This document is meant purely as documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
"B COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 3887/92
of 23 December 1992
laying down detailed rules for applying the integrated administration and control system for certain
Community aid schemes
(OJ L 391, 31.12.1992, p. 36)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
"M1 Commission Regulation (EC) No 229/95 of 3 February 1995 L 27 3 4.2.1995
"M2 Commission Regulation (EC) No 1648/95 of 6 July 1995 L 156 27 7.7.1995
"M3 Commission Regulation (EC) No 2015/95 of 21 August 1995 L 197 2 22.8.1995
Corrected by:
"C1 Corrigendum, OJ L 230, 18.8.1998, p. 30 (3887/92)
"C2 Corrigendum, OJ L 80, 25.3.1999, p. 34 (1648/95)1992R3887 — EN — 23.08.1995 — 003.001 — 1
COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 3887/92
of 23 December 1992
laying down detailed rules for applying the integrated administration and
control system for certain Community aid schemes
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 of 27 November
1992 establishing an integrated administration and control system for certainCommunity aid schemes (
1) (hereinafter called ‘integrated system’), and in
particular Article 12 thereof,
Whereas the purpose of the integrated system is, first and foremost, to enable
the reform of the common agricultural policy to be implemented efficiently
and in particular to solve the administrative problems caused by the reformhaving introduced several area-linked aid schemes; whereas certainclarifications necessary for applying the concepts of agricultural parcel and
forage area should be made;
Whereas the agricultural holding is the reference unit for administering the
abovementioned aid schemes; whereas to prevent the stabilizing effects of the
reform on agricultural production from being evaded by the artificial splittingup of existing holdings or creation of holdings, Member States should be
obliged to take the necessary measures to this effect, taking into account in
particular the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice relating to the notion of aholding as well as the general principle of forbidding the abuse of rights;
Whereas, having regard to the existing identification system, the Member
States should be authorized to set up their systems for identifying areas withthe aid of units other than agricultural parcels; whereas, however, this
possibility should be accompanied by certain obligations in order to ensure
that the identification is reliable;
Whereas the compulsory content of the ‘area’ aid application should be
specified, along with the conditions on which it may be amended after thedeadline for its submission; whereas provision should also be made for the
set-aside declaration and the declaration concerning non-food products to be
submitted with the ‘area’ aid application; whereas farmers applying only foraid which is not linked to area should be exempted from the requirement tosubmit such an application and the administrative treatment of producer
groups in the sheep and goat sector should be clarified; whereas, moreover, if
there is to be effective monitoring each Member State should determine theminimum size of agricultural parcel which may be declared in the application;
Whereas, so as to simplify the work as much as possible for farmers, in certain
cases it should be possible to submit the ‘area’ aid application together with a
‘livestock’ aid application provided that this does not reduce the possibility of
control;
Whereas there should also be an across-the-board definition of the particulars
to be included in ‘livestock’ aid applications, having regard to therequirements of administering the premium schemes concerned;
Whereas compliance with the provisions on Community aid must be
effectively monitored; whereas to this end it is necessary to set out in detail
the criteria and technical procedures for carrying out administrative and
on-the-spot checks in respect of both ‘livestock’ and ‘area’ aid; whereas, inthe light of experience with on-the-spot checks, risk analysis sould be applied
when determining minimum checking rates and the factors to be taken into
consideration should be specified; whereas, for monitoring purposes, thereshould be provision for a retention period in the case of the compensatoryallowance also;
Whereas the conditions for the use of remote sensing for on-the-spot checks
should be laid down and provision should be made for physical checks to be
required in doubtful cases; whereas, in order to encourage Member States intheir efforts to develop remote sensing and its practical application formonitoring purposes, there should be provision for the Community to make a
financial contribution to the cost of photo interpretation and the conditions for!B
(1) OJ No L 355, 5. 12. 1992, p. 1.1992R3887 — EN — 23.08.1995 — 003.001 — 2
such contribution should be laid down; whereas this financial contribution
does not affect the part-financing provided for in Article 10 of Regulation(EEC) No 3508/92;
Whereas, in the light of experience and having regard to the principle of
