Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/128 of 21 December 2021 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 of the European Parliament and of the Council on paying agencies and other bodies, financial management, clearance of accounts, checks, securities and transparency

• CELEX: Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/128
• Articles: 74

Article 1 Procedure for the accreditation of paying agencies

1.   Member States shall designate an authority at ministerial level responsible for:

(a)

the issuing, reviewing and withdrawing of accreditation of paying agencies;

(b)

carrying out the tasks assigned to the competent authority pursuant to this Chapter.

2.   The competent authority shall, by way of a formal act, decide on the issuing or, after review, the withdrawal of the accreditation of the paying agency on the basis of an examination of the accreditation criteria referred to in Article 1(2) and (3) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/127. The competent authority shall inform the Commission of accreditations and withdrawals of accreditations without delay.

3.   The competent authority shall appoint an audit body to carry out an examination before any accreditation is issued (pre-accreditation review). The audit body shall be an audit authority, or other public or private organisation or organisational unit of an authority with the requisite proficiency, skills and capacity to carry out audits. The audit body shall be independent from the paying agency to be accredited.

4.   The examination (pre-accreditation review) to be carried out by the audit body shall cover, in particular:

(a)

the procedures and systems in place for the authorisation and execution of payments and for the execution of the annual performance reporting;

(b)

the division of duties and the adequacy of internal and external control in respect of transactions financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), hereinafter together referred to as ‘the Funds’;

(c)

the extent to which the procedures and systems put in place are apt to safeguard the Union budget including risk-based anti-fraud measures;

(d)

the security of information systems;

(e)

the maintenance of accounting records.

The audit body shall prepare a report detailing the audit work carried out, the results of that work and its assessment as to whether the paying agency complies with the accreditation criteria. The report shall be provided to the competent authority which shall then assess the results and issue the accreditation act where it is satisfied that the paying agency complies with the accreditation criteria.

5.   Where the competent authority considers that the paying agency does not comply with the accreditation criteria, it shall inform the paying agency of the specific conditions it is required to fulfil before accreditation may be issued.

Pending the implementation of any necessary changes in order to fulfil such specific conditions, accreditation may be issued provisionally for a period to be determined taking into account the severity of the problems identified, which shall not exceed 12 months. In duly justified cases, the Commission may, upon request of the Member State concerned, grant an extension of that period.

6.   The information provided for in Article 90(1), first subparagraph, point (a), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 shall be communicated immediately after the paying agency is first accredited and in any case before any expenditure effected by it is charged to the Funds. That information shall be accompanied by declarations and documents concerning:

(a)

the responsibilities vested in the paying agency;

(b)

the allocation of responsibilities between the departments of the paying agency;

(c)

the relationship of the paying agency with other bodies, public or private, which are responsible for implementing any measures under which the paying agency charges expenditure to the Funds;

(d)

the procedures by which claims by beneficiaries are received, verified, and validated, and by which expenditure is authorised, paid and accounted for;

(e)

the provisions concerning the security of information systems;

(f)

the report of the pre-accreditation review carried out by the audit body referred to in paragraph 3.

7.   The Commission shall inform the Committee on the Agricultural Funds of paying agencies accredited in each Member State.

Article 2 Review and withdrawal of accreditation of paying agencies

1.   The competent authority shall keep the paying agencies for which it is responsible under constant supervision, on the basis of, in particular, the certificates and reports drawn up by the certification body referred to in Article 12 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, and shall follow-up on any deficiencies identified.

Every 3 years, the competent authority shall report in writing to the Commission on its supervision of paying agencies and monitoring of their activities. The report shall include a review of the paying agencies’ continuous compliance with the accreditation criteria, together with a summary of the actions taken to remedy the deficiencies. The competent authority shall confirm whether a paying agency for which it is responsible continues to comply with the accreditation criteria.

2.   Member States shall establish a system that ensures that any information suggesting that a paying agency does not comply with the accreditation criteria is communicated to the competent authority without delay.

3.   Where the competent authority has determined that an accredited paying agency no longer respects one or more of the accreditation criteria in a manner that is liable to hinder the fulfilment of the tasks set out in Article 1(1) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/127, the competent authority shall put the paying agency’s accreditation under probation without delay. It shall draw up a plan including actions and deadlines to remedy the deficiencies found within a period to be determined according to the severity of the problem, which shall not exceed 12 months from the date on which the accreditation is put under probation. In duly justified cases, the Commission may, upon request of the Member State concerned, grant an extension of that period.

4.   The competent authority shall inform the Commission of its decision to place a paying agency’s accreditation under probation, of the plan drawn up pursuant to paragraph 3 and, subsequently, of the progress in the implementation of such plans.

5.   If the accreditation is withdrawn, the competent authority shall without delay accredit another paying agency which fulfils the conditions laid down in Article 9(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 to ensure that payments to beneficiaries are not interrupted.

6.   Where the Commission finds that the competent authority has not complied with its obligation to draw up a remedial plan pursuant to paragraph 3 or that the paying agency continues to be accredited without having fully implemented such a plan within the determined period, it shall request the competent authority to withdraw the accreditation of that paying agency unless the necessary changes are made within a period to be determined by the Commission according to the severity of the problem. In such a situation, the Commission may decide to pursue the deficiencies through the conformity procedure in accordance with Article 55 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.

Article 3 Procedure for issuing, reviewing and withdrawing the accreditation of the coordinating body

1.   Member States shall designate an authority at ministerial level responsible for the issuing, reviewing and withdrawing of the accreditation of the coordinating body referred to in Article 10 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 (hereinafter “the competent authority”).

2.   The competent authority shall, by way of a formal act, designate and decide on the issuing or, after review, the withdrawal of the accreditation of the coordinating body on the basis of an examination of the accreditation criteria referred to in Article 2 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/127. This examination on the compliance with the accreditation criteria shall be carried out by the competent authority and it may rely on an examination performed by an audit body. The competent authority shall inform the Commission of issuing and withdrawing the accreditation of the coordinating body without delay.

3.   The coordinating body referred to in Article 10 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 shall act as the Commission’s sole interlocutor for the Member State concerned for all questions relating to the Funds as regards its tasks.

4.   A paying agency may act as a coordinating body provided that the two functions are kept separate.

5.   In performing its tasks, the coordinating body may, in accordance with national procedures, call on other administrative bodies or departments, particularly on those with accounting or technical expertise.

6.   The confidentiality, integrity and availability of all computer data held by the coordinating body shall be ensured by measures adapted to the administrative structure, staffing and technological environment of each coordinating body. The financial and technological effort shall be proportionate to the actual risks incurred.

7.   The communication of information provided for in Article 90, first subparagraph, point (a), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 shall be made immediately after the coordinating body is first accredited and, in any case, before any expenditure for which it is responsible is charged to the Funds. That information shall be accompanied by declarations and documents concerning:

(a)

the responsibilities vested in the coordinating body;

(b)

the allocation of responsibilities within the coordinating body;

(c)

the relationship of the coordinating body with other bodies, public or private, which are responsible to collaborate with it on the performance of its tasks;

(d)

the procedures and systems in place in place to ensure the performance of its tasks;

(e)

the provisions concerning the security of information systems;

(f)

the result of the examination on the compliance with the accreditation criteria referred to in paragraph 2.

8.   Where the competent authority considers that the coordinating body does not comply with the accreditation criteria, it shall inform the coordinating body of the requirements to be complied with.

Pending the implementation of any necessary changes in order to meet the accreditation criteria, accreditation may be:

(a)

issued provisionally for a new coordinating body;

(b)

put under probation for an existing coordinating body provided that an action plan is followed to remedy the situation.

The accreditation shall be withdrawn if the accreditation criteria have not been fulfilled and the competent authority considers that the coordinating body cannot fulfil its tasks.

Article 4 Management declarations

1.   The management declarations referred to in Article 9(3), first subparagraph, point (d), and Article 10(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 shall be drawn up in due time for the certification body to issue the opinion referred to in Article 12(1) of that Regulation.

The management declarations shall be in the forms set out in Annexes I and II respectively to this Regulation and may be qualified by reservations quantifying the potential financial impact. In the event that reservations are expressed, the declaration shall include a remedial action plan and a precise a time frame for its implementation.

2.   The management declarations shall be based on an effective supervision of the management and control system in place throughout the year.

Article 5 Certification

1.   The competent authority shall designate the certification body provided for in Article 12 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.

Where there is more than one certification body in a Member State, that Member State may designate a public certification body at the national level to be responsible for coordination.

2.   The certification body shall organise its work in an effective and efficient manner, and carry out its checks within an appropriate time frame, taking into account the nature and the timing of the transactions for the financial year concerned.

3.   The opinion to be provided by the certification body in accordance with Article 12(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 shall be drawn up annually.

That opinion shall be based on the audit work to be carried out in accordance with Articles 6 and 7 of this Regulation.

