TITLE IGENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1Scope

This Regulation lays down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 in relation to:

  1. (a)

    F1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  2. (b)

    administrative and on-the-spot checks to be carried out by the F2relevant authority with regard to the respect of eligibility criteria, commitments and other obligations;

  3. (c)

    the minimum level of on-the-spot checks and on the obligation to increase that level or the possibility of reducing it;

  4. (d)

    the reporting of the checks and verifications carried out and their results;

  5. (e)

    the authorities responsible for carrying out checks for compliance as well as to the content of such checks;

  6. (f)

    F3specific control measures and methods for determining tetrahydrocannabinol levels in hemp;

  7. (g)

    F4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  8. (h)

    cases in which F5aid applications and payment claims or any other communications, claims or requests may be corrected and adjusted after their submission;

  9. (i)

    application and calculation of the partial or total withdrawal of payments;

  10. (j)

    recovery of undue payments and penalties F6as well as of unduly allocated payment entitlements and the application of interest;

  11. (k)

    the application and calculation of the administrative penalties;

  12. (l)

    identifying a non-compliance as minor;

  13. (m)

    F7aid applications and payment claims and applications for payment entitlements, including the final date for the submission of applications, the requirements as to the minimum amount of information to be included in applications, provisions for amendments to or withdrawal of aid applications, exemption from the requirement to submit aid applications and provisions which allow F8a relevant authority to apply simplified procedures;

    F7payment claims, including the final date for the submission of applications, requirements as to the minimum amount of information to be included in applications and provisions which allow a relevant authority to apply simplified procedures;

  14. (n)

    the carrying out of checks in order to verify compliance with obligations, and the correctness and completeness of the information provided in the F9aid application or payment claim, including rules on measurement tolerances for on-the-spot checks;

  15. (o)

    technical specifications needed for the purpose of the uniform implementation of Chapter II of Title V of Regulation (EC) No 1306/2013;

  16. (p)

    the transfer of holdings;

  17. (q)

    the payment of advances;

  18. (r)

    the carrying out of checks relating to cross-compliance obligations, including the taking account of a farmer’s participation in the farm advisory system and a farmer’s participation in a certification system;

  19. (s)

    the calculation and application of administrative penalties in respect of cross-compliance obligations, including as regards beneficiaries consisting of a group of persons.

F10Article 2Exchange of information on aid applications, applications for support, payment claims and other declarations

1.

For the purpose of the proper administration of F11aid schemes and support measures and where F12a relevant authority has more than one paying agency F13... responsible for the management of F14direct payments and rural development measures with regard to the same beneficiary, the F15relevant authority concerned shall take the appropriate measures to ensure, where relevant, that the information requested in the F16aid applications, applications for support, payment claims or other declarations is made available to all paying agencies involved.

2.

Where checks are not carried out by the responsible paying agency, the F17relevant authority concerned shall ensure that sufficient information on the checks carried out and their results is received by that paying agency. It is for the paying agency to define its needs for information.

Article 3Withdrawal of aid applications, applications for support, payment claims and other declarations

1.

An F18aid application, application for support, payment claim or other declaration may be totally or partially withdrawn at any time in writing. Such withdrawal shall be recorded by the competent authority.

Where a F19relevant authority makes use of the possibilities provided for in Article 21(3), that F19relevant authority may provide that the notifications to the computerised database for animals of an animal that has left the holding may substitute a withdrawal in writing.

2.

Where the competent authority has already informed the beneficiary of any cases of non-compliance in the documents referred to in paragraph 1, or where the competent authority has given notice to the beneficiary of its intention to carry out an on-the-spot check, or where an on-the-spot check reveals any non-compliance, withdrawals shall not be authorised in respect of the parts of those documents affected by the non-compliance.

3.

Withdrawals in accordance with paragraph 1 shall put beneficiaries into the position they were in before the submission of the documents in question or part thereof.

Article 4Corrections and adjustments of obvious errors

F20Aid applications, applicationsF20Applications for support or payment claims and any supporting documents provided by the beneficiary may be corrected and adjusted at any time after their submission in cases of obvious errors recognised by the competent authority on the basis of an overall assessment of the particular case and provided that the beneficiary acted in good faith.

F21The competent authority may recognise obvious errors only if they can be straightforwardly identified at a clerical check of the information given in the documents referred to in the first subparagraph.

Article 5Application of reductions, refusals, withdrawals and penalties

Where a case of non-compliance which is subject to the application of penalties in accordance with Chapter II of Title IV of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 640/201411 is also subject to withdrawals or penalties in accordance with Chapters III and IV of Title II, or in accordance with Title III of that Regulation:
  1. (a)

    the reductions, refusals, withdrawals or penalties provided for in Chapters III and IV of Title II or in Title III of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 640/2014shall be applied with regard to the F22direct payment schemes or rural development measures in the scope of the integrated system;

  2. (b)

    the penalties provided for in Chapter II of Title IV of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 640/2014shall be applied to the total amount of payments to be granted to the beneficiary concerned in accordance with Article 92 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 that are not subject to the reductions, refusals, withdrawals or penalties referred to in point (a).

The reductions, refusals, withdrawals and penalties referred to in the first subparagraph shall be applied in accordance with Article 6 of this Regulation without prejudice to additional penalties pursuant to other provisions of F23the law applying in the constituent nation.