proportionality and the special problems linked to cases of force majeure and
natural circumstances, provisions should be adopted to prevent and penalize
irregularities and fraud effectively; whereas, to this end, having regard to the
specific features of the ‘area’ schemes on the one hand and the ‘livestock’schemes on the other, there should be sanctions graded according to thegravity of the irregularity committed, going as far as total exclusion from a
scheme for the year in question and the year thereafter;
Whereas provision should be made for the beneficiary to repay with interest
any amount wrongly paid; whereas the amounts recovered and the interest
collected must be credited to the EAGGF in accordance with the principles setout in Article 8 (2) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 of 21 April 1970on the financing of the common agricultural policy (
1), as last amended by
Regulation (EEC) No 2048/88 (2);
Whereas the management of small amounts is by nature a burdensome task
for the competent services of Member States the possibility not to pay
amounts of aid which are smaller than a certain minimum limit and not torequest reimbursement of wrongly paid amounts when the sums involved areminimal;
Whereas it is necessary to create an administrative framework for the
part-financing provided for in Article 10 of Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92
and to lay down the procedural rules for the payment of advances, the
definitive acceptance of the expenditure declared by Member States and theredistribution of amounts which are not used by the Member States and towhich they are entitled;
Whereas the integrated system will not be applicable in its entirety until 1
January 1996 at the latest; whereas, without prejudice to the obligations
arising from Article 8 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70, it is therefore
indispensable to oblige the Member States to avoid any lack of administrationor control meanwhile by adopting the necessary measures at national level;
whereas Member States must inform the Commission regularly of the
measures taken to implement the integrated system and the results obtained;
Whereas, taking into account the date of entry into force of this Regulation it
would be appropriate to exclude the premium for ewes and for goats and the
compensatory allowance from the application of the integrated system during1993;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with
the opinion of the Fund Committee,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
TITLE 1
GENERAL
Article 1
This Regulation lays down detailed rules for applying the integrated
administration and control system introduced by Regulation (EEC)
No 3508/92. It shall be without prejudice to specific provisions adopted inthe Regulations covering the individual aid schemes.
Article 2
1. For the purposes of this Regulation:
(a) a parcel that both contains trees and is used for crop production covered
by Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 shall be considered an
agricultural parcel provided that the production envisaged can be carriedout in a similar way as on parcels without trees in the same area;!B
(1) OJ No L 94, 28. 4. 1970, p. 13.
(2) OJ No L 185, 15. 7. 1988, p. 1.1992R3887 — EN — 23.08.1995 — 003.001 — 3
(b) where a forage area is used in common, the competent authorities shall
assign it between the individual farmers in proportion to their use or rightof use of it;
(c) each forage area must be available for rearing animals for a minimum
period of seven months, starting on a date to be determined by the
Member State, which must be between 1 January and 31 March.
2. Member States shall take the measures necessary to avoid that the
conversion of existing holdings or the creation of holdings after 30 June 1992
leads to the patently improper avoidance of the provisions relating to the
individual limits on eligibility for premiums or land set-aside requirementsimposed under the schemes indicated in Article 1 of
"C1Regulation (EEC)
No 3508/92 3.
3. For the purposes of the integrated system, it a forage area is situated in a
Member State other than that in which the principal place of business of thefarmer using it is situated, that area shall be deemed at the request of theapplicant to be part of the holding of that farmer provided:
— it is situated in the immediate vicinity of the holding, and
— a major part of all the agricultural land used by that farmer is situated in
the Member State in which he has his principal place of business.
4. An aid shall not be granted if the amount per aid application does not
exceed 50 ECU.
5. A Member State may decide to exclude from the application of certain
elements of the Integrated System the specific measures established byRegulation (EEC) No 2328/91 which concern the compensatory allowancesfor producers in small areas as defined in Article 3 (5) of Council Directive
75/268/EEC (
1), and which are implemented by way of contracts drawn up in
conjunction with agri-environmental measures established in accordance withthe provisions of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2078/92 (
2).