4.   The certification body shall draw up a report of its findings. The report shall also cover the delegated functions of the paying agency in accordance with Section 1.(D) of Annex I to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/127. The report shall state whether, for the period covered by the report:

(a)

the paying agency complied with the accreditation criteria;

(b)

the paying agency’s procedures were such as to give reasonable assurance that the expenditure charged to the Funds was effected in compliance with Union rules, thus ensuring that:

(i)

as regards the types of intervention referred to in Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, the expenditure has corresponding reported output and that it has been effected in accordance with the applicable governance systems, and that recommendations for improvements, if any, have been followed up;

(ii)

the underlying transactions were legal and regular, as regards the measures laid down in Regulations (EU) No 228/2013, (EU) No 229/2013, (EU) No 1308/2013 and Regulation (EU) No 1144/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council  ( 13 ) , as well as for the crop-specific payment for cotton and support for early retirement under Title III, Chapter II, Section 3, Subsection 2, and Article 155(2), respectively, of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, and that recommendations for improvements, if any, have been followed up;

(c)

the performance reporting on output indicators for the purpose of the annual performance clearance referred to in Article 54 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 and the performance reporting on result indicators for the multiannual performance monitoring referred to in Article 134 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, demonstrating that Article 37 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 is complied with, was correct;

(d)

the annual accounts referred to in Article 33 of this Regulation were kept in accordance with the books and records of the paying agency;

(e)

the statements of expenditure and of public intervention operations were a materially true, complete and accurate record of the operations charged to the Funds;

(f)

the financial interests of the Union were properly protected as regards advances paid, guarantees obtained, intervention stocks and amounts to be collected.

The report shall include information on the number and qualifications of staff conducting the audit, the work done, the systems examined, the level of materiality and confidence obtained where applicable, any weaknesses found and recommendations made for improvement and the operations of both the certification body and other audit bodies, internal and external to the paying agency, from which all or part of the certification body’s assurance on the matters reported was gained.

Article 6 Audit principles

1.   The certification audit shall be carried out in accordance with internationally accepted auditing standards.

2.   The certification body shall prepare an audit strategy that sets the scope, timing and direction of the certification audit, the audit methods and the sampling methodology, while distinguishing types of intervention referred to in Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 from measures laid down in Regulations (EU) No 228/2013, (EU) No 229/2013, (EU) No 1308/2013 and (EU) No 1144/2014. An audit plan shall be developed in respect of each financial year audited based on the estimated audit risk. Upon request, the certification body shall provide the Commission with the audit strategy and the audit plan.

3.   The reasonable level of audit assurance to be achieved from auditing shall be obtained as to the proper functioning of the governance systems, the correctness of the performance reporting, the true and fair view of the annual accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions as regards the measures laid down in Regulations (EU) No 228/2013, (EU) No 229/2013, (EU) No 1308/2013 and (EU) No 1144/2014, as well as for the crop-specific payment for cotton and support for early retirement under Title III, Chapter II, Section 3, Subsection 2, and Article 155(2), respectively, of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, for which reimbursement has been requested from the Commission.

This shall be done through system audit and compliance testing as regards the functioning of governance system, completeness and accuracy testing and analytical procedures for the performance reporting system.

As regards the audit of annual accounts substantive testing of expenditure shall be applied, including test of details. As regards the audit of the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions as referred to in the first subparagraph, the testing shall include verification on-the-spot.

4.   The Commission shall establish guidelines, which contain, in particular:

(a)

further clarification and guidance in respect of the certification audit to be performed;

(b)

the determination of the reasonable level of audit assurance to be achieved from auditing.

Article 7 Audit methods

1.   The audit methods relevant to the certification audit shall be defined in the audit strategy provided for in Article 6(2).

2.   To achieve the audit objectives and to issue the opinion as laid down in Article 12(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, the audit steps shall include systems audits, substantive testing, where necessary, and the verification of reconciliations on financial and management declarations.

3.   As regards the auditing of governance systems, the certification body shall perform systems audits that may include compliance testing and also testing of IT general controls and application controls, for the purpose of verification of the system design and implementation.

4.   Substantive testing of expenditure shall cover the verification of legality and regularity of the underlying transactions at the level of the final beneficiaries as regards the measures laid down in Regulations (EU) No 228/2013, (EU) No 229/2013, (EU) No 1308/2013 and (EU) No 1144/2014 as well as for the crop-specific payment for cotton and support for early retirement under Title III, Chapter II, Section 3, Subsection 2, and Article 155(2), respectively, of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115. For those purposes, the certification body may accompany the paying agency when it carries out secondary level on-the-spot checks. The certification body may not accompany the paying agency when it carries out initial on-the-spot checks, with the exception of those situations, where it would be physically impossible to re-verify the initial check carried out by the paying agency.

5.   As regards auditing of the performance reporting system, the certification body shall apply testing of records, databases to verify if reported performance output and result indicators are correctly reported and match the expenditure financed by the Union or objectives of intervention, respectively. Justifications provided for the differences between the annual expenditure declared for an intervention and the amount corresponding to the relevant reported output indicator in accordance with Article 54(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 shall be verified and confirmed by the certification body. The certification body’s work shall also include the verification of the calculation of the indicators.

6.   The certification body may rely on the audit results of the external auditors of the bodies implementing financial instruments for the purpose of the overall assurance and on this basis, the certification body may decide to limit its own audit work.

In the context of guarantee funds, the certification body may conduct audits of the bodies providing new underlying loans only when either one or both of the following situations occur:

(a)

supporting documents, providing evidence of the support from the financial instrument to final recipients, are not available at the level of the managing authority or at the level of the bodies implementing the financial instrument;

(b)

there is evidence that the documents available at the level of the managing authority or at the level of the bodies implementing the financial instrument do not represent a true and accurate record of the support provided.

The Member State shall define the arrangements to ensure the audit trail for financial instruments in accordance with the template set out in Annex III, demonstrating the fulfilment of conditions or achievement of results.

7.   The European Investment Bank (EIB), or other international financial institutions in which a Member State is a shareholder implementing financial instruments, shall by the end of each calendar year provide the Member States with the annual audit report referred to in the third subparagraph of Article 12(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 prepared by their external auditors covering the elements included in Annex IV to this Regulation.

8.   The Commission shall provide further conditions and guidance on designing the audit procedures, sampling integration, planning and carrying out the on-the-spot re-verification of transactions, where necessary, through the guidelines as referred to in Article 6(4).

Article 8 Paying agencies’ accounts

1.   Each paying agency shall keep a set of accounts covering only the expenditure and revenue referred to in Article 5(1) and Articles 6 and 45 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 and the use of the funds made available to it to defray the corresponding expenditure. Those accounts shall enable the financial data for the Funds to be distinguished and provided separately.

Member States shall make available for the Commission the information of the expenditure effected and assigned revenue received on its request.

2.   The paying agencies of the Member States which have not adopted the euro shall keep accounts covering the amounts expressed in the currency in which the expenditure was incurred and the revenue received. However, to enable all their expenditure and revenue to be consolidated, they must be able to provide the corresponding data in national currency and in euro.

3.   As regards the EAFRD, each paying agency shall keep accounts enabling all the operations for each plan and each intervention to be identified. Such accounts shall include in particular:

(a)

the amount of public expenditure and the amount of the Union contribution paid for each operation;

(b)

the amounts to be recovered from beneficiaries for irregularities or negligence found;

(c)

the amounts recovered, with an indication of the original operation.

Article 9 Establishment of the declaration of expenditure

1.   The amount of the payment to be granted to a beneficiary under the EAGF shall be determined by the Member States in the framework of the control systems as referred to in Title IV of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.

2.   The expenditure effected and to be declared to the EAGF shall take account of penalties applied in the framework of Member States’ control systems in case of non-compliances.

3.   The amount resulting from the application of paragraph 2 shall serve for types of intervention in the form of direct payments referred to in Article 16 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 and the programmes for the outermost regions of the Union and the smaller Aegean islands as laid down in Regulation (EU) No 228/2013 and Regulation (EU) No 229/2013, respectively, as a basis for the reduction of payments referred to in Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 and for the application of financial discipline referred to in Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.

4.   The amount resulting from the application of paragraph 2 and in the specific case of direct payments and the programmes referred to in paragraph 3, the amount resulting from the application of paragraphs 2 and 3 shall constitute the amount to be declared to the Commission.

5.   The expenditure declared to the EAGF shall serve as a basis for the verification of the financial ceilings set by Union law.

6.   The amount resulting from the application of paragraphs 2 and 3 shall serve as a basis for the calculation of administrative penalties in relation to conditionality as referred to in Title IV, Chapters IV and V, of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.

7.   By way of derogation from paragraph 3, Member States may pay advances for direct payments without applying the adjustment rate for financial discipline referred to in Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 to beneficiaries in respect of the aid applications for a given year. The balance payment to be granted to beneficiaries as from 1 December shall take into account the adjustment rate for financial discipline applicable at that time for the total amount of direct payments in the corresponding calendar year.

Article 10 Communication of information by Member States

1.   In accordance with Article 90(1), point (c)(i) and (ii), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, Member States shall send to the Commission, electronically and by the seventh day of each month at the latest, the information and documents on expenditure and assigned revenue referred to in Articles 11 and 12 of this Regulation, and in particular the declaration of expenditure drawn up in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article.

