Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

TITLE VI CROSS-COMPLIANCE

CHAPTER I Scope

Article 91 General principle

1. Where a beneficiary referred to in Article 92 does not comply with the rules on cross-compliance as laid down in Article 93, an administrative penalty shall be imposed on that beneficiary.

2. The administrative penalty referred to in paragraph 1 shall only apply where the non-compliance is the result of an act or omission directly attributable to the beneficiary concerned; and where one, or both, of the following additional conditions are met:

(a) the non-compliance is related to the agricultural activity of the beneficiary;

(b) the area of the holding of the beneficiary is concerned.

With regard to forest areas, however, this penalty shall not apply in so far as no support is claimed for the area concerned in accordance with point (a) of Article 21(1), and Articles 30 and 34 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013.

3. For the purpose of this Title the following definitions shall apply:

(a) 'holding' means all the production units and areas managed by the beneficiary referred to in Article 92 situated within the territory of the same Member State;

(b) "requirement" means each individual statutory management requirement under Union law referred to in Annex II within a given act, differing in substance from any other requirements of the same act.

Article 92 Beneficiaries concerned

Article 91 shall apply to beneficiaries receiving direct payments under Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, payments under Articles 46 and 47 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 and the annual premia under points (a) and (b) of Article 21(1), Articles 28 to 31, 33 and 34 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013.

However, Article 91 shall not apply to beneficiaries participating in the small farmers scheme as referred to in Title V of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013. The penalty provided for in that Article shall also not apply to the support as referred to in Article 28(9) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013.

Article 93 Rules on cross-compliance

1. The rules on cross-compliance shall consist of the statutory management requirements under Union law and the standards for good agricultural and environmental condition of land established at national level as listed in Annex II, relating to the following areas:

(a) environment, climate change and good agricultural condition of land;

(b) public, animal and plant health;

(c) animal welfare.

2. The legal acts referred to in Annex II concerning the statutory management requirements shall apply in the version in force and, in the case of Directives, as implemented by the Member States.

3. In addition, as regards the years 2015 and 2016, the rules on cross-compliance shall also include the maintenance of permanent pasture. The Member States which were Members of the Union on 1 January 2004 shall ensure that land which was under permanent pasture on the date provided for in the area aid applications for 2003 is maintained under permanent pasture within defined limits. The Member States which became Member of the Union in 2004 shall ensure that land which was under permanent pasture on 1 May 2004 is maintained under permanent pasture within defined limits. Bulgaria and Romania shall ensure that land which was under permanent pasture on 1 January 2007 is maintained under permanent pasture within defined limits. Croatia shall ensure that land which was under permanent pasture on 1 July 2013 is maintained under permanent pasture within defined limits.

The first subparagraph shall not apply to land under permanent pasture to be afforested if such afforestation is compatible with the environment and with the exclusion of plantations of Christmas trees and fast growing species cultivated in the short term.

4. In order to take account of paragraph 3, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 115 laying down the rules on maintenance of permanent pasture, in particular in order to ensure that measures are taken to maintain the land under permanent pasture at the level of farmers, including individual obligations to be respected such as obligation to reconvert areas into permanent pasture where it is established that the ratio of land under permanent pasture is decreasing.

In order to ensure a correct application of the obligations of the Member States on the one hand and individual farmers on the other hand, as regards the maintenance of permanent pasture, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 115 to establish the conditions and methods for the determination of the ratio of permanent pasture and agricultural land that has to be maintained.

5. For the purpose of paragraphs 3 and 4, "permanent pasture" means permanent pasture as defined in point (c) of Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1120/2009 in its original version.

Article 94 Obligations of Member States relating to good agricultural and environmental condition

Member States shall ensure that all agricultural area, including land which is no longer used for production purposes, is maintained in good agricultural and environmental condition. Member States shall define, at national or regional level, minimum standards for beneficiaries for good agricultural and environmental condition of land on the basis of Annex II, taking into account the specific characteristics of the areas concerned, including soil and climatic condition, existing farming systems, land use, crop rotation, farming practices, and farm structures.

Member States shall not define minimum requirements which are not established in Annex II.

Article 95 Information to beneficiaries

Member States shall provide the beneficiaries concerned, where appropriate by the use of electronic means, with the list of the requirements and standards to be applied at farm level, as well as clear and precise information thereon.

CHAPTER II Control system and administrative penalties in relation to cross-compliance

Article 96 Checks of cross-compliance

1. Member States shall make use, where appropriate, of the integrated system laid down in Chapter II of Title V and in particular of points (a), (b), (d), (e) and (f) of Article 68(1).

Member States may make use of their existing administration and control systems to ensure compliance with the rules on cross-compliance.

Those systems, and notably the system for the identification and registration of animals set up in accordance with Council Directive 2008/71/EC(1) and Regulations (EC) No 1760/2000 and (EC) No 21/2004, shall be compatible with the integrated system referred to in Chapter II of Title V of this Regulation.

2. Depending on the requirements, standards, acts or areas of cross-compliance in question, Member States may decide to carry out administrative checks, in particular those already provided for under the control systems applicable to the respective requirement, standard, act or area of cross-compliance.

3. Member States shall carry out on-the-spot checks to verify whether a beneficiary complies with the obligations laid down in this Title.

4. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts, laying down rules on the carrying out of checks in order to verify compliance with the obligations referred to under this Title, including rules allowing that risk analysis takes account of the following factors:

(a) a farmer's participation in the farm advisory system as provided for in Title III of this Regulation;

(b) a farmer's participation in a certification system, if it covers the requirements and standards concerned.

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 116(3).

Article 97 Application of the administrative penalty

1. The administrative penalty provided for in Article 91 shall be imposed where the rules on cross-compliance are not complied with at any time in a given calendar year ('the calendar year concerned'), and where the non-compliance in question is directly attributable to the beneficiary who submitted the aid application or the payment claim in the calendar year concerned.

The first subparagraph shall apply mutatis mutandis to beneficiaries who are found not to have complied with the rules on cross-compliance, at any time during three years from 1 January of the year following the calendar year in which the first payment was granted under the support programmes for restructuring and conversion or at any time during one year from 1 January of the year following the calendar year in which the payment was granted under the support programmes for green harvesting referred to in Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013('the years concerned').

2. In cases in which the land is transferred during the calendar year concerned or the years concerned, paragraph 1 shall also apply where the non-compliance in question is the result of an act or omission directly attributable to the person to whom or from whom the agricultural land was transferred. By way of derogation from the first sentence, where the person to whom the act or omission is directly attributable has submitted an aid application or a payment claim in the calendar year concerned or the years concerned, the administrative penalty shall be imposed on the basis of the total amounts of the payments referred to in Article 92 granted or to be granted to that person.

For the purpose of this paragraph, 'transfer' means any type of transaction whereby the agricultural land ceases to be at the disposal of the transferor.

3. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, and subject to the rules to be adopted pursuant to Article 101, Member States may decide not to apply an administrative penalty per beneficiary and per calendar year when the amount of the penalty is EUR 100 or less.

Where a Member State decides to make use of the option provided for in the first subparagraph, the competent authority shall, for a sample of beneficiaries, take in the following year the actions necessary to verify that the beneficiary has remedied the findings of non-compliance concerned. The finding and the obligation to take remedial action shall be notified to the beneficiary.

4. The imposition of an administrative penalty shall not affect the legality and regularity of the payments to which it applies.

Article 98 Application of the administrative penalty in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania

For Bulgaria and Romania, the administrative penalties referred to in Article 91 shall be applied at the latest from 1 January 2016 as regards the statutory management requirements in the area of animal welfare referred to in Annex II.

For Croatia, the penalties referred to in Article 91 shall be applied in accordance with the following time schedule as regards the statutory management requirements (SMR) referred to in Annex II:

(a)

from 1 January 2014 for SMR 1 to SMR 3 and SMR 6 to SMR 8;

(b)

from 1 January 2016 for SMR 4, SMR 5, SMR 9 and SMR 10;

(c)

from 1 January 2018 for SMR 11 to SMR 13.

Article 99 Calculation of the administrative penalty

1. The administrative penalty provided for in Article 91 shall be applied by means of reduction or exclusion of the total amount of the payments listed in Article 92 granted or to be granted to the beneficiary concerned in respect of aid applications he has submitted or will submit in the course of the calendar year of the finding.

For the calculation of those reductions and exclusions, account shall be taken of the severity, extent, permanence and reoccurrence of the non-compliance found as well as of the criteria set out in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4.

2. In the case of non compliance due to negligence, the percentage of reduction shall not exceed 5 % and, in the case of reoccurrence, shall not exceed 15 %.

Member States may set up an early warning system that applies to cases of non-compliance which, given their minor severity, extent and duration, shall not, in duly justified cases, lead to a reduction or exclusion. Where a Member State decides to make use of this option, the competent authority shall send an early warning to the beneficiary, notifying the beneficiary of the finding and the obligation to take remedial action. In case a subsequent check establishes that the non-compliance has not been remedied, the reduction pursuant to the first subparagraph shall be applied retroactively.

However, cases of non-compliance which constitute a direct risk to public or animal health shall always lead to a reduction or exclusion.

Member States may give priority access to the farm advisory system to the beneficiaries who have received for the first time an early warning.

3. In the case of intentional non-compliance, the percentage reduction shall in principle not be less than 20 % and may go as far as total exclusion from one or several aid schemes and may apply for one or more calendar years.

4. In any event, the total amount of reductions and exclusions for one calendar year shall not be more than the total amount referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1.

Article 100 Amounts resulting from cross-compliance

Member States may retain 25 % of the amounts resulting from the application of the reductions and exclusions referred to in Article 99.

Article 101 Commission powers in relation to the application and calculation of administrative penalties

1. In order to ensure a correct distribution of the funds to the entitled beneficiaries and that cross-compliance is carried out in an efficient, coherent and non-discriminatory way, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 115:

(a) establishing a harmonised basis for calculation of administrative penalties due to cross-compliance referred to in Article 99, taking into account reductions due to financial discipline;

(b) laying down the conditions for the application and calculation of the administrative penalties due to cross-compliance, including in the case of non-compliance directly attributable to the beneficiary concerned.

2. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts laying down detailed procedural and technical rules concerning the calculation and application of administrative penalties referred to in Articles 97 to 99, including as regards beneficiaries consisting of a group of persons under Articles 28 and 29 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013.

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 116(3).

(1)

Council Directive 2008/71/EC of 15 July 2008 on the identification and registration of pigs (OJ L 213, 8.8.2008, p. 31).