TITLE II
IDENTIFICATION
Article 3
The identification system indicated in Article 4 of Regulation (EEC)
No 3508/92 shall operate at agricultural parcel level. Member States mayprovide that another unit, such as the cadastral parcel or production block, beused instead of the agricultural parcel. In such cases Member States shall take
the action required to ensure that agricultural parcels are reliably identified
and in particular shall require that ‘area’ aid applications be furnished withparticulars or accompanied by documents specified by the competent
authority that will enable each agricultural parcel to be located and measured.
TITLE III
AID APPLICATIONS
Article 4
1. Without prejudice to the requirements set out in regulations on individual
aid schemes, ‘area’ aid application shall contain all necessary information, in
particular:
— the identity of the farmer,— particulars permitting identification of all the agricultural parcels on the
holding, with their area, location, use and, where relevant, whether the
parcels are irrigated, and the aid scheme concerned,
— a statement by the producer that he is aware of the requirements
pertaining to the aids in question.!B
(1) OJ No L 128, 19. 5. 1975, p. 1.
(2) OJ No L 215, 30. 7. 1992, p. 85.!M2
!B1992R3887 — EN — 23.08.1995 — 003.001 — 4
By ‘use’ is meant the type of crop or ground cover or the absence of a crop.
Member States may require that uses not falling within the scope of the
integrated system be declared under an ‘other uses’ heading. "M3However,
the following uses shall be declared separately:
— production of forage intended for drying, whether artificially dehydrated
or sundried, as referred to in Council Regulation (EC) No 603/95 (1),
— environmental set-aside and afforestation pursuant to Regulation (EEC)
No 2078/92 or Regulation (EEC) No 2080/92 respectively, counted
against the set-aside obligation. 3
2. (a) After the time limit for its submission the ‘area’ aid application may
be amended on condition that the competent authority receives the
amendments not later than the dates specified in Articles 10, 11 and
12 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92 (2).
Where agricultural parcels are concerned, amendments may be made
to the ‘area’ aid application only in particular cases that are properly
documented, in particular death, marriage, purchase or sale, onconclusion of a tenancy contract. Member States shall determine the
conditions applying thereto. However, a set-aside or forage area
parcel may not be added to parcels already declared except in caseswhich are duly justified under the provisions concerned and oncondition that the parcel has already been accounted for as set-aside
or forage area in the aid application of another farmer, the latter
application being corrected accordingly.
Changes of use or aid scheme shall be permitted in all cases.
However, a parcel may not be added to parcels declared as set aside.
"M2By derogation from the second paragraph and even after the
dates referred to in Articles 10, 11 and 12 of Regulation (EEC) No
1765/92 a Member State may authorize that an area be withdrawn
from the Area Aid Application. The amendment must be notified inwriting before any communication is made by the competentauthority with regard either to the results of the administrative
controls which affect the parcels in question or to the organization of
an on-the-spot check of the holding concerned.
3
(b) When a farmer decides during the period within which changes may
be introduced, to use a parcel for a crop which falls within the scopeof the integrated system which had not been used for such a crop, an
‘area’ aid application may still be introduced within that period.
3. If an ‘area’ aid application relates only to permanent pasture the Member
State may provide that it may be submitted at the same time as the first
‘livestock’ aid application by the farmer in question lodged after the date laid
down for the submission of the other ‘area’ aid applications in the MemberState concerned, and not later than 1 July.
4. Set-aside declarations and crop declarations under the non-food product
crop scheme shall be made along with the ‘area’ application or comprise part
of it. However, for 1993 the Member States may set an earlier date for the
submission of applications.
5. An ‘area’ aid application need not be submitted by farmers applying for
only:
— the special premium for male bovine animals and/or the suckler cow
premium who are exempted from the stocking rate requirement and do
not apply for the supplement to these premiums,
— the deseasonalization premium,
— the ewe or she-goat premium.
6. The ‘area’ aid application of a producer who is a member of a producer
group as defined at point 2 in Article 1 of Council Regulation (EEC)
No 3493/90 (
3), and who for the same calendar year applies for both the ewe
or she-goat premium and for aid under another Community scheme shall!B
(1) OJ No L 63, 21. 3. 1995, p. 1.