However, the communication on expenditure effected and assigned revenue received between 1 and 15 October shall be sent by 25 October at the latest.

All relevant information shall be provided on the basis of the model made available by the Commission to Member States through information systems.

2.   The declaration of expenditure referred to in paragraph 1 shall consist of at least:

(a)

a statement, drawn up by each paying agency, broken down according to the nomenclature of the Union budget and by expenditure and assigned revenue, based on a detailed nomenclature made available within the information systems to the Member States covering:

(i)

the expenditure effected and assigned revenue received during the preceding month;

(ii)

total expenditure effected and assigned revenue received from the beginning of the financial year until the end of the preceding month;

(iii)

estimates of expenditure and assigned revenue covering separately the next three months and, as appropriate, the total of estimates of expenditure and assigned revenue to the end of the financial year.

Where the estimates for the next three months, as referred to in the first subparagraph, point (iii), fall in the next financial year, only the total per month needs to be provided;

(b)

the accounts evidencing expenditure and revenue relating to public intervention.

3.   All the financial information required under this Article shall be communicated in euro.

Article 11 General rules on the declaration of expenditure and on assigned revenue

1.   Without prejudice to the special provisions on declarations of expenditure and revenue relating to public storage referred to in Article 12, expenditure and assigned revenue declared by paying agencies in respect of a given month shall correspond to payments and receipts actually effected during that month.

That expenditure and assigned revenue shall be entered in the accounts of the EAGF budget in respect of the corresponding financial year.

However:

(a)

expenditure which may be paid prior to the implementation of the provision permitting it to be wholly or partially borne by the EAGF may be declared only:

(i)

in respect of the month during which the provision in question was implemented; or

(ii)

in respect of the month following implementation of that provision;

(b)

revenue assigned to the EAGF shall be declared in respect of the month during which the time limit for payment of the corresponding amounts, laid down in Union legislation, expires. Where corrections to assigned revenue lead, at paying agency level, to the declaration of negative revenue assigned for a budget line, surplus corrections shall be carried over to the following month.

2.   Expenditure and assigned revenue shall be taken into consideration on the date on which the account of the paying agency was debited or credited. However, for payments, the date to be taken into consideration may be the date on which the agency concerned issued the payment document and sent it to a financial institution or to the beneficiary. Each paying agency shall use the same method throughout the financial year.

3.   Payment orders which are not executed and payments debited to the account, then re-credited, shall be shown in the accounts as deductions from expenditure in respect of the month during which the failure to execute or the cancellation is reported to the paying agency.

4.   Where payments due under the EAGF are encumbered by claims, they shall be deemed to have been effected in their entirety for the purpose of applying paragraph 1:

(a)

on the date of the payment of the sum due to the beneficiary, if the claim is less than the expenditure settled;

(b)

on the date of set-off, if the expenditure is less than or equal to the claim.

Article 12 Special rules on declarations of expenditure relating to public storage

1.   The operations to be taken into consideration for drawing up declarations of expenditure relating to public storage shall be those entered at the end of a given month in the accounts of the paying agency, which have taken place from the beginning of the accounting year within the meaning of Article 3(3), first subparagraph, point (a) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/127 up to the end of that month.

2.   Such declarations of expenditure shall comprise the values and amounts determined in accordance with Articles 17and 18 of this Regulation and Article 4 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 906/2014  ( 14 ) entered in the accounts by paying agencies during the month following that to which the operations relate.

However:

(a)

in the case of operations carried out in the course of September, the values and amounts shall be entered in the accounts by paying agencies by 15 October at the latest;

(b)

in the case of the overall depreciation amounts referred to in Article 3(1), point (e), of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 906/2014, the amounts shall be entered in the accounts on the date laid down in the decision providing for them.

Article 13 Payment decision by the Commission

1.   On the basis of the data sent in accordance with Article 10(1) of this Regulation, the Commission shall decide to make the monthly payments pursuant to Article 21(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, without prejudice to the corrections which may be made by means of subsequent decisions in accordance with Articles 53, 54 and 55 of that Regulation, and taking into account the reductions and suspensions decided in accordance with Articles 39 to 42 of that Regulation.

2.   If the total expenditure declared by Member States for the following financial year exceeds three quarters of the EAGF total appropriations for the current financial year, the advance commitments referred to in Article 11(2), point (b), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 and the corresponding monthly payments shall be granted in proportion to the declarations of expenditure, up to a maximum of 75 % of the appropriations for the current financial year. The Commission shall take the balance of amounts not reimbursed to Member States into account in decisions on subsequent reimbursements.

Article 14 Making resources available to Member States

By deciding to make the monthly payments, the Commission shall place at the disposal of the Member States, within the framework of the budget appropriations, the resources needed to cover expenditure to be financed by the EAGF, less the corresponding amount of assigned revenue, in the account opened by each Member State.

When the amount established by the Commission for the application of Article 13(1) is negative for a Member State in total or for a given budget line, the effective offsetting may be deferred to the following months.

Article 15 Communication under public intervention

1.   Paying agencies shall transmit to the Commission:

(a)

at the Commission’s request, the documents and information referred to in Article 3(7) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/127 and the additional national administrative provisions adopted for the application and management of intervention measures;

(b)

by the day provided for in Article 10(1), of this Regulation, the information on public storage, on the basis of the models made available by the Commission to Member States through information systems.

2.   The relevant information systems referred to in Article 25 shall be used to perform the notifications and information exchanges and to draw up the documents relating to public intervention expenditure.

Article 16 Content of the public storage accounts to be kept by paying agencies

1.   The stock accounts provided for in Article 3(3), first subparagraph, point (a), of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/127 shall contain the following categories of elements, shown separately:

(a)

the quantities of products recorded on entry into and removal from storage, with or without physical movement;

(b)

the quantities used for free distribution to the most deprived persons under the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived, and accounted for under Article 4(3) of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 906/2014, distinguishing those which are the subject of a transfer to another Member State;

(c)

quantities taken as samples, distinguishing samples taken by purchasers;

(d)

the quantities which, after checking by visual examination in the context of the annual stock-taking or during the inspection after taking into intervention, may no longer be repackaged and are the subject of direct sales;

(e)

quantities missing, for identifiable or unidentifiable reasons, including those corresponding to the legal tolerance limits;

(f)

quantities which have deteriorated;

(g)

surplus quantities;

(h)

missing quantities exceeding the tolerance limits;

(i)

quantities which have entered into storage and been found not to meet the requirements and for which taking-over has therefore been refused;

(j)

net quantities in storage at the end of each month or accounting year, which are carried forward to the next month or accounting year.

2.   The financial accounts provided for in Article 3(3), first subparagraph, point (a), of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/127 shall contain:

(a)

the value of the quantities referred to in paragraph 1, point (a), of this Article, showing separately the value of the quantities bought in and of the quantities sold;

(b)

the book value of the quantities used or taken into account under the free distribution arrangements referred to in paragraph 1, point (b), of this Article;

(c)

the financing costs referred to in Article 3(1), point (a), of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 906/2014;

(d)

expenditure on physical operations as referred to in Article 3(1), points (b) and (c), of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 906/2014;

(e)

amounts resulting from depreciation as referred to in Article 3(1), point (e), of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 906/2014;

(f)

the amounts collected or recovered from sellers, purchasers and storers, other than those referred to in Article 21 of this Regulation;

(g)

the amount from direct sales carried out after the annual stock-taking or following checks after products are taken into intervention storage;

(h)

losses and gains on removals of products, taking account of depreciation as referred to in point (e) of this paragraph;

(i)

other debits and credits, in particular those corresponding to the quantities referred to in paragraph 1, points (c) to (g), of this Article;

(j)

the average book value, expressed per tonne.

Article 17 Accounting related to public intervention

1.   The elements referred to in Article 16 shall be booked for the quantities, values, amounts and averages actually recorded by paying agencies or for the values and amounts calculated on the basis of the standard amounts established by the Commission.

2.   The records and calculations referred to in paragraph 1 shall be made subject to the application of the following rules:

(a)

the removal costs relating to quantities for which quantitative losses or deterioration have been recorded, in accordance with the rules laid down in Annexes VI and VII to Delegated Regulation (EU) No 906/2014, shall be entered in the accounts only for the quantities actually sold and removed from storage;

(b)

quantities recorded as missing on transfer between Member States shall not be deemed to have entered storage in the Member State of destination and shall not be covered by standard entry costs;

(c)

the standard entry and removal costs fixed for transport and transfer shall be entered in the accounts if those costs are not considered, under the Union rules, to be an integral part of the transport costs;

(d)

unless specific Union rules provide otherwise, amounts accruing from sales of products which have deteriorated and any other amounts received in this context shall not be entered in the EAGF account records;

(e)

any surplus quantities recorded shall be entered in the accounts as a negative amount, in the missing quantities in the stock situation and movements. Those quantities shall be included when determining the quantities exceeding the tolerance limit;

(f)

samples other than those taken by purchasers shall be entered in the accounts in accordance with point 2(a) of Annex VII to Delegated Regulation (EU) No 906/2014.

