Compiled from an official source version. Later amendments or repeals may not be reflected; the official text prevails. · Read the official text ↗
Payment to beneficiaries
1. Payments under Section 4 of Chapter II of Title I of Part II of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 shall be made in full to beneficiaries, without prejudice to Article 28 of this Regulation. 2. Notwithstanding Article 49, the payments referred to in paragraph 1 shall be subject to prior checks as provided by Article 54(1).
Changes to beneficiaries' operations
1. Member States may lay down rules regarding changes to the operations submitted by beneficiaries and approved by the competent authorities. Before the submission of the final payment claim, and in any case before the on-the-spot check prior to the final payment, a beneficiary should be allowed to submit changes to the initially approved operation provided that they do not undermine the objectives of the overall operation, are duly justified, communicated within the time limits set by the national authorities and approved by them. 2. Member States may allow that minor changes within the initially approved amount of eligible support can be implemented without prior approval, provided that they do not affect the eligibility of any part of the operation and its overall objectives. In particular, Member States may allow financial transfers between the actions covered by an operation already approved up to a maximum of 20 % of the amounts initially approved for each action, provided that the total amount of approved support for the operation is not exceeded. In their support programmes Member States may provide for other minor changes that can be implemented without prior approval.
General principles
1. Notwithstanding Article 49, support shall be paid once it is ascertained that either an overall operation or all the individual actions which are part of the overall operation covered by the support application, according to the choice made by the Member State for the management of the support measure concerned, have been fully implemented and subjected to administrative and, where applicable, on-the-spot checks in accordance with Section 1 of Chapter IV of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1150. 2. Where support is normally payable after implementation of the overall operation, support shall nevertheless be paid for the individual actions implemented if checks show that the remaining actions could not be carried out due to force majeure or exceptional circumstances within the meaning of Article 2(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013. 3. If checks show that an overall operation covered by the support application has not been fully implemented for reasons other than force majeure or exceptional circumstances within the meaning of Article 2(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013, and where support has been paid after individual actions which are part of the overall operation covered by the support application, Member States shall recover the support paid. In such cases, if an advance has been paid, Member States may decide to apply a penalty. 4. Paragraphs 1 and 3 shall not apply where operations supported under Articles 46 and 47 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 respectively are not implemented on the total surface for which support was requested. In such cases, Member States shall pay the amount corresponding to the part of the operation that has been implemented or, in case of advanced payments, recover the amount paid in relation to the part that has not been implemented. The amount of support shall be calculated on the basis of the difference between the area approved following administrative checks on the support application or modified in accordance with Article 53 of this Regulation and the area where the operation has been actually implemented, determined by the on-the-spot checks following implementation. Where the difference does not exceed 20 %, the support shall be calculated on the basis of the area determined by the on-the-spot checks following implementation. Where the difference is more than 20 % but no more than 50 %, the support shall be calculated on the basis of the area determined by the on-the-spot checks following implementation and reduced by twice the difference found. Where the difference exceeds 50 %, no support shall be granted for the operation concerned.
Standard scales of unit costs and control methods
For the purposes of Articles 46 and 47 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, the following rules shall apply: (a) if the amount of the support is calculated on the basis of standard scales of unit costs based on a surface measurement unit, the amount shall correspond to the actual surface measured in accordance with Article 44 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1150; (b) if Member States decide to calculate the amount of the support on the basis of standard scales of unit costs based on other measurement units or on the basis of the actual costs resulting from the supporting documents to be submitted by the beneficiaries in accordance with Article 44(1) of this Regulation, they shall lay down rules on appropriate control methods to establish the actual extent of implementation of the operation.
Force majeure and exceptional circumstances
Where, under Section 4 of Chapter II of Title I of Part II of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 or this Regulation, a sanction is to be imposed, it shall not be imposed in cases of force majeure or exceptional circumstances and other cases laid down in Article 64(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013.
Articles on this page are reproduced verbatim from official open data. See the attribution line.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.