(2) OJ No L 181, 1. 7. 1992, p. 12.
(3) OJ No L 337, 4. 12. 1990, p. 7.!M1
!B1992R3887 — EN — 23.08.1995 — 003.001 — 5
include all the agricultural parcels used by the group. In such cases the forage
area shall be assigned to the producers concerned in proportion to theirindividual limits as specified in Article 5a of Council Regulation (EEC)No 3013/89 (
1), valid on 1 January of the year concerned.
7. For the sake of effective control each Member State shall determine the
minimum size of agricultural parcel in respect of which an application may be
made. However, the minimum size may not exceed 0,3 ha.
Article 5
1. Without prejudice to the requirements pertaining to application for aid
under individual schemes the ‘livestock’ aid application shall contain all
necessary information, in particular:
— the identity of the farmer,
— a reference to the ‘area’ aid application if this has already been submitted,
except in cases covered by Article 4 (5),
— the number of animals of each species in respect of which any aid is
applied for,
— where applicable, an undertaking by the applicant to keep these animals
on his holding during the retention period and information on the location
or locations where the animals will be held including, where applicable,the period or periods concerned and, for cattle, the identity numbers ofthe animals; when the location changes during that period the farmer is
obliged to inform the competent authority in writing in advance,
— where applicable, the individual limit or individual ceiling for the animals
concerned,
— where applicable, the individual milk reference quantity assigned to the
farmer at the beginning of the 12-month period of application of the
additional levy scheme which commences in the calendar yearconcerned; when the reference quantity is not known on the date onwhich the application is lodged, it shall be notified to the competent
authority as soon as possible,
— a statement by the farmer that he is aware of the requirements pertaining
to the aids in question.
The Member State may decide that some of this information need not be
included in the aid application, where that information has already been
communicated to the competent authority.
2. Applications for the compensatory allowance as specified in Article 19
(1) (a) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2328/91 (
2) shall be lodged by a date
or during a period to be set out by the Member State.
Article 5a
Without prejudice to the provisions contained in Articles 4 and 5, an aid
application may be adjusted at any time after its submission, in cases of
obvious error recognized by the competent authority.
TITLE IV
CONTROL
Article 6
1. Administrative and on-the-spot checks shall be made in such a way as to
ensure effective verification of compliance with the terms under which aids
and premiums are granted.
2. The administrative checks referred to in Article 8 (1) of Regulation
(EEC) No 3508/92 shall include cross-checks on parcels and animals declared
in order to ensure that aid is not granted twice in respect of the same calendaryear without justification.!B
(1) OJ No L 289, 7. 10. 1989, p. 1.
(2) OJ No L 218, 6. 8. 1991, p. 1.!M1
!B1992R3887 — EN — 23.08.1995 — 003.001 — 6
3. On-the-spot checks shall cover at least a significant percentage of
applications. The significant percentage shall represent at least:
— 10 % of ‘livestock’ aid applications or participation declarations,
— 5 % of ‘area’ aid applications. However, this percentage shall be reduced
to 3 % for area aid applications numbering more than 700 000 perMember State in the
"C1calendar year 3.
Should on-the-spot checks reveal significant irregularities in a region or part
of a region the competent authority shall make additional checks during thecurrent year in that area and shall increase the percentage of applications to be
checked in the following year.
4. Applications subjected to on-the-spot checking shall be selected by the
competent authority on the basis of a risk analysis and an element of
representativeness of the aid applications submitted. The risk analysis shall
take account of:
— the amount of aid involved,
— the number of parcels and the area or number of animals for which aid is
requested,
— changes from the previous year,
— the findings of checks made in past years,— other factors to be defined by the Member State.
5. On-the-spot checks shall be unannounced and cover all the agricultural
parcels and animals covered by one or more applications. Advance warninglimited to the strict minimum necessary may however be given, although as a
general rule, this should not exceed 48 hours.
At least 50 % of the minimal checks on animals shall be made during the
retention period. Checks may be effected outside that period only if the
register provided for in Article 4 of Council Directive 92/102/EEC (
1)i s
available.
