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Agricultural financial year
Without prejudice to special provisions on declarations of expenditure and revenue relating to public intervention laid down by the Commission pursuant to point (a) of Article 46(6), the agricultural financial year shall cover expenditure paid and revenue received and entered in the accounts of the Funds' budget by the paying agencies in respect of financial year "N" beginning on 16 October of year "N-1" and ending on 15 October of year "N".
Compliance with payment deadlines
Where payment deadlines are laid down by Union law, any payment made by the paying agencies to the beneficiaries before the earliest possible date of payment and after the latest possible date of payment shall make the payments ineligible for Union financing, except in the cases, conditions and limits to be determined taking into account the principle of proportionality. In order to make expenditure effected before the earliest possible date of payment or after the latest possible date of payment eligible for Union financing, while limiting the financial impact of doing so, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 115, derogating from the rule contained in the first paragraph.
Reduction and suspension of monthly and interim payments
1. Where the declarations of expenditure or the information referred to in Article 102 enable the Commission to establish that expenditure has been effected by bodies which are not accredited paying agencies, that payment periods or financial ceilings set by Union law have not been respected or that expenditure has otherwise not been effected in accordance with Union rules, the Commission may reduce or suspend the monthly or interim payments to the Member State concerned in the framework of the implementing acts concerning the monthly payments referred to in Article 18(3) or in the framework of the interim payments referred to in Article 36, after giving the Member State an opportunity to submit its comments. Where the declarations of expenditure or the information referred to in Article 102 do not enable the Commission to establish that the expenditure has been effected in accordance with Union rules, the Commission shall ask the Member State concerned to supply further information and to submit comments within a period which shall not be less than 30 days. If the Member State fails to respond to the Commission request within the period set or if the response is considered unsatisfactory or demonstrates that the expenditure has not been effected in accordance with Union rules, the Commission may reduce or suspend the monthly or interim payments to the Member State concerned in the framework of the implementing acts concerning the monthly payments referred to in Article 18(3) or in the framework of the interim payments referred to in Article 36. 2. The Commission may adopt implementing acts, reducing or suspending the monthly or interim payments to a Member State if one or more of the key components of the national control system in question do not exist or are not effective due to the gravity or persistence of the deficiencies found, or if there are similar serious deficiencies in the system for the recovery of irregular payments and if one of the following conditions is met: (a) the deficiencies referred to in the first subparagraph are of a continuous nature and have been the reason for at least two implementing acts pursuant to Article 52, excluding from Union financing expenditure from the Member State concerned; or (b) the Commission concludes that the Member State concerned is not in a position to implement in the immediate future the necessary remedial measures in accordance with an action plan with clear progress indicators, to be established in consultation with the Commission. The reduction or suspension shall be applied to the relevant expenditure effected by the paying agency where the deficiencies exist for a period to be determined in the implementing acts referred to in this paragraph, which shall not exceed twelve months. If the conditions for the reduction or suspension continue to be met, the Commission may adopt implementing acts prolonging that period for further periods not exceeding twelve months in total. The reduction and suspension shall not be continued if those conditions are no longer met. The implementing acts provided for in this paragraph shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 116(2). Before adopting the implementing acts referred to in this paragraph, the Commission shall inform the Member State concerned of its intention and shall ask it to react within a period which shall not be less than 30 days. The implementing acts determining the monthly payments referred to in Article 18(3) or the interim payments referred to in Article 36 shall take account of the implementing acts adopted under this paragraph. 3. Reductions and suspensions under this Article shall be applied in accordance with the principle of proportionality and shall be without prejudice to the application of Articles 51 and 52. 4. Reductions and suspensions under this Article shall be without prejudice to Articles 19, 22 and 23 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013. The suspensions referred to in Articles 19 and 22 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 shall be in accordance with the procedure laid down in paragraph 2 of this Article.
Suspension of payments in the case of late submission
Where sectoral agricultural legislation requires Member States to submit, within a specific period of time, information on the number of checks carried out under Article 59 and their outcomes and where the Member States overrun that period, the Commission may suspend the monthly payments referred to in Article 18 or the interim payments referred to in Article 36 provided that the Commission has made available to the Member States in good time prior to the start of the reference period all the information, forms and explanations they need to compile the relevant statistics. The amount to be suspended shall not exceed 1,5 % of the expenditure for which the relevant statistical information has not been sent in time. In applying the suspension, the Commission shall act in accordance with the principle of proportionality, taking account of the extent of the delay. In particular, account shall be taken of whether the late submission of information places the annual budget discharge mechanism at risk. Before suspending the monthly payments the Commission shall notify the Member State concerned in writing. The Commission shall reimburse the suspended amounts when it receives the statistical information from the Member States concerned, provided that the date of receipt is not later than 31 January of the following year.
