1.For the purposes of point (b) of the third subparagraph of Article 9(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, agricultural activities are not insignificant if the total receipts obtained from agricultural activities within the meaning of Article 11 of this Regulation in the most recent fiscal year for which such evidence is available represent at least one third of the total receipts obtained in the most recent fiscal year for which such evidence is available.
Member States may decide to set the threshold for the total receipts obtained from agricultural activities at a level lower than one third provided that such lower threshold does not allow natural or legal persons with marginal agricultural activities to be considered as active farmers.
By way of derogation from the first and second subparagraphs, Member States may establish alternative criteria allowing an entity to demonstrate that its agricultural activities are not insignificant pursuant to point (b) of the third subparagraph of Article 9(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013.
2.For the purposes of point (a) of Article 9(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, Member States may decide that agricultural activities form only an insignificant part of the overall economic activities of a natural or legal person, or a group of natural or legal persons, by using the following methods:
the annual amount of direct payments is less than 5 % of the total receipts obtained from non-agricultural activities within the meaning of Article 11 of this Regulation in the most recent fiscal year for which such evidence is available;
the total amount of receipts obtained from agricultural activities within the meaning of Article 11 of this Regulation in the most recent fiscal year for which such evidence is available is lower than a threshold to be decided by Member States and not exceeding one third of the total amount of receipts obtained in the most recent fiscal year for which such evidence is available.
By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, Member States may establish alternative criteria according to which agricultural activities are to be considered insignificant pursuant to point (a) of Article 9(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013.
3.For the purposes of point (c) of the third subparagraph of Article 9(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 and, where appropriate, point (b) of Article 9(3) of that Regulation, an agricultural activity shall be considered to be the principal business or company object of a legal person if recorded as a principal business or company object in the official business register or any equivalent official evidence of a Member State. In the case of a natural person, equivalent evidence shall be required.
Where no such registers exist, Member States shall use equivalent evidence.
By way of derogation from the first and second subparagraphs, Member States may establish alternative criteria according to which an agricultural activity is to be considered to be a principal business or company object of a natural or legal person pursuant point (c) of the third subparagraph of Article 9(2) and, where appropriate, to point (b) of Article 9(3) of that Regulation.