6. Notwithstanding the second subparagraph of the preceding paragraph,
where a special premium on slaughter or on the first placing on the market of
animals with a view to their slaughter is granted in accordance with theprovisions foreseen in the Commission Regulation establishing detailed rules
relating to the premium regime foreseen in Articles 4a to 4k of Council
Regulation (EEC) No 805/68 (
2) each on-the-spot check shall comprise.
— verification on the basis of the private register kept by the producer that
all the animals for which aid applications were submitted prior to the
on-the-spot check have been kept throughout the retention period, and
— verification that all the male bovine animals more than 30 days old
present on the holding are properly identified and entered in the private
register.
7. Agricultural parcel areas shall be determined by any appropriate means
defined by the competent authority which ensure measurement of a precision
at least equivalent to that required for official measurements under thenational rules. The competent authority shall set a tolerance margin takingaccount of the measuring method used, the accuracy of the official documents
available, local factors (such as slope, shape of parcel) and the provisions of
the following subparagraph.
The total area of an agricultural parcel may be taken into account provided
that it is fully utilized according to the customary standards of the Member
State or region concerned. In other cases the area actually utilized shall betaken into account.
8. The eligibility of agricultural parcels shall be verified by any appropriate
means. To this end additional proof shall be requested where necessary.
9. Every animal covered by an application for a compensatory allowance
provided for under Regulation (EEC) No 2328/91 must be held by the
applicant for a minimum period of two months from the day followingsubmission of the application.!B
(1) OJ No L 355, 5. 12. 1992, p. 32.
(2) OJ No L 148, 28. 6. 1968, p. 24.1992R3887 — EN — 23.08.1995 — 003.001 — 7
Article 7
1. Should a Member State decide to use remote sensing on all or part of the
sample referred to in Article 6 (3) it shall:
— perform photo interpretation of satellite images or aerial photographs of
all parcels to be checked with a view to recognizing the ground cover and
measuring the area,
— check on the spot all applications for which photo interpretation does not
verify the accuracy of the declaration to the satisfaction of the competentauthority.
2. Without prejudice to the part-financing provided for in Article 10 of
Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92, the Community may, within the limit of theappropriations allocated for that purpose, contribute to the cost of the
operations provided for in the first indent of paragraph 1, provided that they
are planned jointly with the Commission. The funds available will be assignedin the proportions specified in the Annex.
Article 8
1. Except in cases of force majeure , late lodgement of an aid application
shall lead to a 1 % reduction per working day in the amounts affected by theapplication, to which the farmer would have been entitled if the application
had been lodged within the deadline. If the delay amounts to more than
"M2253days the application shall be considered inadmissible and no aid
shall be granted.
For the purposes of this Article, ‘application’ means an ‘area’ aid application,
a ‘livestock’ aid application, an amendment to an ‘area’ aid application as
referred to in Article 4 (2) and confirmation of sowing as referred to in Article2 (2) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2294/92 (
1).
2. Late submission of, or failure to submit, an application other than the
‘livestock’ aid application concerned shall not entail reductions or exclusionfrom the aid schemes referred to in Article 4 (5).
Article 9
1. If the area actually determined is found to be greater than that declared in
the ‘area’ aid application, the area declared shall be used for calculation of theaid.
2. If the area actually determined is found to be less than that declared in an
‘area’ aid application, the area actually determined on inspection shall be usedfor calculation of the aid. However, except in cases of force majeure , the area
actually determined on inspection shall be reduced
"M2 by twice the
difference found if this is more than 3 % or two hectares but not more than
20 % of the determined area. 3
If the difference is more than 20 % of the determined area no area-linked aid
shall be granted.
However, in the case of a false declaration made intentionally or as a result of
serious negligence:
— the farmer in question shall be excluded from the aid scheme concerned
for the calendar year in question, and
— in the case of a false declaration intentionally made, from any aid scheme
referred to in Article 1 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 for thefollowing calendar year, in respect of an area equal to that for which his
aid application was rejected.
