02014R0641 — EN — 18.04.2018 — 001.001

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Amended by:









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COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No 641/2014

of 16 June 2014

laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing rules for direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy







CHAPTER 1

SCOPE AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Article 1

Scope

This Regulation lays down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 in relation to:

(a) general provisions on direct payments;

(b) the basic payment scheme;

(c) the payment for farmers observing agricultural practices beneficial for the climate and the environment;

(d) voluntary coupled support;

(e) the crop-specific payment for cotton;

(f) notifications to be made by Member States.

Article 2

General principles

Member States shall implement this Regulation in accordance with objective criteria and in such a way as to ensure the equal treatment of farmers and to avoid distortions of the market and of competition, while promoting a sustainable management of natural resources and climate action.







CHAPTER 2

BASIC PAYMENT SCHEME







SECTION 1

First allocation of payment entitlements

Article 3

Application for allocation of payment entitlements in case of sale or lease using a contract clause pursuant to Article 24(8) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013

In case of sale or lease using a contract clause in accordance with Article 24(8) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, the application for the allocation of the payment entitlements shall be made by the buyer or the lessee respectively. That application shall include the following information:

(a) details of the sale or lease contract respectively, including the relevant contract clause and/or, where required by the Member State, a copy of that contract;

(b) the identification details of the farmer having transferred the right to receive entitlements to the buyer or the lessee, including, if available, the unique identification of the beneficiary referred to in Article 8 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 640/2014 ( 1 ).

In addition, Member States shall require from the buyer or lessee all information necessary to verify the application of Article 60 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 2 ).

Article 4

Application for allocation of payment entitlements in case of sale using a contract clause pursuant to Article 20 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 639/2014

1. In case of sale using a contract clause in accordance with Article 20 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 639/2014, the application for the allocation of the payment entitlements subject to that clause shall be made by the seller. That application shall include the following information:

(a) details of the sale contract, including the relevant contract clause and/or, where required by the Member State, a copy of that sale contract;

(b) the number of eligible hectares subject to that contract clause;

(c) the identification details of the farmer to whom the transfer is made under that clause, including, if available, the unique identification of the beneficiary referred to in Article 8 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 640/2014.

2. A Member State may allow the buyer to make the application for the allocation of the payment entitlements on behalf of the seller. In that case the Member State shall verify that the seller has authorised the buyer to make the application.

Article 5

Application for allocation of payment entitlements in case of lease using a contract clause pursuant to Article 21 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 639/2014

1. In case of lease using a contract clause in accordance with Article 21 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 639/2014, the application for the allocation of the payment entitlements subject to that clause shall be made by the lessor. That application shall include the following information:

(a) details of the lease contract, including the relevant contract clause and/or, where required by the Member State, a copy of that lease contract;

(b) the number of eligible hectares subject to that contract clause;

(c) the identification details of the farmer to whom the transfer is made under that clause, including, if available, the unique identification of the beneficiary referred to in Article 8 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 640/2014.

2. A Member State may allow the lessee to make the application for the allocation of the payment entitlements on behalf of the lessor. In that case the Member State shall verify that the lessor has authorised the lessee to make the application.

Article 6

Value of payment entitlements in case of inheritance

1. In Member States applying Article 25(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, where a farmer is entitled to be allocated entitlements in accordance with Article 24 of that Regulation in addition to a right to receive payment entitlements pursuant to Article 14(1) of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 639/2014, the value of his payment entitlements to be established in accordance with Article 26 of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 shall be calculated taking into account the sum of the data for 2014 relating to his original holding and to the inherited holding or part of the holding inherited.

2. In Member States applying Article 40(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, where a farmer is entitled to be allocated payment entitlements according to Article 39 of that Regulation in addition to a right to receive payment entitlements pursuant to Article 14(1) of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 639/2014, the value of his payment entitlements to be established in accordance with Article 40(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 shall be based on the sum of the data for the year concerned relating to his original holding and to the inherited holding or part of the holding inherited.







