COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 868/2008
of 3 September 2008
on the farm return to be used for determining the incomes of agricultural holdings and analysing the business operation of such holdings
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Regulation No 79/65/EEC of the Council of 15 June 1965 setting up a network for the collection of accountancy data on the incomes and business operation of agricultural holdings in the European Economic Community (1), and in particular Articles 6(2), 7(3) and 12(2) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
The type, definition and presentation of the accountancy data referred to in Article 7 of Regulation No 79/65/EEC and collected by means of the farm return drawn up for the purpose of reliably determining the incomes of agricultural holdings must be identical, irrespective of the returning holdings surveyed. For reasons of simplification and data readability, provision should also be made for that individual return to include additional particulars and details meeting the specific requirements of an analysis of the business operation of the agricultural holdings selected under Article 11 of that Regulation. In that case, the farm return should also be considered as a special farm return, as referred to in Article 12(1).
(2)
Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2237/77 of 23 September 1977 on the form of farm return to be used for the purpose of determining incomes of agricultural holdings (2) lays down rules on the collection of accountancy data.
(3)
The data collected by means of the farm return should take account of the experience acquired since the network was set up and of developments in the common agricultural policy and should comply with the definitions laid down in the relevant regulations, and in particular Council Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 of 24 June 1991 on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs (3), Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 of 29 September 2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers (4), Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 of 20 September 2005 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) (5), Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 of 11 July 2006 laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 (6) as regards areas eligible for aid under the Structural Funds, and Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 of 22 October 2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products as regards certain products in this sector (Single CMO Regulation) (7).
(4)
Regulation (EEC) No 2237/77 should therefore be adapted to take account of developments in the common agricultural policy, in the type of information required for analysing data and in information communication techniques since that Regulation was adopted. For reasons of clarity and rationality, that Regulation should be replaced.
(5)
Duly completed farm returns should be sent to the Commission by the liaison agency appointed by each Member State, in accordance with Article 6 of Regulation No 79/65/EEC. To that end, provision should be made for the liaison agency to send the information concerned direct to the Commission via the computerised system set up by the Commission and for that system to allow the requisite information to be exchanged electronically on the basis of the models made available to the liaison agency via that system. Provision should also be made for the Commission to inform Member States of the general conditions for implementing the computerised system via the Community Committee on the farm accountancy data network.
(6)
The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Community Committee for the farm accountancy data network,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Farm returns and accountancy data
1. The nature and form of presentation of the accountancy data required for the annual determination of the incomes of holdings and analysis of their business operation in accordance with Chapters II and III of Regulation No 79/65/EEC are laid down in Annex I to this Regulation.
2. Definitions and instructions relating to the data referred to in paragraph 1 are laid down in Annex II.
Article 2
Transmission to the Commission
1. The farm returns and data referred to in Article 1 shall be transmitted to the Commission by the liaison agency referred to in Article 6 of Regulation No 79/65/EEC via the computerised system set up by the Commission and made available to the Member States for the electronic exchange of information.
2. Member States shall be informed of the general conditions for implementing the computerised system referred to in paragraph 1 via the Community Committee for the farm accountancy data network.
The form and content of the farm return shall be defined on the basis of a model and the instructions required for drawing it up. That model shall be adapted and updated by the Commission via the computerised system after the Committee referred to in the first subparagraph has been informed.
Article 3
Repeal
Regulation (EEC) No 2237/77 is hereby repealed.
References made to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as references to this Regulation and shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex III.
Article 4
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from the 2009 accounting year.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 3 September 2008.