These reductions shall not be applied if the farmer can show that his
determination of the area was accurately based on information recognized by
the competent authority.
Where a farmer has not met all the obligations incumbent on him in regard to
parcels fallowed for non-food production purposes these shall, on theoccasion of inspection for the purposes of application of this Article, be
considered not to have been found.!B
(1) OJ No L 221, 6. 8. 1992, p. 22.1992R3887 — EN — 23.08.1995 — 003.001 — 8
For the purposes of this Article, ‘determined area’ means the area for which
all of the conditions laid down in the rules have been met.
3. Forage areas, set-aside areas and each arable crop area for which a
different aid rate is applicable shall be treated exclusively and separately for
the purposes of applying paragraphs 1 and 2.
4.
(a) The areas established in accordance with the provisions of
paragraphs 1 to 3 for the purpose of calculating the aid shall be
used for the calculation of the limit of the premiums referred to inArticles 4 (g) and 4 (h) of the Regulation (EEC) No 805/68, as wellas for the calculation of the compensatory allowance.
The calculation of the maximum eligible area for the compensatory
payments to arable crop producers shall be made on the basis of the
area of set-aside land actually determined and on a pro rata basis for
each crop concerned.
(b) Where the set-aside obligation is transferred, the calculations
referred to in subparagraph (a) of the maximum area eligible forcompensatory payments to arable crop producers shall be made asfollows:
— on the basis of the determined area of the set aside minus the
area of set aside transferred, for the farm where the transferred
set aside obligation is performed,
— on the basis of the determined set-aside area including the
set-aside area transferred, for the farm which has transferred the
set-aside obligation.
5.
No aid shall be granted for the agricultural parcels concerned if it is
established that the crops sown listed below do not meet the requirements ofthe respective provisions:
— rapeseed: Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 2294/92,— sunflower: Article 3 (a) of Regulation (EEC) No 2294/92,
— linseed: Article 6 (a) paragraph 4 of Regulation (EEC) No 1765/92.
Article 10
1. Where an individual limit or individual ceiling is applicable the number
of animals shown in aid applications shall be reduced to the limit or ceiling setfor the farmer concerned.
2. If the number of animals declared in an aid application exceeds that
found during checks the aid shall be calculated on the number of animalsfound. However, except in cases of force majeure and after paragraph 5 has
been applied, the unit amoung of the aid shall be reduced:
(a) in cases where an appliation concerns a maximum of 20 animals:
— by the percentage corresponding to the difference found if this is not
more than two animals,
— by twice the percentage corresponding to the difference found if this
is more than two but not more than four animals.
If the difference is greater than four animals, no aid shall be granted;
(b) in other cases:
— by the percentage corresponding to the difference found if this is not
more than 5 %,
— by twice the percentage, if the difference is more than 5 % but not
more than 20 %.
If the difference found is more than 20 % no aid shall be granted.!B
!M1
!M2
!M1
!B
!M2
!B
!M2
!B1992R3887 — EN — 23.08.1995 — 003.001 — 9
The percentages mentioned under (a) are calculated on the basis of the
number declared, and those mentioned under (b) on the basis of the numberfound.
However, where it is found that a false declaration was made intentionally or
as a result of serious negligence:
— the farmer in question shall be excluded from the aid scheme concerned
for the calendar year in question, and
— in the case of a false declaration made intentionally, from the same aid
scheme for the following calendar year.
If a farmer has been unable to comply with his retention undertaking as a
result of force majeure he shall retain his right to a premium in respect of the
number of animals actually eligible at the time when the case of force majeure
occurred.
In no case may premiums be granted on a greater number of animals than that
shown in the aid application.
If the compensatory allowance provided for in Regulation (EEC) No 2328/91
is calculated on the basis of livestock units the determining of the number
present and the sanctions provided for above shall apply on the basis of the
number of livestock units corresponding to the number of animals declaredand found.
For the purposes of this paragraph animals eligible for different premiums
shall be treated separately.
