4.

Article 49 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 49 Amendments to programmes 1. Amendments to the overall programmes approved under Article 24(2) of Regulation (EC) No 247/2006 shall be submitted to the Commission and shall be duly substantiated, in particular giving the following information: (a) the reasons and any implementation problem justifying amendment of the overall programme; (b) the expected effects of the amendment; (c) the implications for financing and verification of commitments. Except in cases of force majeure or exceptional circumstances Member States shall submit requests for programme amendments not more than once per calendar year and per programme and no later than 30 September of each year. If the Commission raises no objections to the amendments requested, those amendments shall apply from 1 January of the year following that in which they were notified. Such amendments may apply earlier if the Commission confirms in writing to the Member State before the date referred to in the third subparagraph that the notified amendments comply with Community legislation. If the notified amendment does not comply with Community legislation, the Commission shall inform the Member State thereof and the amendment shall not apply until the Commission receives an amendment that can be declared as compliant. 2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, for the following amendments, the Commission shall evaluate the Member States’ proposals and decide on their approval within four months of their submission at the latest in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 26(2) of Regulation (EC) No 247/2006: (a) the introduction of new measures or aid schemes into the overall programme; and (b) the increase of the unit level of support already approved for each existing measure or aid scheme by more than 50 % of the amount applicable at the time when the request for amendment is presented. 3. Member States shall be authorised to make the following amendments, without recourse to the procedure set out in paragraph 1 provided that the amendments are notified to the Commission: (a) in the case of forecast supply balances, changes in the individual level of aid up to 20 % or changes in the quantities of the products concerned covered by the supply arrangements and, consequently, the global amount of aid allocated to support each line of products; and (b) in the case of Community support programmes for local production, adjustments up to 20 % of the financial allocation for each individual measure or adjustments up to 20 % of the unit amount of aid above or below the amounts applicable at the time when the request for amendment is presented; (c) amendments following amendments to codes and descriptions laid down in Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 (4) used to identify the products benefiting from aid, as long as those amendments do not entail a change of the products themselves. Such amendments shall not apply before the date on which they are received by the Commission. They may be implemented only once a year except in cases of force majeure or exceptional circumstances, of modification of the quantities of the products covered by the supply arrangements and of modification of the statistical nomenclature and of the Common Customs Tariff codes as provided for in Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87.