Assignment of revenue
1. The following shall be "assigned revenue" within the meaning of Article 21 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (a) sums which, under Articles 40 and Article 51 as regards expenditure under EAGF, and under Articles 52 and 54, must be paid to the Union's budget, including interest thereon; (b) sums which are collected or recovered under Section III of Chapter III of Title I of Part II of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007; (c) sums which have been collected as a consequence of penalties in accordance with the specific rules laid down in Union sectoral agricultural legislation, save if that legislation explicitly provides that those amounts may be retained by the Member States; (d) amounts corresponding to penalties applied in accordance with the rules on cross-compliance laid down in Chapter II of Title VI, as regards expenditure under EAGF; (e) any security, deposit or guarantee furnished pursuant to Union law adopted within the framework of the CAP, excluding rural development, and subsequently forfeited. However, forfeited securities lodged when issuing export or import licences or under a tendering procedure for the sole purpose of ensuring that tenderers submit genuine tenders shall be retained by the Member States. 2. The sums referred to in paragraph 1 shall be paid to the Union's budget and, in the event of reuse, shall be used exclusively to finance EAGF or EAFRD expenditure. 3. This Regulation shall apply mutatis mutandis to assigned revenue referred to in paragraph 1. 4. As regards the EAGF, Articles 170 and 171 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the keeping of accounts on assigned revenue referred to in this Regulation.
Keeping of separate accounts
Each paying agency shall keep a set of separate accounts for the appropriations entered in the Union's budget for the Funds.
Information measures
1. The provision of information financed pursuant to point (e) of Article 6 shall aim, in particular, to help explain, implement and develop the CAP and to raise public awareness of its content and objectives to reinstate consumer confidence following crises through information campaigns, to inform farmers and other parties active in rural areas and to promote the European model of agriculture, as well as to help citizens understand it. It shall supply coherent, objective and comprehensive information, both inside and outside the Union, in order to give an accurate overall picture of the CAP. 2. The measures referred to in paragraph 1 may consist of: (a) annual work programmes or other specific measures presented by third parties; (b) activities implemented on the initiative of the Commission. Those measures which are required by law or those measures already receiving financing under another Union action shall be excluded. In order to implement activities as referred to in point (b) the Commission may be assisted by external experts. The measures referred to in the first subparagraph shall also contribute to the corporate communication of the Union's political priorities in so far as those priorities are related to the general objectives of this Regulation. 3. By 31 October of each year, the Commission shall publish a call of proposal respecting the conditions set out in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012. 4. The Committee referred to in Article 116(1) shall be notified of measures envisaged and taken pursuant to this Article. 5. The Commission shall present a report on the implementation of this Article to the European Parliament and the Council every two years.
Commission powers
1. In order to take account of revenue collected by paying agencies for the Union's budget when making payments on the basis of the expenditure declarations submitted by Member States, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 115 concerning the conditions under which certain types of expenditure and revenue under the Funds are to be compensated. 2. In order to enable the equitable distribution of the appropriations available between the Member States, if the Union's budget has not been adopted by the beginning of the financial year or if the total amount of the commitments scheduled exceeds the threshold laid down in Article 170(3) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 115 of this Regulation concerning the method applicable to the commitments and the payment of the amounts. 3. In order to verify the consistency of the data notified by the Member States in relation to the expenditure or other information provided for in this Regulation, the Commission shall be empowered, in the case of non-compliance with the obligation to notify the Commission pursuant to Article 102, to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 115 on the deferral of monthly payments to Member States referred to in Article 42 with regard to expenditure under the EAGF and laying down the conditions under which it will reduce or suspend interim payments to Member States under the EAFRD referred to in that Article. 4. When applying Article 42 in order to ensure that principle of proportionality is respected, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 115 pertaining to rules on: (a) the list of measures which fall under Article 42; (b) the rate of suspension of payments referred to in that Article. 5. The Commission may adopt implementing acts laying down further rules on the obligation laid down in Article 44 as well as the specific conditions applying to the information to be booked in the accounts kept by the paying agencies. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 116(3). 6. The Commission may adopt implementing acts laying down rules on: (a) the financing and accounting of intervention measures in the form of public storage, and other expenditure financed by the Funds; (b) the terms and conditions governing the implementation of the automatic decommitment procedure; (c) the procedure and other practical arrangements for the proper functioning of the mechanism provided for in Article 42. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 116(3).
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Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.