1972R1686 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B REGULATION(EEC)No1686/72OFTHECOMMISSION
of2August1972
oncertain detailedrulesforaidforseed
(OJ L 177, 4.8.1972, p. 26)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1 Regulation (EEC) No 1382/74 of the Commission of 4 June 1974 L 148 9 5.6.1974
►M2 Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2511/88 of 8 August 1988 L 220 10 11.8.1988
►M3 Commission Regulation (EC) No 709/98 of 30 March 1998 L 98 30 31.3.1998
►M4 Commission Regulation (EC) No 800/2002 of 14 May 2002 L 131 3 16.5.2002
►M5 Commission Regulation (EC) No 323/2004 of 25 February 2004 L 58 14 26.2.2004
Corrected by:
►C1 Corrigendum, OJ L 113, 30.4.1999, p. 23 (709/98)
▼B
REGULATION(EEC)No1686/72OFTHECOMMISSION
of2August1972
oncertain detailedrulesforaidforseed
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community;
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2358/71 (1)o f2 6
October 1972 on the common organization of the market in seeds,
and in particular Articles 3 (5) and 9 thereof;
Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 1674/72 (2) of 2 August1972
laid down general rules for granting and financing aid for seed;whereas it is for the Commission to lay down the relevant detailedrules;
Whereas, to ensure the proper functioning of the aid system, growing
contracts and growing declarations should be registered sufficiently
early for the required supervision to be carried out;
Whereas the seed establishment or breeder may require a period in
which to treat, pack and have certified the seeds supplied by thegrower; whereas aid can therefore only be granted to the latter severalmonths after the harvest but whereas a time limit should nonetheless be
fixed;
Whereas applications for aid lodged by seed growers must give at least
the information necessary for supervisory purposes;
Whereas the necessary measures should be laid down for cases where a
seed establishment or a breeder from one Member State grows seed inanother Member State;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accor-
dance with the Opinion of the Management Committee for Seeds;
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 2358/71 shall be implemented in
accordance with the following detailed rules.
Article 1 a
For the purposes of this Regulation ‘marketing’ shall mean holding
available or in stock, displaying for sale, offering for sale, sale or
delivery to another person.
Article 2
Member States may fix annually the time limits for the registration of
growing contracts and declarations provided for in Article 5 of Regula-tion (EEC) No 1674/72.
Article 2 a
1. Aid shall be granted only on condition that the seed has in fact
been marketed by the recipient for sowing by the date the request issubmitted. He must prove this to the satisfaction of the Member State.1972R1686 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 2
(1) OJ No L 246, 5.11.1971, p. 1.
(2) OJ No L 177, 4.8.1972, p. 1.▼M3
▼B
▼M3
▼M3
2. Member States shall make unannounced checks to verify the first
destination of seed on which aid has been given and on compliancewith the aid conditions and shall notify to the Commission action taken
following such checks.
Article 3
1.►
M5From 1 July 2004, the annual maximum quantity of seed
other than rice seed eligible for Community production aid shall be
332 841 tonnes, allocated to the producer Member States as follows:
Belgium 10 077 tonnes,
Czech Republic 9 124 tonnes,Denmark 93 697 tonnes,Germany 31 654 tonnes,Estonia 379 tonnes,Greece 3 846 tonnes,Spain 23 976 tonnes,France 52 981 tonnes,Ireland 1 016 tonnes,Italy 18 822 tonnes,Cyprus 305 tonnes,Latvia 1 086 tonnes,Lithuania 1 090 tonnes,Luxembourg 865 tonnes,Hungary 7 772 tonnes,Malta 300 tonnes,Netherlands 35 856 tonnes,Austria 769 tonnes,Poland 5 800 tonnes,Portugal 300 tonnes,Slovenia 369 tonnes,Slovakia 862 tonnes,Finland 5 853 tonnes,Sweden 8 132 tonnes,United Kingdom 17 910 tonnes. ◄
These quantities shall be expressed in equivalent quantities in accor-
dance with paragraph 2.
