment entitlements to the national reserve with the exception of set-aside payment entitlements.]

Article 25U.K.Transfers of payment entitlements

1.Payment entitlements may be transferred at any time of the year.

2.The transferor shall inform the competent authority of the Member State of the transfer within a period to be established by the Member State

[F13. A Member State may require that the transferor shall communicate the transfer to the competent authority of the Member State where the transfer will operate, within a time period to be established by that Member State but not earlier than six weeks before the transfer takes place and taking into account the last date for lodging an application under the single payment scheme. The transfer shall take place as foreseen in the communication unless the competent authority objects to the transfer and notifies the transferor thereof within that time period. The competent authority may only object to a transfer where the latter is not in accordance with provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 and of this Regulation.]

[F44. For the application of the second subparagraph of Article 46(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, the percentage of the payment entitlements the farmer has used shall be calculated on the number of payment entitlements allocated to him in the first year of application of the single payment scheme, with the exception of payment entitlements sold with land, and must be used during one calendar year.]

Article 26U.K.Regional limitation

1.Where a Member State makes use of the option provided for in the third subparagraph of Article 46 (1) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, Member States shall define the region at the appropriate territorial level in accordance with objective criteria and in such a way as to ensure equal treatment between farmers and to avoid market and competition distortion.

2.[F5The Member State shall define the region referred to in paragraph 1 at the latest one month before the date fixed by the Member State pursuant to Article 44(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003.]

A farmer, whose holding is situated in the region concerned, may not transfer or use outside that region his payment entitlements corresponding to the number of hectares which he declares in the first year of application of the option provided for in the third subparagraph of Article 46(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003.

A farmer, whose holding is partly situated in the region concerned, may not transfer or use outside that region his payment entitlements corresponding to the number of hectares, situated in that region, which he declares in the first year of application of the option.

3.The limitation to the transfer of payment entitlements referred to in the third subparagraph of Article 46 (1) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 shall not apply in case of actual or anticipated inheritance of payment entitlements without an equivalent number of eligible hectares.

4.A Member State may decide to apply the limitation to the transfer of payment entitlements referred to in the third subparagraph of Article 46 (1) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 only to set-aside payment entitlements.

Article 27U.K.Private contract clause in case of lease

1.Subject to paragraphs 2 and 3, a clause in a lease contract providing for the transfer of a number of entitlements not higher than the number of hectares leased shall be considered as a lease of the payment entitlements with land within the meaning of Article 46 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, in cases where:

(a)a farmer has leased to another farmer his holding or part of it no later than the date for lodging an application under the single payment scheme in its first year of application,

(b)the lease contract expires later than the last date for lodging an application under the single payment scheme,

and

(c)he decides to lease his payment entitlements to the farmer to whom he leased the holding or part of it.

2.The lessor shall apply for the establishment of the payment entitlements in accordance with Article 12, adding to the application a copy of the lease contract and indicating the number of hectares for which he intends to lease the payment entitlements. Where the case may be, Article 42(9) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 shall apply.

3.The lessee shall apply for payment under the single payment scheme in accordance with Article 12, adding to the application a copy of the lease contract.

4.A Member State may require that the applications of the lessee and of the lessor are lodged together or that the second application contains a reference to the first one.