3.   Corrections made by the Commission, as regards the elements referred to in Article 16 for the current accounting year, shall be notified to the Committee on the Agricultural Funds. They may be notified to the Member States on the occasion of a monthly payment decision or, failing that, at the time of the decision on the clearance of accounts. They shall be entered in the accounts by paying agencies under the terms of that decision.

Article 18 Dates for entering expenditure and revenue and product movements in the accounts for public intervention

1.   The various items of expenditure and revenue shall be entered in the accounts on the date on which the physical operation under the public intervention measure takes place and by using the exchange rate as referred to in Article 3(2) of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 906/2014.

However, the following dates shall apply in the cases set out below:

(a)

the date of receipt, in the case of amounts received or recovered, as referred to in Article 16(2), points (f) and (g), of this Regulation;

(b)

the date of actual payment of costs relating to physical operations, where such costs are not covered by standard amounts.

2.   The various elements relating to the physical movement of products and the management of stocks shall be entered in the accounts on the date on which the physical operation under the intervention measure takes place.

However, the following dates shall apply in the cases set out below:

(a)

the date of taking-over of products by the paying agency, in accordance with Article 22(2) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1240  ( 15 ) , for quantities entering public storage without any change in the place of storage;

(b)

regarding missing or deteriorated and surplus quantities, the date of the finding as to the facts in the case of missing or deteriorated and surplus quantities;

(c)

the date of actual removal from storage, in the case of direct sales of products remaining in storage which can no longer be repackaged after visual examination in the context of the annual stock-taking or during the inspection after taking into intervention;

(d)

the last day of the accounting year, for any losses exceeding the tolerance limit referred to in Article 4(2) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/127.

Article 19 Amount financed under public intervention

1.   The amount to be financed under the intervention measures referred to in Article 2 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 906/2014 shall be determined on the basis of the accounts drawn up and kept by paying agencies in accordance with Article 3(3), first subparagraph, point (a) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/127, and to which the various items of expenditure and revenue referred to in Article 16 of this Regulation are debited and credited, respectively, taking account where necessary of amounts of expenditure fixed under the sectoral agricultural legislation.

2.   Paying agencies or coordinating bodies as appropriate shall transmit to the Commission, each month and each year, by electronic means, on the basis of the models made available by the Commission to Member States through information systems, the information needed for the financing of public storage expenditure and the accounts evidencing expenditure and revenue relating to public storage in the form of tables, by the day provided for in Article 10(1) and by the date provided for in Article 33(2).

Article 20 Declarations of public intervention expenditure and revenue

1.   Financing by the EAGF under the intervention measures referred to in Article 2 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 906/2014 shall be equal to the expenditure, calculated on the basis of the information notified by the paying agency, after deduction of any revenue accruing from the intervention measures, validated by the information system set up by the Commission and included by the paying agency in its declaration of expenditure drawn up in accordance with Article 12 of this Regulation.

2.   Sums recovered in accordance with Article 53 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 and amounts received or recovered from sellers, purchasers and storers, which meet the criteria laid down in Article 45 of that Regulation shall be declared to the EAGF budget in accordance with Article 10(2), point (a), of this Regulation.

Article 21 Forecast of funding requirements

For each CAP Strategic Plan as referred to in Article 118 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, and in accordance with Article 90(1), first subparagraph, point (c)(ii), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, Member States shall send to the Commission, twice per year, by 31 January and 31 August at the latest, their forecasts of the amounts to be funded by the EAFRD for the financial year. In addition, Member States shall send an updated estimate of their funding requests for the following financial year.

Those forecasts and that updated estimate shall be sent on the basis of the model made available by the Commission to Member States through information systems.

Article 22 Declarations of expenditure

1.   Paying agencies shall declare expenditure and recovered amount for each rural development type of intervention and technical assistance under the CAP Strategic Plan as referred to in Article 118 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 for each of the reference periods, referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, on the basis of the model made available by the Commission to Member States through information systems.

For each CAP Strategic Plan, paying agencies shall specify in a declaration of expenditure at least the following:

(a)

the amount of eligible public expenditure, excluding additional national financing as referred to in Article 115(5) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, for which the paying agency has actually paid the corresponding EAFRD contribution during each of the reference periods referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article;

(b)

the information on financial instruments as referred to in Article 32(4) and (5) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116;

(c)

the additional information on advances paid to beneficiaries as referred to in Article 44(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116;

(d)

the amount recovered during the current period as referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, in respect of the CAP Strategic Plan;

(e)

the amount recovered during the current period as referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article in respect of the EAFRD rural development programmes from 2007 onwards, for which Member States is no more obliged to send interim declaration of expenditure;

(f)

the amounts related to technical assistance.

The expenditure effected and to be declared to the EAFRD shall take account of penalties applied in the framework of Member States’ management and control system in case of non-compliance.

2.   Once the Commission has approved a CAP Strategic Plan, Member States shall send to the Commission, in accordance with Article 90(1), first subparagraph, point (c)(i), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, their declarations of expenditure by the following deadlines:

(a)

by 30 April at the latest in the case of expenditure in the period 1 January to 31 March;

(b)

by 31 July at the latest in the case of expenditure in the period 1 April to 30 June;

(c)

by 10 November at the latest in the case of expenditure in the period 1 July to 15 October;

(d)

by 31 January at the latest in the case of expenditure in the period 16 October to 31 December.

If in a Member State the CAP Strategic Plan is implemented by more than one paying agency, the coordinating body shall ensure that the declarations of expenditure are transmitted on the same day.

However, all expenditure paid by paying agencies to the beneficiaries in accordance with Article 86 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 until the end of the last period, as specified in the first subparagraph of this paragraph, prior to the approval of a CAP Strategic Plan as referred to in Article 118 of that Regulation, is made under the Member States’ responsibility and shall be declared to the Commission in the first declaration of expenditure following the approval of that plan. Recovered amounts for the corresponding period, as referred to in paragraph 1, second subparagraph, points (d) and (e), of this Article shall also be declared in that declaration. The same rule shall apply mutatis mutandis in case of amendment of a CAP Strategic Plan as referred to in Article 119 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, except for financing plan adjustments as referred to in Article 23 of this Regulation.

As regards financial instruments set up in accordance with Article 58 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 and Article 80 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, the expenditure shall be declared in the financial year when the conditions as referred to in Article 32(3) and (4) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 are met and it had been effected by the paying agency before the end of the financial year.

All the financial information required under this Article shall be communicated in euro.

Article 23 Calculation of the amount to be paid

1.   The Union contribution to be paid in respect of the eligible public expenditure, excluding additional national financing as referred to in Article 115(5) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, shall be mentioned in the financing plan in force on the first day of the reference period and calculated as regards the CAP Strategic Plans referred to in Article 118 of that Regulation as follows:

(a)

for each reference period referred to in Article 22(2) of this Regulation on the basis of the EAFRD contribution rate as provided for in Article 91 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 and approved by the Commission in accordance with Article 118 of that Regulation;

(b)

for certain eligible types of expenditure, referred to in Article 155 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 in the period 2023–2027, on the basis of the contribution rate of the intervention set in the CAP Strategic Plan, subject to the conditions in that Article;

(c)

technical assistance on the basis of a flat rate, as referred to in Article 94(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115.

The calculation shall take account of the corrections to the Union contribution as declared in the declaration of expenditure for that period.

2.   Without prejudice to the ceiling provided for in Article 30(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, where the combined total of the Union contribution paid to the CAP Strategic Plan exceeds the contribution to a type of intervention, as regards the EAFRD, the amount to be paid shall be reduced to the amount programmed for that type of intervention. Any Union contribution excluded as a result may be paid later provided that an adjusted financing plan has been submitted by the Member State and approved by the Commission.

Article 24 Automatic decommitment

In case a Member State does not submit a revised financing plan, as provided for in Article 34(6) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, and the related amendment of the CAP Strategic Plan by 30 June, the Commission shall reduce the amounts allocated to each type of intervention pro rata, by amending the decision approving the Member State’s CAP Strategic Plan no later than 30 September.

Article 25 Electronic exchange of information and documents

1.   The Commission shall define the information systems enabling electronic exchanges of documents and information between it and the Member States for the communications and consultation of information provided for in Article 90 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 and the necessary arrangements for their application. It shall inform the Member States of the general conditions for implementing those systems via the Committee on the Agricultural Funds.

2.   The information systems referred to in paragraph 1 shall be able to process in particular:

(a)

the data required for financial transactions, in particular those relating to the annual accounts of paying agencies, declarations of expenditure and assigned revenue and the transmission of information and documents referred to in Article 3 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/127 and Articles 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23 and 32 of this Regulation;

(b)

documents of common interest enabling the monthly and interim declarations of expenditure and annual accounts to be monitored and the information and documents which paying agencies must make available to the Commission to be consulted;

(c)

the Union texts and Commission guidelines on the financing of the Common Agricultural Policy by authorities accredited and designated under Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, and the guidelines on the harmonised application of the relevant legislation.