SECTION 2

Activation and transfer of payment entitlements

Article 7

Activation of payment entitlements in case of sale or lease using a contract clause under Article 24(8) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 or Articles 20 and 21 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 639/2014

1. In case of sale or lease using a contract clause in accordance with Article 24(8) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, the buyer’s or lessee’s first application for payment under the basic payment scheme shall be submitted in the same year as the application for the allocation of payment entitlements referred to in Article 3 of this Regulation.

2. In case of sale using a contract clause in accordance with Article 20 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 639/2014, the buyer shall in his first application for payment under the basic payment scheme include details of the sales contract indicating the relevant contract clause and/or, where required by the Member State, a copy of that sale contract. Such application shall be submitted in the same year as the application for the allocation of payment entitlements referred to in Article 4 of this Regulation.

3. In case of lease using a contract clause in accordance with Article 21 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 639/2014, the lessee shall in his first application for payment under the basic payment scheme include details of the lease contract indicating the relevant contract clause and/or, where required by the Member State, a copy of that lease contract. Such application shall be submitted in the same year as the application for the allocation of payment entitlements referred to in Article 5 of this Regulation.

Article 8

Notifications of transfer

1. In case of transfer in accordance with Article 34 of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, the transferor shall notify the competent authority of the transfer within a period to be established by the Member State.

2. The transfer shall take place as set out in the notification unless the competent authority objects to the transfer. The competent authority may only object to a transfer where the transfer is not in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, Delegated Regulation (EU) No 639/2014 and this Regulation. The competent authority shall notify the transferor as soon as possible of its objection.







SECTION 3

National or regional reserves

Article 9

Reversion to the national or regional reserve

1. For the purposes of Article 31(1)(a) or (b) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, except in cases of force majeure or exceptional circumstances, unused payment entitlements shall be deemed to have reverted to the national or regional reserve on the day following the final date as fixed by the Commission on the basis of Article 78(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 for amending the single application under the basic payment scheme in the calendar year in which the period referred to in Article 31(1)(a) or (b) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 expires.

2. Member States applying regional reserves in accordance with Article 30(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 shall apply the rules on the reversion of unused payment entitlements at regional level.







CHAPTER 3

GREENING

Article 10

Procedure for the notification and the assessment of the practices included in the specific commitments or certification schemes

1. The notifications referred to in Article 43(8) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 shall be made by 1 August 2014 in case of application in 2015 or by 1 July preceding the year of application in case of application after 2015.

Those notifications may be modified once a year, provided that the Commission is notified thereof by 1 July preceding the year of application of the modification.

2. For the commitments referred to in Article 43(3)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, the notifications to the Commission shall clearly describe the practices covered by the commitment and shall indicate which practices referred to in Article 43(2) of that Regulation they are equivalent to and by which of the equivalent practices listed in Annex IX to that Regulation they are deemed to be covered. Those notifications shall include a reference to the relevant commitments under the rural development programme submitted to the Commission pursuant to Article 10(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 3 ) or approved by the Commission pursuant to Article 18(4) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 ( 4 ).

3. For certification schemes referred to in Article 43(3)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, the notifications to the Commission shall clearly describe the practices covered by the certification scheme and shall indicate which practices referred to in Article 43(2) of that Regulation they are equivalent to and by which of the equivalent practices listed in Annex IX to that Regulation they are deemed to be covered.

4. When the assessment carried out by the Commission concludes that the notified practices included in the specific commitments or certification schemes are not covered by the list in Annex IX to Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, the Commission shall inform the Member State thereof within three months after receipt of the notification. The Member State may provide supplementary information within one month after the receipt of the Commission’s information. The implementing act provided for in the second subparagraph of Article 43(8) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 shall be adopted within seven months after receipt of the initial notification.

