Commission Regulation (EC) No 1678/98 of 29 July 1998 amending Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92 laying down detailed rules for applying the integrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes

• Published date: 30 July 1998
• Subject Matter: Information and verification,Agricultural structures
• Official Gazette Publication: Official Journal of the European Communities, L 212, 30 July 1998

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Commission Regulation (EC) No 1678/98 of 29 July 1998 amending Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92 laying down detailed rules for applying the integrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes

Official Journal L 212 , 30/07/1998 P. 0023 - 0028

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1678/98 of 29 July 1998 amending Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92 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 Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 of 27 November 1992 establishing an integrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 820/97 (2), and in particular Article 12 thereof,

Whereas it should be laid down that areas are to be declared in hectares to two decimal places;

Whereas, in order to guarantee that direct per-hectare aid is not paid for parcels without justification, parcels subject to certain other arrangements not covered by the integrated administration and control system established by Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 (hereinafter 'the integrated system`) should be declared separately;

Whereas, in view of the requirement to use a minimum quantity of certified seed in the case of declared and sown durum wheat, deterrent penalties should be provided for; whereas similar penalties should be laid down for infringements of the provisions on varieties;

Whereas, by analogy with agricultural rules in other sectors, farmers should be given the opportunity, under certain conditions, of correcting information in their applications which could lead to the imposition of penalties;

Whereas rules for the charging of interest, irrespective of the method of recovery chosen, should be laid down;

Whereas, in order to ensure uniform application throughout the Community of the principle of legitimate expectation where amounts unduly paid are recovered, the conditions under which that principle may be invoked should be laid down without prejudice to the treatment of irregular expenditure as provided for, in particular, in Articles 5 and 8 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 of 21 April 1970 on the financing of the common agricultural policy (3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1287/95 (4);

Whereas, in the light of experience, the amount below which the competent authorities may decide not to demand repayment of amounts paid in error should be increased;

Whereas Regulation (EC) No 820/97 establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef products stipulates that the system for identification and registration of bovine animals is to include eartags to identify animals individually, computerised databases, animal passports and individual registers kept on each holding;

Whereas effective control of bovine animals requires that animals be identified and recorded; whereas, to this end, Regulation (EC) No 820/97 lays down specific provisions;

Whereas to ensure the effective functioning of the rules for Community aid for eligible animals and the general veterinary rules laid down for the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 820/97 by Commission Regulations (EC) No 2630/97 (5) and (EC) No 494/98 (6) checks and sanctions pursuant to the integrated system and checks and sanctions for veterinary purposes should be considered separately; whereas an exchange of data and common controls are not excluded;

Whereas Article 5 of Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 stipulates that the system for identification and registration of animals to be taken into account for the granting of aid is to be set up in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 820/97;

Whereas experience has shown that implementation of Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 in respect of bovine animals has not been entirely satisfactory and needs improvement; whereas, the entry into force of Regulation (EC) No 820/97 provides the opportunity to integrate certain elements of common control practice in the Member States, and also to clarify, harmonise and simplify control procedures and practice; whereas, to this end, the minimum content of checks and reporting of controls should be specified;

Whereas it should be ensured that Community aid is granted only for bovines for which the obligations of identification and registration in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 820/97 have been complied with; whereas reliable control practice requires that all eligible bovine animals, that is to say all bovines for which applications have been lodged or which may be the subject of future aid applications, on the holding of an aid applicant be subject to on-the-spot checks; whereas, the identification and registration of bovine animals introduced by Regulation (EC) No 820/97 is applicable to all bovine animals;

Whereas provisions should be adopted to prevent and penalise irregularities and fraud effectively; whereas, to this end, there should be sanctions graded according to the gravity of the irregularity committed; whereas, the infringements should be defined in the light of experience with the application of sanctions;

Whereas therefore Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92 (7), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 613/97 (8), should be amended accordingly;

Whereas the Committee for the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund has not delivered an opinion within the time limit laid down by its chairman,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EEC) No 3887/92 is amended as follows:

1. Article 4(1) is amended as follows:

(a) the second indent of the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:

'- particulars permitting...