3.   The form and content of the documents referred to in Articles 10, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23 and 32 shall be made available by the Commission to Member States by way of models through information systems.

Those models shall be adapted and updated by the Commission, after having informed the Committee on the Agricultural Funds.

4.   The information systems referred to in paragraph 1 may contain the tools required for storing the data and for managing the accounts of the Funds by the Commission.

5.   Data on financial transactions shall be communicated, entered and updated in the information systems referred to in paragraph 1 under the responsibility of paying agencies, by paying agencies themselves or by bodies to which that function has been delegated, where applicable via the coordinating bodies accredited in accordance with Article 9(4) and Article 10 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.

6.   Where a document sent pursuant to Article 90(1), point (c),(i) and (iii), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 or a procedure in the information systems require the signature or the approval of an authorised person at one or more of the stages of that procedure, that compulsory electronic signature or approval shall be done in compliance with Regulation (EU) No 910/2014.

7.   The electronic and digitised documents shall be kept for the whole of the period provided for in Article 3(3), first subparagraph, point (a), of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/127.

8.   Where there is a malfunction in an information system or no stable connection, the Member State may, with the prior approval of the Commission, send the documents in another form, under the conditions laid down by the Commission.

Article 26 Requirements for the reimbursement of expenditure for the Funds

1.   Declarations of expenditure for the Funds shall be entered in the form of structured data by accredited paying agencies or the accredited coordinating body on the basis of the model made available by the Commission to Member States through information systems.

2.   EAGF and EAFRD expenditure and EAGF assigned revenue declared in respect of a period may contain corrections to data declared in respect of the preceding declaration periods of the same financial year.

3.   EAGF and EAFRD expenditure and assigned revenue to be charged to the financial year not introduced respectively in the monthly and interim declarations may be corrected only in the annual accounts to be sent to the Commission in accordance with Article 90(1), first subparagraph, point (c)(iii), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.

4.   The Union contribution shall be paid by the Commission, subject to resource availability, into the account(s) opened by each Member State.

5.   Each Member State shall notify the Commission of the name or number of the account(s) in accordance with the format made available to it by the Commission.

Article 27 Suspension of payments

The implementing acts determining the monthly payments referred to in Article 21(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 or the interim payments referred to in Article 32 of that Regulation shall take account of the suspension of payments decided in accordance with Articles 40(1) and (2), 41(2) and 42(2) of that Regulation.

Article 28 Action plans in relation to the multi-annual performance monitoring

1.   Following the assessment of the justification submitted by the Member State in the context of the performance review referred to in Article 135 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, the Commission may ask the Member State concerned to submit an action plan as referred to in Article 41 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116. The Member State shall submit an action plan within 2 months after receiving the Commission request. In that action plan the Member State shall propose concrete remedial actions to address the shortcomings and identify the interventions, which affect the performance of the CAP Strategic Plan, in particular as regards deviations from milestones set to achieve the specific objectives laid down in Article 6(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115. The remedial actions shall be described in sufficient detail to enable the Commission assessing whether the action plan is appropriate to remedy these shortcomings, including, where relevant, the actions to improve the performance of the concerned interventions.

2.   For each of the actions the Member State shall set the planned implementation deadline which shall not be later than 2 years from the time the action plan is launched. In order to enable the review of the expected timeframe for execution of the action plan, Member State shall also set up progress indicators towards that deadline which shall be at least every 3 months throughout the duration of the action plan.

3.   Within a period of 2 months after receipt of the action plan from the Member State concerned, the Commission shall, where appropriate, inform that Member State in writing of its objections to the submitted action plan and request its modification. The Member State concerned shall provide further clarifications or submit an updated action plan within 2 months after receiving the Commission comments.

4.   Following the period referred to in paragraph 3, the Commission shall inform the Member State in writing within a period of 2 months, whether it considers that the action plan is sufficient to address the shortcomings affecting the performance of the CAP Strategic Plan. In case of a positive assessment, the receipt of that assessment by the Member State shall be considered as the date of launching the implementation of the action plan. The launching date is without prejudice to the possibility for the Member State concerned to start implementing remedial actions earlier. In case of a negative assessment, the Commission shall inform the Member State concerned of its intention concerning the suspension of payments, referred to in Article 41(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.

5.   Member States shall prepare the action plans and report on the progress in their implementation in line with the respective template provided by the Commission at the moment of the submission of the annual performance report, in accordance with Article 9(3), first subparagraph, point (b), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116. The template shall be available and used in electronic form.

Article 29 Action plans in relation to deficiencies in the governance systems

1.   Member State shall submit the action plan referred to in Article 42 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 within 2 months after receiving the Commission request. In its action plan, the Member State concerned shall propose concrete actions to address each of the serious deficiencies indicated by the Commission. The corrective actions shall be adequately described so as to enable the Commission to assess whether the action plan is sufficient to remedy the deficiencies.

2.   For each of the actions Member State shall set the planned implementation deadline which shall not be later than 2 years from the date of the launching of the action plan. In order to enable the review of progress indicators, Member State shall also set milestones towards that deadline which shall be at least every 3 months throughout the duration of the action plan.

3.   Within 2 months after receipt of the action plan from the Member State concerned, the Commission shall, where appropriate, inform that Member State in writing of its objections to the submitted action plan and request its modification. The Member State concerned shall provide further clarifications or submit an updated action plan within 2 months after receiving the Commission comments. In duly justified cases, this period may be extended.

4.   Following the exchanges referred to in paragraph 3, and not later than 2 months after receiving the latest communication from the Member State, the Commission shall inform the Member State in writing of its assessment. In case of a positive assessment, the receipt of that assessment by the Member State shall be considered as the date of launching the implementation of the action plan. The launching date is without prejudice to the possibility for the Member State concerned to start implementing remedial actions earlier. In case of a negative assessment due to a manifestly insufficient action plan, the Commission shall inform the Member State concerned of its intention concerning the suspension of payments, referred to in Article 42(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.

5.   Where there is insufficient progress in the implementation of the action plan or it has not been submitted in accordance with the written request of the Commission, the Commission shall inform the Member State concerned of its intention concerning the suspension of payments, referred to in Article 42(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.

6.   For recurrent serious deficiencies revealed in the quality assessment reports referred to in Articles 68(3), 69(6) and 70(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, the Commission shall request an action plan in accordance with Article 42 (1) of that Regulation, if the same deficiencies are detected without any improvement in the second consecutive year.

7.   Member States shall prepare the action plans and report on the progress in their implementation in accordance with the respective template provided by the Commission. The template shall be available and used in electronic form.

Article 30 Recovery of undue payments

1.   For any undue payment following the occurrence of irregularity or negligence, Member States shall set up a system ensuring a recovery request from the beneficiaries within a reasonable time frame after where applicable, the paying agency or body responsible for the recovery received a control report or similar document, stating that an irregularity has taken place. The system shall ensure that the corresponding amounts are recorded at the time of the recovery request in the debtors' ledger of the paying agency.

2.   The Member States shall have a system in place to ensure that the recovery procedures, including calculation of interest in accordance with the applicable national laws, regulations and administrative provisions referred to in Article 59(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, off-setting and enforcement of unduly paid amounts, are launched and followed up in a timely manner. The follow up of a debt according to the applicable national recovery procedure shall be ensured and the recovered amounts shall be reimbursed to the Funds in due time.

3.   The correction of a debt towards the Funds shall only take place if the absence of any irregularity is recorded by an administrative or legal instrument of a final nature.

4.   The Member States shall properly justify the write-off of a debt and the decision not to pursue the recovery of a debt in accordance with the applicable national rules.

Article 31 Recovery by offsetting

Without prejudice to any other enforcement action provided for by national law, Member States shall offset any undue amount arising from a pending irregularity of a beneficiary established in accordance with national law against any future payments in favour of that beneficiary, to be made by the paying agency responsible for the recovery of the debt.

