1.Producer organisations shall submit an application for aid, or the balance thereof, to the competent authority of the Member State for each operational programme for which aid is requested by 15 February of the year following the year for which the aid is requested.
2.The aid applications shall be accompanied by supporting documents showing:
(a)the aid requested;
(b)the value of marketed production;
(c)the financial contributions levied on its members and those of the producer organisation itself;
(d)the expenditure incurred in respect of the operational programme;
(e)the expenditure concerning crisis prevention and management broken down by actions;
(f)the proportion of the operational fund spent on crisis prevention and management broken down by actions;
(g)compliance with Article 33(3), the first subparagraph of Article 33(5) and Article 34 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013;
(h)a written commitment that it has not received any duplicate Union or national funding in respect of measures or operations qualifying for aid under Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 in the fruit and vegetables sector;
(i)in the case of an application for payment based on standard flat rates or scales of unit costs as referred to in Article 31(2) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/891, proof of the implementation of the action concerned; and
(j)the annual report referred to in Article 21.
3.The aid applications may cover expenditure programmed but not incurred if the following elements are proved:
(a)the operations concerned could not be carried out by 31 December of the year of implementation of the operational programme, for reasons beyond the control of the producer organisation concerned;
(b)those operations can be carried out by 30 April of the year following the year for which the aid is requested; and
(c)an equivalent contribution from the producer organisation remains in the operational fund.
The aid shall be paid and the security lodged in accordance with Article 11(2) shall be released only on condition that proof of implementation of the programmed expenditure referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph is provided by 30 April of the year following that for which the expenditure in question was programmed, and on the basis that the entitlement to the aid is established.
4.In exceptional and duly justified cases, the competent authority of the Member State may accept applications after the date provided for in paragraph 1, if the necessary checks have been carried out and the time limit for payment provided for in Article 10 is complied with. Where applications are submitted after the date provided for in paragraph 1, the aid shall be reduced by 1 % for each day the application is late.
5.Associations of producer organisations may submit an application for aid as referred to in paragraph 1 in the name and on behalf of only those members that are producer organisations recognised in the same Member State which recognised the association of producer organisations and provided that the supporting documents referred to in paragraph 2 are submitted for each member. The producer organisations shall be the final beneficiaries of the aid.
6.Producer organisations which are members of transnational associations of producer organisations shall apply for aid in the Member State where they are recognised regarding actions implemented on the territory of that Member State. The transnational association of producer organisations shall provide the Member State where it has its headquarters with a copy of the application.
7.Without prejudice to paragraph 6, transnational associations of producer organisations may submit an application for aid in the Member State where the association has its headquarters regarding actions implemented at the level of the association provided that there is no risk of double funding.