Article 6Order of reductions, refusals, withdrawals and penalties on each direct payment scheme or rural development measure

1.

F24The amount of the payment to be granted to a beneficiary under a scheme listed in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 shall be determined by the F25relevant authority on the basis of the conditions established in accordance with that Regulation F26....

2.

For F27each scheme listed in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 and for each rural development measure in the scope of the integrated system as defined in point (6) of the second subparagraph of Article 2(1) of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 640/2014, the reductions, withdrawals and penalties shall be calculated, if relevant, in the following order:

  1. (a)

    the reductions and penalties provided for in Chapter IV of Title II of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 640/2014, except the penalties referred to in Article 16 of that Regulation, shall be applied to any case of non-compliance;

  2. (b)

    the amount resulting from the application of point (a) shall serve as a basis for the calculation of the refusals provided for in Title III of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 640/2014;

  3. (c)

    the amount resulting from the application of F28point (a) shall serve as a basis for the calculation of any reductions to be applied in case of late submission in accordance with Articles 13 and 14 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 640/2014;

  4. (d)

    the amount resulting from the application of point (c) shall serve as a basis for the calculation of any reductions to be applied in cases of non-declaration of agricultural parcels in accordance with Article 16 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 640/2014;

  5. (e)

    the amount resulting from the application of point (d) shall serve as a basis for the calculation of the withdrawals provided for in Title III of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 640/2014;

  6. (f)

    F29the amount resulting from the application of F30point (d) shall serve as a basis for applying:

    1. (i)

      the linear reduction provided for in Article 51(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013;

    2. (ii)

      the linear reduction provided for in Article 51(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013;

    3. (iii)

      F31. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

    4. (iv)

      F31. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

    5. (v)

      the linear reduction to be applied in case the payments to be made in accordance with Article 41 of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 exceed the F32share of theF33nationalF33total ceiling fixed in accordance with F34Article 42(1) of that Regulation.

3.

F35The amount resulting from the application of point (f) of paragraph 2 shall serve as a basis for:

  1. (a)

    applying the reduction of payments provided for in Article 11 of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013;

  2. (b)

    F36applying the linear reduction percentage established in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 7(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013;

  3. (c)

    F37. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4.

The amount of the payment resulting from the application of F38paragraph 3F38paragraph 2 shall serve as a basis for the calculation of any reductions to be applied for the non-respect of cross-compliance in accordance with Chapter II of Title IV of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 640/2014.

Article 7Recovery of undue payments

1.

If undue payment is made, the beneficiary shall repay the amount in question plus, where applicable, interest calculated in accordance with paragraph 2.

2.

Interests shall be calculated for the period elapsing between the payment deadline for the beneficiary indicated in the recovery order, which shall not be set at more than 60 days, and the date of either repayment or deduction.

The rate of interest applicable shall be calculated in accordance with F39the law applying in the constituent nation, but shall not be lower than the interest rate applicable for the recovery of amounts under F40those provisions.

3.

The repayment obligation referred to in paragraph 1 shall not apply if the payment was made by error of the competent authority or of another authority and if the error could not reasonably have been detected by the beneficiary.

However, where the error relates to factual elements relevant for the calculation of the payment concerned, the first subparagraph shall only apply if the decision to recover was not communicated within 12 months of the payment.

Article 8Transfer of holdings

1.

For the purposes of this Article:

  1. (a)

    ‘transfer of a holding’ means the sale, lease or any similar type of transaction in respect of the production units concerned;

  2. (b)

    ‘transferor’ means the beneficiary whose holding is transferred to another beneficiary;

  3. (c)

    ‘transferee’ means the beneficiary to whom the holding is transferred.

2.

Where a holding is transferred in its entirety from one beneficiary to another beneficiary following the submission of an aid application, application for support or payment claim and before all the conditions for granting the aid or support have been fulfilled, no aid or support shall be granted to the transferor in respect of the transferred holding.

3.

The aid applied for or the payment claimed by the transferor shall be granted to the transferee where:

  1. (a)

    within a period to be determined by the F41relevant authority the transferee informs the competent authority of the transfer and requests payment of the aid and/or support;

  2. (b)

    the transferee presents any evidence required by the competent authority;

  3. (c)

    all the conditions for granting the aid and/or support are fulfilled in respect of the holding transferred.

4.

Once the transferee informs the competent authority and requests payment of the aid and/or support in accordance with paragraph 3(a):

  1. (a)

    all rights and obligations of the transferor resulting from the legal relationship between the transferor and the competent authority generated by the aid application, application for support or payment claim shall be conferred on the transferee;

  2. (b)

    all actions necessary for the granting of the aid and/or support and all declarations made by the transferor prior to the transfer shall be attributed to the transferee for the purposes of applying the relevant F42sectoral agricultural legislation;

  3. (c)

    the holding transferred shall be considered, where appropriate, as a separate holding in respect of the claim year in question.

5.

F43The relevant authority may decide, where appropriate, to grant the aid and/or support to the transferor. In that event:

  1. (a)

    no aid or support shall be granted to the transferee;

  2. (b)

    F44the relevant authority shall apply mutatis mutandis the requirements set out in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4.

F45Article 9Notifications

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