Article 32 Content of the annual accounts

1.   The annual accounts referred to in Article 90(1), first subparagraph, point (c)(iii), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 shall include:

(a)

the assigned revenue referred to in Article 45 of that Regulation;

(b)

the expenditure of the EAGF after deduction of any undue payments not recovered at the end of the financial year other than those referred to in point (f) of this paragraph, including any interests thereon, summarised by item and sub-item of the Union budget;

(c)

the expenditure of the EAFRD, by programme, measure or type of intervention as applicable and specific contribution rate. The annual statement of expenditure shall also include information on the amounts recovered. Once a programme or CAP Strategic Plan is closed, any undue payments not recovered other than those referred to in point (f) of this paragraph, including any interests thereon, shall be deducted from the expenditure of the financial year in question;

(d)

a table of differences by item and sub-item or, in the case of the EAFRD by programme, measure or by type of intervention as applicable and by specific contribution rate and focus area where applicable, between the expenditure and the assigned revenue declared in the annual accounts and that declared for the same period in the documents referred to in Article 10(2) of this Regulation, as far as the EAGF is concerned, and Article 22(2) of this Regulation, as far as the EAFRD is concerned, accompanied by an explanation for every difference;

(e)

separately, the amounts to be borne by, respectively, the Member State concerned and the Union in accordance with Article 54(2), first subparagraph, and (3) of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council  ( 16 ) in relation to:

(i)

expenditure incurred and payments made for support schemes under Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council  ( 17 ) in respect of calendar year 2022 and before;

(ii)

measures laid down in Regulations (EU) No 228/2013, (EU) No 229/2013, (EU) No 1308/2013 and (EU) No 1144/2014 until 31 December 2022;

(iii)

aid for operational programmes of recognised producer organisations or their associations in the fruit and vegetables sector and support programmes in the wine sector as referred to in Article 5(6) and (7), respectively, of Regulation (EU) 2021/2117 of the European Parliament and of the Council  ( 18 ) in relation to expenditure incurred and payments made for operations implemented pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 after 31 December 2022 until the end of the operational programmes or the support programmes in accordance with Article 5(6)(c) and (7), respectively, of Regulation (EU) 2021/2117;

(iv)

revenue declared in the framework of the implementation of rural development programmes approved by the Commission pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005  ( 19 ) and Commission Regulation (EC) No 27/2004  ( 20 ) ;

(f)

an extract of the undue payments yet to be recovered at the end of the financial year as a consequence of irregularities within the meaning of Article 1(2) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95  ( 21 ) , including any penalties provided for by the applicable sectoral Union rules and the interest thereon, to be presented in a table in accordance with the model set out in Annex V to this Regulation. For expenditure referred to point (e) of this paragraph, an extract of the undue payments shall be presented in a table in accordance with the model set out in Annex II to Implementing Regulation (EU) No 908/2014;

(g)

an extract from the debtors ledger of the amounts to be recovered and credited to either the EAGF or the EAFRD other than those referred to in point (b), (c), (e) and (f) of this paragraph, including any penalties and interest thereon, to be presented in a table in accordance with the model set out in Annex III to Implementing Regulation (EU) No 908/2014 in respect of expenditure referred to in point (e) of this paragraph;

(h)

a summary of intervention operations and a statement of the quantity and location of stocks at the end of the financial year;

(i)

confirmation that expenditure, assigned revenue and the details of each movement of intervention storage is held on the paying agency’s files and accounting records;

(j)

the closing balance at the end of the financial year of unused/un-cleared cumulated advances paid by Member States to beneficiaries, detailed for the EAGF by intervention and for the EAFRD by programme, or by type of intervention as applicable and for the latter, including the financial instruments. For the financial instruments, the closing balance concerns amounts paid as advances by the Commission in accordance with Article 32(4) point (a), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 that have neither been used by Member States for payments to or for the benefit of final recipients, nor have been committed for guarantee contracts or paid as management fees and costs in accordance with Article 80(5) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115.

2.   The annual accounts shall be the basis for the Annual Performance Report to be submitted pursuant to Article 134 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115.

Article 33 Transmission of information

1.   For the purpose of the clearance of accounts pursuant to Articles 53 and 54 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, each Member State shall send to the Commission:

(a)

the items included in the annual accounts, as referred to in Article 32 of this Regulation;

(b)

the annual performance report referred to in Article 54(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 and Article 134 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115;

(c)

the opinion and reports established by the certification body or bodies, as referred to in Article 5(3) and (4) of this Regulation;

(d)

the management declarations referred to in Article 3 of this Regulation;

(e)

an annual summary of the final audit reports and of controls carried out, including an analysis of the nature and extent of errors and weaknesses identified in systems, as well as corrective action taken or planned, as provided for in Article 63(5), point (b), of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 and Article 9(3), first subparagraph, point (c), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, submitted with the Paying Agency management declaration referred to in Article 3 of this Regulation.

Upon request by the Commission, the Member State shall provide the complete records of all the accounting information required for statistical and control purposes, related to expenditure as regards the measures laid down in Regulations (EU) No 228/2013, (EU) No 229/2013, (EU) No 1308/2013 and (EU) No 1144/2014.The form and content of the accounting information shall be specified by the Commission.

2.   The documents referred to in paragraph 1 shall be sent to the Commission by 15 February at the latest, of the year following the end of the financial year to which they relate. The documents shall be submitted electronically in accordance with the format and under the conditions established by the Commission pursuant to Article 25.

Those documents shall bear a compulsory electronic signature within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014.

3.   At the request of the Commission or on the initiative of a Member State, further information concerning the clearance of accounts may be addressed to the Commission within a time period determined by the Commission, taking into account the amount of work required for providing that information. In the absence of such information, the Commission may clear the accounts on the basis of the information in its possession.

4.   In duly justified cases, the Commission may accept a request for late submission of information, if that request is addressed to it before the submission deadline.

Article 34 Conservation of accounting information

1.   The supporting documents regarding the expenditure financed and the assigned revenues to be collected by the EAGF shall be kept at the Commission’s disposal for at 3 years following the year in which the Commission clears the accounts of the financial year concerned pursuant to Article 53 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.

2.   The supporting documents regarding the expenditure financed and the assigned revenues to be collected by the EAFRD shall be kept at the Commission’s disposal for at least 3 years following the year in which the final payment by the paying agency has taken place.

3.   In the case of irregularities or negligence, the supporting documents referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be kept at the Commission’s disposal for at least 3 years following the year in which the sums are entirely recovered from the beneficiary and credited to the Funds.

4.   The supporting documents regarding the outputs corresponding to the expenditure declared under the EAGF pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 and under the EAFRD shall be kept at the Commission’s disposal for at least 3 years following the year in which the final expenditure under the CAP Strategic Plans pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 is declared.

5.   In the case of a conformity procedure provided for in Article 55 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, the supporting documents referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall be kept at the Commission’s disposal for at least 1 year following the year in which that procedure has been concluded or, if a conformity decision is the subject of legal proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union, for at least 1 year following the year in which those proceedings are concluded.

6.   The supporting documents referred to in paragraphs 1 to 5 shall be kept at the Commission’s disposal either in paper form, in electronic form and/or in both forms.

Documents may only be kept exclusively in electronic form if the national law of the Member State concerned permits the use of electronic documents as evidence of the underlying transactions in national court proceedings.

If the documents are kept in electronic form only, the system for doing so shall comply with Section 3.(B) of Annex I to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/127.

Article 35 Financial clearance

1.   The Commission’s decision on the clearance of accounts referred to in Article 53 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 shall determine the amounts of expenditure effected in each Member State during the financial year concerned which shall be recognised as being chargeable to the Funds on the basis of the accounts referred to in Article 32 of this Regulation and any reductions and suspensions pursuant to Articles 39, 40 and 41 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.

For the EAFRD, the amount determined by the clearance of accounts decision shall include the funds which are re-usable by reallocation by the Member State concerned pursuant to Article 57 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.

2.   As regards the EAGF, the amount which, as a result of the clearance of accounts decision, is recoverable from or payable to each Member State shall be established by deducting the monthly payments in respect of the financial year concerned from the expenditure recognised for the same year in accordance with paragraph 1. The Commission shall deduct that amount from or add it to the monthly payment relating to the expenditure effected in the second month following the clearance of accounts decision.

As regards the EAFRD, the amount which, as a result of the clearance of accounts decision, is recoverable from or payable to each Member State shall be established by deducting the intermediate payments in respect of the financial year concerned from the expenditure recognised for the same year in accordance with paragraph 1.

The Commission shall deduct that amount from or add it to the first payment for which the declaration of expenditure is submitted by the Member State after the decision pursuant to Article 53 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 has been adopted.

3.   The Commission shall communicate to the Member State concerned the results of its verification of the information supplied, together with any amendments it proposes, by 30 April following the end of the financial year at the latest.

4.   If, for reasons attributable to the Member State concerned, the Commission is unable to clear the accounts of a Member State before 31 May of the following year, the Commission shall notify that Member State of the additional inquiries it proposes to undertake pursuant to Article 49 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.

5.   Paragraphs 1 to 4 shall apply, mutatis mutandis , to the assigned revenue referred to Article 45 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.

Article 36 Performance clearance

1.   When determining what amounts are to be reduced from Union financing, when finding that expenditure does not have a corresponding output as reported in the annual performance report referred to in Article 54(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 and in Article 134 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, the Commission shall use its own findings and the findings of the certification body, and shall take into account the information made available by Member States, provided that the latter information is provided within the time limits set by the Commission in the framework of the annual performance clearance procedure carried out in accordance with Article 54 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 and in conformity with this Article.

2.   When, as a result of the annual clearance documents submitted by the Member State and in the absence of sufficient justifications, the Commission considers that expenditure does not have a corresponding output, it shall communicate its findings to the Member State concerned, specifying the difference found. The communication shall make reference to this Article.

The Member State shall reply within a deadline to be fixed in the communication, which shall not be less than 30 calendar days of receipt of the communication. In its reply, the Member State shall have the opportunity, in particular, to:

(a)

provide comments and justifications as to the differences established;

(b)

demonstrate to the Commission that the actual difference found or the amount not having corresponding outputsis less than what was indicated by the Commission;

(c)

inform the Commission of the corrective measures it has undertaken to ensure correct reporting of outputs or to ensure that expenditure has a corresponding output and the effective date of their implementation.