2. The conversion into equivalent quantities of the quantities for
which an aid application has been submitted shall be made by multi-
plying the quantity relating to each species by its coefficient ofequivalence, laid down in the Annex to this Regulation.
3. Aid shall be granted to the seed grower in response to an applica-
tion to be submitted after the harvest and before a date fixed by theMember State in question for each species or group of varieties.
4. Without prejudice to paragraph 5, the Member State shall pay the
aid to the seed grower within two months of the application beinglodged and at the latest by 31 July of the year following that of harvest.1972R1686 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 3
▼M4
▼M4
By 15 August of the year following the harvest producer Member
States shall notify to the Commission the quantities for which aidapplications have been made.
5. Where, under the fourth subparagraph of Article 3(4a) of Regula-
tion (EEC) No 2358/71, an overrun of the maximum quantity is found
for a specific harvest, if the information provided for in the second
subparagraph of paragraph 4 has been received, the Commission shallfix the reduction coefficients for the aid applicable for each MemberState concerned by 30 September for the marketing year following theoverrun.
The reduction coefficients for the aid shall be established in proportion
to the overrun on the national quantity laid down in paragraph 1.
Should the Commission find that the national quantity laid down in
paragraph 1 has not been fully used by a particular Member State, the
unused quantity shall be reallocated, for the same marketing year,
among the Member States that have overrun their own national quan-tity. The Commission shall reallocate this amount on a pro rata basis inrelation to the national quantities for these Member States.
6. The amountof reduced aid applicable for each species shall be
calculated by the Member State by multiplying the amount of aid bythe reduction coefficient obtained pursuant to paragraph 5.
7. The Member States may establish, before the start of the
marketing year, at national level, a production profile, by allocatingtheir national quantity among the various seed species and/or families
of species.
Member States who intend to avail themselves of the option provided
for in the above subparagraph shall inform the Commission thereof and
shall notify it in good time of the measures planned at national level.These measures must be consistent with Article 3(4a) of Regulation(EEC) No 2358/71 and with paragraphs 5 and 6, in particular asregards the budget impact of the payment of the aid.
Article 3 a
1.►
M5From 1 July 2004, the annual maximum quantity of rice
seed eligible for Community production aid shall be 87 269 tonnes,allocated to the producer Member States as follows:
Spain 29 625,613 tonnes,
France 3 031,861 tonnes,Greece 1 472,618 tonnes,Hungary 644,400 tonnes,Italy 50 242,268 tonnes,Portugal 2 252,240 tonnes. ◄
The quantity per Member State may be adjusted within the maximum
quantity set for the Community, on the terms set in paragraph 3.
2. Subject to Article 2a, aid on rice seed shall be granted to produ-
cers, within the maximum limit set for the Community, on applicationto be lodged after the harvest but before 20 June of the following year.
By 15 July of the year following the harvest producer Member States
shall notify to the Commission the quantities for which aid applicationswere made.
3. If the sum total of the quantities for which aid is applied for in
producer Member States exceeds the maximum quantity set for theCommunity the aid shall be reduced in each Member State in propor-tion to the overrun of its national quantity. The Commission shall setthe reduction percentages applicable.1972R1686 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 4
▼M3
▼M3
4. The Member State shall pay the aid to the producer between 31
July and 30 September of the year following that of harvest.
Article 3 b
1. The checks referred to in Article 2a(2) shall comprise:
(a) administrative checks, notably cross-checks to prevent aid being
paid twice for the same calendar year. These cross-checks shallcover plots subjected to official examination that have been foundto comply with the requirements set by the directives indicated inthe first indent of Article 1(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 1674/72;
(b) checks on documents to verify at least the first destination of seed
on which aid has been granted;
(c) any other checks that the Member State deems necessary in order
to guarantee that aid is not paid on uncertified seed or seed from
third countries.
Checks shall cover a significantsample of applicat ions and atleast5 %
of applications for each species. The applications to be checked shallbe determined by the competent authority on the basis of risk analysis
plus an element of representativeness of the applications made. Risk
analysis shall take account of:
— the aid amount,
— the quantity of certified seed in relation to the area checked,— change from the previous year,— other parameters to be defined by the Member State.