3. Without prejudice to the preceding paragraph, where an on-the-spot
check effected by virtue of Article 6 (6) reveals that the number of animals
present on the holding and for which an application is likely to be submitteddoes not correspond to the number of animals entered in the private registerthe total amount of the special premiums to be granted to the applicant during
the calendar year concerned shall, except in cases of force majeure ,b e
reduced proportionately.
However:
— if the difference found during an on-the-spot check is greater than or
equal to 20 % of the number of animals present or if a difference of atleast 3 % or at least two animals is found during two checks in the same
year, no premium shall be granted for that calendar year,
— if inaccurate entries in the register are found to be intentional or the result
of serious negligence by the applicant in question, he shall be excludedfrom the special premium scheme for the current calendar year and the
following calendar year.
4. Male bovine animals present on the holding shall not be counted unless
identified in the aid application, or, in the case where paragraph 3 is applied,
those identified in the register.
However, a suckler cow declared for the premium or a bovine declared for the
compensatory allowance provided for in Regulation (EEC) No 2328/91 may
be replaced by another suckler cow or bovine respectively provided that
replacement occurs within 20 days of the animal’s departure from the holdingand that the replacement is entered in the private register not later than threedays after the day of replacement.
If the compensatory allowance provided for in Regulation (EEC) No 2328/91
is calculated on the basis of the number of livestock units withoutdistinguishing between the species of animals concerned animals declaredcan be replaced by other animals eligible for this allowance on condition that
the corresponding number of livestock units does not decrease and that
replacements take place according to the conditions provided for in theprevious subparagraph.
5. In cases where owing to the impact of natural circumstances the farmer
cannot meet his commitment to keep the animals notified for a premiumthroughout the compulsory retention period he shall be entitled to thepremium for the number of eligible animals actually kept throughout the
period, provided that he has informed the competent authority in writing
within 10 working days of finding any reduction in the number of animals.!B
!M2
!B
!M2
!B1992R3887 — EN — 23.08.1995 — 003.001 — 10
Article 11
1. The penalties laid down in this Regulation shall be without prejudice to
additional penalties laid down at national level.
2. A case of force majeure with relevant evidence to the satisfaction of the
competent authority must be lodged in writing with the authority within 10working days of the date on which the farmer is in a position to do so.
3. Without prejudice to the actual circumstances to be taken into account in
individual cases, the competent authorities may recognize, in particular, the
following cases of force majeure:
(a) the death of the farmer;
(b) long-term professional incapacity of the farmer;(c) expropriation of a major part of the agricultural land managed by the
farmer if such expropriation could not be anticipated on the day theapplication was lodged;
(d) a severe natural disaster gravely affecting the holding’ s agricultural land;(e) the accidental destruction of livestock buildings on the holding;
(f) an epizootic affecting part or all of the farmer’ s livestock.
The Member States shall notify the Commission of the cases which they
recognize as force majeure.
Article 12
Every inspection visit must be the subject of a report setting out, in particular,
the reasons for the visit, the persons present, the number of parcels visited,those measured, the measuring methods used, the number of animals of each
species found and, where applicable, their identity numbers.
It will be open to the farmer or his representative to sign the report. He may
either merely attest his presence at the inspection or also add his observations.
Article 13
Except in cases of force majeure, if an on-the-spot check cannot be made
through the fault of the farmer the application shall be rejected.
Article 14
1. In cases of wrong payment the farmer will be required to reimburse the
amount in question plus interest for the period between payment and the
reimbursement by the beneficiary.
The rate of interest applicable is calculated according to the provisions of
national law and shall, however, in no case be lower than the interest rate
applicable in case of recovery of national amounts.
No interest shall be levied, or at the most on amount to be determined by the
Member State corresponding to the undue profit, if the wrong payment was an
error of the competent authority.
In the case of aids or premiums financed by the European Agricultural
Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), Guarantee Section, paying agenciesshall deduct amounts recovered and interest paid from the expenditure of thatSection, without prejudice to Article 7 of Council Regulation (EEC)
No 595/91 (
1).
2. However, Member States may decide that the amount owed should not be
paid over but deducted from the first advance or first payment due to the
farmer concerned after the date on which the repayment decision was taken.No interest shall run after the beneficiary has been informed of the wrongpayment.