The communication referred to in the first and second subparagraphs may be made via electronic means.

3.   The Commission, after having assessed the Member States’ justifications in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article, shall adopt, where appropriate, a decision under Article 54 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 in order to reduce from Union financing expenditure which does not have a corresponding output for the financial year in question.

4.   As regards the EAGF, the reductions from the Union financing shall be made by the Commission from the monthly payments relating to the expenditure effected in the second month following the decision pursuant to Article 54 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.

5.   As regards the EAFRD, the reductions from Union financing shall be made by the Commission from the payment for which the declaration of expenditure is submitted by the Member State after the decision pursuant to Article 54 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 has been adopted.

6.   Paragraphs 1 to 5 shall apply, mutatis mutandis , to the assigned revenue referred to in Article 45 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.

Article 37 Conformity procedure

1.   In order to determine what amounts are to be excluded from Union financing, when finding that expenditure has not been effected in conformity with Union rules, the Commission shall use its own findings and shall take into account the information made available by Member States, provided that the latter information is provided within the time limits set by the Commission in the framework of the conformity procedure carried out in accordance with Article 55 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 and in conformity with this Article. For interventions under the integrated administration and control system, referred to in Article 65 of that Regulation, the Commission shall also take into account the assessment reports on the quality of the identification system for agricultural parcels, of the geo-spatial application and of the area monitoring system.

2.   When, as a result of any inquiry, the Commission considers that expenditure was not effected in compliance with Union rules, it shall communicate its findings to the Member State concerned, specifying the corrective measures needed to ensure future compliance with those rules, and indicating the provisional level of financial correction which at that stage of the procedure it considers corresponds to its findings. That communication shall also schedule a bilateral meeting within 5 months after expiry of the period for reply by the Member State. The communication shall make reference to this Article.

The Member State shall reply within 2 months of receipt of the communication. In its reply the Member State shall have the opportunity, in particular, to:

(a)

demonstrate to the Commission that the actual extent of the non-compliance or the risk for the Funds is less than what was indicated by the Commission;

(b)

inform the Commission of the corrective measures it has undertaken to ensure compliance with Union rules and the effective date of their implementation.

In justified cases, the Commission may, upon reasoned request of the Member State, authorise an extension of the 2-month period by a maximum of 2 months. The justified reason may be the certification body’s assessment of the Member State’s calculation. The request shall be addressed to the Commission before the expiry of that period.

If the Member State considers that a bilateral meeting is not required, it shall inform the Commission accordingly in its reply to the communication.

3.   In the bilateral meeting both parties shall endeavour to come to an agreement as to the measures to be taken as well as to the evaluation of the gravity of the infringement and of the financial damage caused to the Union budget.

The Commission shall within 30 working days of the bilateral meeting draw up the minutes and send them to the Member State. The Member State may send its observations to the Commission within 15 working days after receipt of the minutes.

The Commission shall within 6 months after sending the minutes of the bilateral meeting formally communicate its conclusions to the Member State on the basis of the information received in the framework of the conformity procedure. That communication shall evaluate the expenditure to be excluded from Union financing under Article 55 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 and Articles 14 and 15 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/127. The communication shall make reference to Article 43(1) of this Regulation.

If a Member State notifies the Commission that a bilateral meeting is not required, the 6-month period starts from the date of receipt by the Commission of the notification.

4.   Where the Member State has made use of the conciliation procedure referred to in Article 43, the Commission shall communicate its conclusions to the Member State no later than 6 months after:

(a)

the receipt of the conciliation body report; or

(b)

the receipt of additional information from the Member State within the deadline referred to in Article 43(3), second subparagraph, provided that the conditions set out in paragraph 6 of this Article are met.

5.   In order to apply paragraphs 3 and 4 within the respective time periods, the Commission shall have available all information relevant at that particular step of the procedure. Where the Commission deems it lacks information, it may at any time within the time periods set out in those paragraphs:

(a)

ask for additional information from the Member State, to which the Member State shall reply within 2 months of receipt of the communication; and/or

(b)

inform the Member State of its intention to carry out an additional audit mission to conduct the necessary verifications.

In that case, the time periods referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 shall start again either on the receipt by the Commission of the requested additional information or from the last day of the additional audit mission.

Where the time periods referred to in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 and in this paragraph include fully or partially the month of August, the running of those time periods will be suspended during that month.

6.   When evaluating the expenditure to be excluded from Union financing, the information communicated by the Member State after the Commission’s formal communication referred to in paragraph 3, third subparagraph, may only be taken into account:

(a)

where it is necessary to avoid the gross overestimation of the financial damage caused to the Union budget; and

(b)

if the late transmission of the information is duly justified by external factors and does not jeopardise the timely adoption by the Commission of the decision pursuant to Article 55 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.

7.   The Commission, after having communicated its conclusions to the Member States in accordance with paragraph 3 or 4 of this Article, shall adopt, where appropriate, one or more decisions under Article 55 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 in order to exclude from Union financing expenditure affected by the non-compliance with Union rules. The Commission may pursue consecutive conformity procedures until the Member State has actually implemented the corrective measures.

8.   As regards the EAGF, the deductions from the Union financing shall be made by the Commission from the monthly payments relating to the expenditure effected in the second month following the decision pursuant to Article 55 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.

As regards the EAFRD, the deductions from Union financing shall be made by the Commission from the payment for which the declaration of expenditure is submitted by the Member State after the decision pursuant to Article 55 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 has been adopted.

However, at the Member State’s request and after consultation of the Committee on the Agricultural Funds, the Commission may adopt an implementing decision setting a different date for the deductions or authorising their reimbursement in not more than three instalments where this is warranted by the materiality of the deductions included in an implementing act adopted on the basis of Article 55 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116. This request for instalments shall be submitted by the Member State to the Commission not later than 5 days after the consultation of the Committee on the Agricultural Funds on the decision pursuant to Article 55 of that Regulation.

9.   For Member States which are subject to financial assistance under Council Regulation (EC) No 332/2002  ( 22 ) , Council Regulation (EU) No 407/2010  ( 23 ) and the Treaty establishing the European Stability Mechanism, the Commission may, at the Member State's request and after consultation of the Committee on the Agricultural Funds, adopt an implementing decision deferring, for a period not exceeding 24 months from the date of its adoption, the execution of decisions adopted after 1 May 2025 pursuant to Article 55 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 (‘deferral decision’).

The deferral decision shall authorise the deductions to be made after the end of the deferral period in three annual instalments. Where the total amount subject to the deferral decision represents more than 0,02 % of the Member State's gross domestic product, the Commission may authorise the reimbursement in maximum five annual instalments.

The Commission may decide, at the Member State's request and after consultation of the Committee on the Agricultural Funds, to extend once, for a period not exceeding 12 months, the time period of deferral referred to in the first subparagraph.

The Member State benefitting from a deferral decision shall ensure that the deficiencies which have been the reasons for the deductions and which persist at the time of adoption of the deferral decision are being remedied on the basis of an action plan, established in consultation with the Commission, including deadlines and clear progress indicators. The Commission shall amend or repeal the deferral decision, taking into account the principle of proportionality, in one of the following cases:

(a)

the Member State fails to take the necessary actions to remedy the deficiencies as foreseen in the action plan;

(b)

the progress of the remedial actions is not sufficient according to the progress indicators; or

(c)

the outcome of the actions is not satisfactory.

10.   The implementing decisions referred to in paragraphs 8 and 9 shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 102(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.

11.   In duly justified cases to be notified to the Member State concerned, the Commission may extend the time periods set out in paragraphs 2 to 5.

12.   The communications referred to in this Article may be made via electronic means.

13.   Paragraphs 1 to 11 shall apply,  mutatis mutandis , to the assigned revenue referred to in Article 45 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.

Article 38 Decision not to start or pursue a conformity inquiry

1.   The Commission may decide not to start or pursue a conformity inquiry in accordance with Article 55 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 where it expects that the possible financial correction, for the non-compliance identified as a result of an inquiry referred to in Article 37(2) of this Regulation, would not exceed EUR 50 000 and 2 % of the relevant expenditure or the amounts to be recovered.

2.   Where the Commission reduces the monthly payments in accordance with Article 39(1) and (2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, it may decide not to start or pursue a conformity inquiry in accordance with Article 55 of that Regulation, provided that the Member State concerned has not expressed its objection to the application of this paragraph in the framework of the procedure provided for in Article 39(1) and (2) of that Regulation.

Article 39 Conciliation body

For the purpose of the conformity procedure provided for in Article 55 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, a conciliation body shall be established. It shall perform the following tasks:

(a)

to examine any matter referred to it by a Member State which has received a formal communication from the Commission pursuant to Article 37(3), third subparagraph, of this Regulation, including an evaluation of expenditure which the Commission intends to exclude from Union financing;

(b)

to try to reconcile the divergent positions of the Commission and the Member State concerned;

(c)

at the end of its examination, to draw up a report on the results of its reconciliation efforts, making any remarks it deems useful should all or some of the points of dispute remain unresolved.