2. Where appropriate, Member States shall make checks at the
premises of breeders, other seed establishments and end users.
3. The following Articles of Commission Regulation (EEC) No
3887/92 (
1) shall apply:
— Article 6(1) (verification of compliance with terms on which aid is
granted),
— Article 11 (additional national penalties; force majeure ),
— Article 12 (inspection visit report),
— Article 13 (check on the spot),
— Article 14 (undue payment).
Article 3 c
1. Exceptin cases of force majeure late lodging of an application
shall give rise to a 1 % reduction per day of the aid ►C1to which
the seed grower would otherwise ◄have been entitled. Applications
shall be invalid if lodged, in the case of rice seed, after 30th June ofthe year following that of harvest and, in the case of other species or
variety groups, after the 10th day following the time limit set by the
Member State.
2. If it is found that seed covered by an application was not in fact
marketed by the applicant for sowing, the ►
C1aid to the seed grower
for the species ◄concerned shall be reduced by 50 % if the quantity
not marketed for sowing amounts to more than 2 % but not more than5 % of the quantity covered by the application. If the quantity notmarketed exceeds 5 % no seed production aid shall be granted to theproducer for the marketing year in question.
3. If an aid application is made for seed not officially certified or
not harvested within the Member State in question during the calendaryear in which the marketing year for which the aid has been set begins,no seed production aid shall be granted to the producer for that or thefollowing marketing year.1972R1686 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 5
(1) OJ L 391, 31. 12. 1992, p. 36.
▼B
Article 4
The application for aid shall include at least:
— the name and address of the applicant;
— the quantities of certified seed produced, expressed in quintals to
one decimal point;
— the registration number of the growing contract or growing declara-
tion.
The application shall be accompanied by a supporting document to
show that the quantities of seed referred to have been officially certi-fied.
Article 5
A seed establishment or a breeder growing seed or having seed grown
in a Member State other than that in which approval or registrationtook place must supply that other Member State, on request, with allthe information required for checking entitlement to aid.
Article 6
Each Member State shall notify the Commission of the provisions and
measures adopted for the application of the aid system introduced by
Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 2358/71.
Article 7
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following its publica-
tion in theOfficial Journal of the European Communities .
Itshall apply from 1 July 1972.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.1972R1686 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 6
▼M4
ANNEX I
ProductCoefficient of equivalence
1. CEREALS (other than rice)
Triticum spelta L. 0,45
2. OILSEEDS
Linum usitatiss . (fibre flax) 0,89
Linum usitatiss . (linseed) 0,70
Cannabis sativa L. 0,64
3. GRAMINAEAgrostis canina L. 2,38
Agrostis capillaris L. 2,38
Agrostis gigantea Roth. 2,38
Agrostis stolonifera L. 2,38
Arrhenatherum elatius L. 2,10
Dactylis glomerata L. 1,65
Festuca arundinacae Schreb. 1,84
Festuca ovina L. 1,36
Festuca pratensis Huds. 1,36
Festuca rubra L. 1,15
Festulolium 1,01
Lolium multiflorum Lam. 0,66
Lolium perenne L. 0,97
Lolium x boucheanum 0,66
Phleum bertolonii (DC) 1,60
Phleum pratense L. 2,62
Poa nemoralis L. 1,22
Poa pratensis L. 1,21
Poa trivialis L. 1,22
4. LEGUMINOUS PLANTSHedysarium coronarium L. 1,14
Medicago lupulina L. 1,00
Medicago sativa L. (ecotypes) 0,69
Medicago sativa L. (varieties) 1,15
Onobrichis viciifolia SC 0,63
Pisum sativum L. partim. —
Trifolium alexandrinum L. 1,43
Trifolium hybridum L. 1,44
Trifolium incarnatum L. 1,43
Trifolium pratense L. 1,67
Trifolium repens L. 2,35
Trifolium repens L. gigante 2,22
Trifolium resupinatum L. 1,43
Vicia faba L. partim. —
Vicia sativa L. 0,96
Vicia villosa Roth. 0,751972R1686 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 005.001 — 7