Article 11

Limits for the maintenance of permanent grassland in absolute terms

The limits to be used for the purpose of assessing the maintenance of permanent grassland in absolute terms referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 45(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 shall be a maximum decrease of 0,5 % of the areas of permanent grassland established in accordance with Article 45(2)(a) of that Regulation.







CHAPTER 4

COUPLED SUPPORT







SECTION 1

Voluntary coupled support

Article 12

Procedure for the assessment and the approval of decisions referred to in Article 55(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013

The Commission shall assess the decisions referred to in Article 55(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 for their compliance with that Regulation, in particular with regard to the demonstration of one of the needs laid down in Article 55(1) thereof, and with Delegated Regulation (EU) No 639/2014.

Where the Commission considers that the information provided by a Member State does not allow it to conclude that the conditions as referred to in the first paragraph are met, it shall request the Member State to provide additional information or to review its decision.

The Commission shall adopt an implementing act approving or rejecting the decision of a Member State within four months of receipt of all information required.







SECTION 2

Crop-specific payment for cotton

Article 13

Procedure for the authorisation of land and varieties

The procedure for the authorisation of land and varieties for the purposes of the crop-specific payment for cotton provided for in Article 57 of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 shall be completed by 31 January of each year for the sowing season of that year.

Article 14

Notifications to the producers

1. Before 1 March of each year, Member States shall notify cotton growers of the following information for the sowing season of that year:

(a) the authorised varieties for sowing;

(b) the criteria for authorising land for cotton production as established by them in accordance with Article 56 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 639/2014;

(c) the minimum cotton plant density referred to in Article 58 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 639/2014;

(d) the required agronomic practices.

2. Where the authorisation for a variety is withdrawn, Member States shall notify the growers of the withdrawal before 1 March for the sowing season of the following year.







CHAPTER 5

RULES ON NOTIFICATION

Article 15

Notifications concerning the flexibility between pillars

1. The information to be notified to the Commission pursuant to Article 14(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 and Article 136a(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 ( 5 ) shall be in the form of annual percentages of the annual national ceilings referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 14(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 and the first subparagraph of Article 136a(1) of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 for each calendar year until 2019.

2. The information to be notified to the Commission pursuant to Article 14(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 and Article 136a(1) of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 shall be in the form of annual percentages of the annual amounts allocated to support for measures under rural development programming referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 14(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 and the first subparagraph of Article 136a(2) of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 for each financial year until 2020.

Article 16

Notification on the increase of the basic payment scheme ceiling as referred to in Article 22(2) and (3) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013

Where a Member State notifies the Commission of its decisions pursuant to Article 22(2) or (3) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, the information to be submitted to the Commission shall consist in percentages of the annual national ceilings set out in Annex II to that Regulation after deduction of the amount resulting from the application of Article 47(1) of that Regulation for each calendar year until 2020.

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Article 16a

Notification on the increase of the single area payment scheme ceiling as referred to in Article 36(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013

Where a Member State notifies the Commission of its decisions pursuant to Article 36(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, the information to be submitted to the Commission shall consist in percentages of the annual national ceilings set out in Annex II to that Regulation after deduction of the amount resulting from the application of Article 47(1) of that Regulation for each calendar year from 2018 until 2020.

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Article 17

Financial allocations under the redistributive payment, the payment for areas under natural constraints and the payment for young farmers

Where a Member State notifies the Commission of its decisions pursuant to Articles 42(1), 49(1) and 51(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, the information to be submitted to the Commission shall consist in percentages of the annual national ceilings set out in Annex II to that Regulation for each calendar year until 2020.

Article 18

Application of Regulation (EC) No 792/2009

The notifications to the Commission provided for in Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, Delegated Regulation (EU) No 639/2014 and this Regulation shall be made in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 792/2009.







CHAPTER 6

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 19

Entry into force and application

This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply with respect to aid applications relating to calendar years subsequent to calendar year 2014.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.