Article 40 Composition of the conciliation body

1.   The conciliation body shall be composed of at least five members selected among eminent persons offering every guarantee of independence and who are highly qualified in matters regarding the financing of the common agricultural policy, including rural development, or in the practice of financial audit.

They must be nationals of different Member States.

2.   The chairperson, the members and the substitute members shall be appointed by the Commission for an initial term of office of 3 years after consultation of the Committee on the Agricultural Funds.

The terms of office may be renewed for a year at a time only, the Committee on the Agricultural Funds having been informed. However, if the chairperson to be appointed is already a member of the Conciliation Body, the initial term of office as chairperson shall be three years.

The names of the chairperson, the members and the substitute members shall be published in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union .

3.   The members of the conciliation body shall be remunerated having regard to the time which they are required to dedicate to the task. Costs shall be compensated in accordance with the rules in force for Commission staff.

4.   After expiry of the term of office, the chairperson and the members shall remain in office until they are replaced or their term of office is renewed.

5.   The term of office of members who no longer meet the conditions required for the accomplishment of their duties with the conciliation body or who, for whatever reason, are unavailable for an indeterminate period may be terminated by the Commission after consultation of the Committee on the Agricultural Funds.

In that case, the member concerned shall be replaced for the remainder of the period for which that member was appointed by a substitute member, the Committee on the Agricultural Funds being informed.

If the chairperson’s term of office is terminated, the member who is to perform the chairperson’s duties for the remainder of the period for which the chairperson was appointed shall be appointed by the Commission after consultation of the Committee on the Agricultural Funds.

Article 41 Independence of the conciliation body

1.   The members of the conciliation body shall carry out their duties independently, neither seeking nor accepting instructions from the Commission, any government or body.

The members shall not take part in the work of the conciliation body or sign a report if, in a previous office, they have been personally involved in the matter at issue.

2.   Without prejudice to Article 287 of the Treaty, the members shall not disclose any information acquired by them in the course of their work for the conciliation body. Such information shall be confidential and covered by the obligation of professional secrecy.

Article 42 Working arrangements

1.   The conciliation body shall meet at the headquarters of the Commission. The chairperson shall prepare and organise the work. In the chairperson’s absence, and without prejudice to Article 40(5), first subparagraph, the most senior member shall take the chair.

The secretariat of the conciliation body shall be provided by the Commission.

2.   Without prejudice to Article 41(1), second subparagraph, reports shall be adopted by an absolute majority of members present, the quorum for deliberations being three.

The reports shall be signed by the chairperson and members who have taken part in the deliberations. They shall be co-signed by the secretariat.

Article 43 Conciliation procedure

1.   A Member State may refer a matter to the conciliation body within 30 working days of receipt of the Commission’s formal communication referred to in Article 37(3), third subparagraph, by sending a reasoned request for conciliation to the secretariat of the conciliation body.

2.   The procedure to be followed and the address of the secretariat shall be notified to the Member States through the Committee on the Agricultural Funds.

3.   A request for conciliation shall only be admissible where the amount envisaged to be excluded from the Union financing according to the Commission’s communication either:

(a)

exceeds EUR 1 million;

or

(b)

represents at least 25 % of the Member State’s total annual expenditure under the budget items concerned.

In addition, if during the preceding discussions the Member State claimed and demonstrated that the matter is one of principle relating to the application of Union rules, the chairperson of the conciliation body may declare a request for conciliation to be admissible. However, such a request shall not be admissible if it relates solely to a matter of legal interpretation.

4.   The conciliation body shall conduct its investigations as informally and promptly as possible, basing itself solely on the evidence available to the Commission at the time when formal conclusions are communicated in accordance with Article 37(3), third subparagraph, and giving the Commission and the national authorities concerned a fair hearing.

However, if the Member State considers it necessary to present in its request for conciliation information which has not yet been communicated to the Commission, the conciliation body may invite the Commission to assess that new information only if the conditions set out in Article 37(6) are met. The information shall be communicated to the Commission at the latest 2 months after the report referred to in Article 39, point (c), has been sent.

5.   Where, within 4 months of a case being referred to it, the conciliation body is not able to reconcile the positions of the Commission and the Member State, the conciliation procedure shall be deemed to have failed.

6.   The report referred to in of Article 39, point (c), shall state the reasons why the positions could not be reconciled. It shall indicate whether any partial agreement was reached during the proceedings and whether the conciliation body invites the Commission to assess new information in accordance with paragraph 4, second subparagraph.

7.   The report shall be sent to:

(a)

the Member State concerned;

(b)

the Commission, for examination before communicating its conclusions to the Member State;

(c)

the other Member States in the framework of the Committee on the Agricultural Funds.

8.   Where the time periods referred to in paragraphs 1, 4, second subparagraph, and 5 include fully or partially the month of August, the running of those time periods will be suspended during that month.

Article 44 Information to be collected on the identification of beneficiaries

1.   Member States shall ensure that beneficiaries provide in the aid applications and payment claims the information necessary for their identification, including, where applicable, the identification of the group, as defined in Article 2(11) of Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council  ( 24 ) in which they participate as of a certain date to be set by the Member State. That information shall include at least:

(a)

name of the entity;

(b)

VAT or tax identification number;

(c)

name of the parent entity and VAT or tax identification number;

(d)

ultimate parent and VAT or tax identification number;

(e)

subsidiaries and VAT or tax identification numbers.

The information referred to in the first subparagraph may be used when drawing up the check sample referred to in Article 60(1), second subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116. The information may, in particular, be used to carry out checks as regards circumvention as referred to in Article 62 of that Regulation.

2.   The information on the identification of groups as referred in paragraph 1, first subparagraph, points (a), (b) and (c), shall be published ex-post by the Member State, in accordance with Article 98 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116.

Article 45 Requirements for the data-mining tool

1.   In order to make use on a voluntary basis of the data-mining tool referred to in Article 59(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 to be made available by the Commission for the checks under Article 60 of that Regulation, Member States shall ensure that:

(a)

the management and control systems, including the integrated administration and control system referred to in Article 65(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, can be linked electronically to the tool and, in order to minimise the administrative burden and manual intervention, the exchange of data shall be automatic and in machine-readable format;

(b)

the information and the checks performed with the data-mining tool can automatically fed back to the management and control systems, and can be recorded and stored there.

2.   Where the Member State decides to use the information collected under Article 44 of this Regulation when drawing up the check sample referred to in Article 60(1), second subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, the information may be verified by means of that data-mining tool.

Article 46 Scrutiny by Member States

1.   The systematic scrutiny of the commercial documents of undertakings referred to in Article 77(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 shall apply, for each period of scrutiny referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article, to a number of undertakings which may not be less than half the undertakings whose receipts or payments, or the sum thereof, under the system of financing by the EAGF, exceeded EUR 150 000 for the EAGF financial year preceding the beginning of the period of scrutiny in question.

2.   In relation to each scrutiny period, Member States shall, without prejudice to their obligations laid down in Article 77(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, select the undertakings to be scrutinised on the basis of a risk analysis for all measures where it is practicable to do so. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the risk analysis as part of the control plan referred in Article 80(1) of that Regulation.

3.   For measures for which a Member State considers the use of a risk analysis not to be practicable, it shall be compulsory to scrutinise undertakings which receive payments exceeding EUR 350 000 within the system of financing by the EAGF and which were not scrutinised in accordance with this Regulation and Title IV, Chapter III, of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 during either of the two preceding scrutiny periods.

4.   The scrutiny period shall run from 1 July to 30 June of the following year.

Article 47 Mutual assistance

Member States shall send a request for mutual assistance referred to in Article 79 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 to each Member State in which an undertaking as referred to in that Article is established. The request shall contain all the details necessary to enable the Member State of destination to identify the undertakings and to undertake its scrutiny obligations. The Member State of destination shall be responsible for the scrutiny of such undertakings in accordance with Article 77 of that Regulation.

Article 48 Annual control plans and reports

1.   The control plan for scrutiny and the report referred to in Article 80 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 shall be drawn up in accordance with the specimen form set out in Annexes VI and VII to this Regulation.

2.   The information to be submitted under this Article shall be communicated in electronic form.

3.   The Commission shall inform annually the Member States of the results of the scrutiny.

Article 49 Scope

This Chapter shall apply in all cases where the agricultural legislation provides for a security, whether or not the particular term ‘security’ is used.

This Chapter shall not apply to securities lodged to ensure payment of import and export duties referred to in Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council  ( 25 ) .

Article 50 e-Administration

Communications, documents and securities may be produced, processed, and managed by using IT systems on condition that the systems applicable are managed under the officially approved quality and security protocols fit for those systems.

If competent authorities cannot access required documents for verification because of differences in IT systems, those documents shall be printed out and certified as genuine by the authority competent for the management of those IT systems (‘the issuing authority’) or by an authority competent for certifying documents as genuine copies.

Such print-outs may be replaced by an electronic message between the issuing authority and the beneficiary or the competent authority, on condition that the issuing authority provides in an officially approved certification protocol ensuring the genuineness of the message.