5.—(1) Commission Regulation (EU) No 1975/2006 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005, as regards the implementation of control procedures as well as cross-compliance in respect of rural development support measures(1), is amended as follows.
(2) In Article 26 (administrative checks), paragraph 4—
(a)for the first instance of “shall”, substitute “may”;
(b)omit “However, the relevant authority may decide not to carry out such visits for smaller investments, or where they consider that the risk that the conditions for receiving aid are not fulfilled, or that the reality of the investment has not been respected, is low. That decision and its justification shall be recorded.”
(3) In Article 30 (ex-post checks) omit paragraph 3.
(4) In Article 31 (reductions and exclusions)—
(a)in paragraph 1, omit the third and fourth sub-paragraphs.
(b)in paragraph 2, for “shall” in each place it occurs, substitute “may”.
EUR 2006/1975, as saved in respect of payment claims submitted before 1st January 2011 by Article 34 of EUR 2011/65.