3. Member States may decide not to claim repayment of amounts of ECU 20
or less per holding per calendar year provided that their national law includes
corresponding non-recovery rules for similar circumstances.!B
(1) OJ No L 67, 14. 3. 1991, p. 11.1992R3887 — EN — 23.08.1995 — 003.001 — 11
Article 15
Member States shall take all further measures required for application of this
Regulation and shall give the mutual assistance needed for the purposes of
checks required pursuant to this Regulation.
TITLE V
PART-FINANCING
Article 16
1. Each year before 31 January Member States shall inform the Commission
whether or not they wish to take up the part-financing option provided by
Article 11 of Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 and before 31 March shall notify
a detailed expenditure forecast for the year and an application for an advancepayment. For 1993, the Member States shall make the latter notification by 31May.
2. Within three months of receiving the forecast mentioned in paragraph 1
the Commission shall examine its content and on that basis make an advance
payment to the Member State to be deducted from the final amount of the
Community contribution.
The Commission shall indicate to Member States any of their expenditure that
cannot be part-financed by the Community.
3. By 15 May each year at the latest each Member State shall transmit to the
Commission a breakdown of expenditure incurred in the previous year.
4. Within six months of receiving the breakdown of expenditure the
Commission shall take a decision on the expenditure to be financed by theCommunity. The relevant amount shall be paid to the Member State minus theadvance payment indicated in paragraph 2.
"M1The amount taken as the
basis for calculating the expenses to be borne by the Community budget shall
not exceed the forecast of expenditure made by the Member State for thecalendar year in question.
3
5. If the advance payment made under paragraph 2 is greater than the totalpayment to be made by the Community the balance shall be repaid by theMember State either as a deduction from the advance payment for the
following year or by reimbursement.
6. If a Member State has specifically informed the Commission under
paragraph 1 that it does not want to take up the Community part-financing
option the unused amount shall be allocated by the Commission in accordancewith Article 10 of Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 between those Member
States that had stated their intention of taking up the option.
7. Member States shall retain for at least three years following the year to
which they relate all payment files and supporting documents relating to
expenditure incurred pursuant to Article 10 of Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92.
TITLE VI
TRANSITIONAL MEASURES
Article 17
1. In cases where by virtue of Article 13 of Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92
certain features of the integrated system are not yet in application each
Member State shall take whatever administrative and control measures arenecessary to ensure compliance with the terms on which the aids concernedare granted.
2. Until the integrated system has been put into full and definitive
application each Member State shall inform the Commission each year before
31 January of:
— the measures taken under paragraph 1,
— its plans for bringing the integrated system into application for the
calendar year concerned,
— the progress achieved in the previous calendar year.!B1992R3887 — EN — 23.08.1995 — 003.001 — 12
For 1993, Member States shall make that communication by 31 March.
At the Commission’ s request Member States shall make any adjustments it
deems necessary to the abovementioned measures or plans.
TITLE VII
NOTIFICATION
Article 18
1. Member States shall inform the Commission of national measures taken
in application of this Regulation.
2. The computerized data base established as a part of the integrated system
shall be used to support the information specified in the framework of
sectorial regulations which Member States are obliged to send to theCommission.
TITLE VIII
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 19
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the
Official Journal of the European Communities .
It shall apply from 1 February 1993.However, as regards the ewe and she-goat premiums and the compensatory
allowance provided for in Article 19 (1) (a) of Regulation (EEC) No 2328/91,the integrated system shall only apply with effect from applications submitted
in respect of the marketing year and calendar year of 1994 respectively.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all
Member States.!B1992R3887 — EN — 23.08.1995 — 003.001 — 13
ANNEX
The proportions (percentages) referred to in Article 7 (2)
Belgium 2,3
Denmark 2,4Germany 10,1
Greece 8,7
Spain 18,1France 14,6
Ireland 4,5
Italy 20,1Luxembourg 0,6
Netherlands 3,0
Portugal 5,7United Kingdom 9,9!
B1992R3887 — EN — 23.08.1995 — 003.001 — 14