Determination of the threshold triggering inadmissibility and of the duration of inadmissibility
1. If an operator has committed or is held liable for any of the actions referred to in Articles 3, 4, 5 and 6, the Member State concerned shall determine if the threshold triggering inadmissibility is reached. This determination shall be carried out by the Member State pursuant to column (a) of Annexes I, II, III or IV to this Regulation.
2. If the Member State concerned has determined pursuant to paragraph 1 that the threshold triggering inadmissibility is reached, it shall then determine the corresponding duration of inadmissibility pursuant to:
(a)
column (b) of Annexes I, II, III or IV to this Regulation; and
(b)
where applicable, columns (c) and (d) of Annexes I or III to this Regulation.
Determination of threshold triggering inadmissibility where the operator owns or controls more than one fishing vessel
1. If an operator owns or controls more than one fishing vessel, the inadmissibility period of an application for support submitted by that operator shall be determined separately for each individual fishing vessel, in accordance with Article 3 or Article 4.
2. In addition, applications for support submitted by that operator shall also be inadmissible:
(a)
if applications in relation to more than half of the fishing vessels owned or controlled by that operator are inadmissible for support pursuant to Article 3 or Article 4, or
(b)
where infringement points have been assigned for serious infringements pursuant to Article 42(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 or Article 90(1)(a) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, if the average number of infringement points assigned per fishing vessel owned or controlled by that operator equals or exceeds 7 points.
Transfer of ownership
1. If an operator is subject to an inadmissibility period pursuant to Articles 3, 4 and 6, the inadmissibility period resulting from serious infringements committed prior to the change of ownership shall not be transferred to the new operator in the case of sale or transfer of ownership of the fishing vessel.
2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, where, in accordance with the point system established by Article 92 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, infringement points are assigned for serious infringements committed under Article 42(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 or Article 90(1)(a) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 prior to the change of ownership of the fishing vessel, those infringement points shall be taken into account for the purposes of triggering the inadmissibility and calculating the duration of the inadmissibility period of the new operator pursuant to Article 3 and Article 8(2) only when the new operator commits, after the change of ownership, a serious infringement under Article 42(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 or Article 90(1)(a) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009.
Permanent withdrawal of the fishing licence
Applications for support submitted by an operator whose fishing licence has been permanently withdrawn for any of the fishing vessels owned or controlled by that operator shall be inadmissible from the date of withdrawal of the fishing licence until the end of the period of eligibility of expenditure for an EMFAF contribution referred to in Article 63(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, if that fishing licence was withdrawn:
(a)
in accordance with Article 92(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 and Article 129(2) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011 ( 8 ) ; or, if applicable,
(b)
as a result of sanctions for serious infringements imposed by the Member States in accordance with Article 45 of Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008.
Arrangements for recovering aid
1. If any of the situations referred to in Article 11(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1139 occur between the date the operator submitted the application and 5 years after the final payment, the support paid from EMFAF relating to that application shall be subject to a financial correction by the Member State concerned in accordance with Article 44 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1139 and Article 103(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060.
2. The amount to be recovered shall be proportionate to the nature, gravity, duration and repetition of the situations referred to in Article 11(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1139.
Transitional provisions
This Regulation shall not affect the continuation or modification of inadmissibility periods of applications for EMFF support granted under Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/288 ( 9 ) .
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .
It shall apply from 1 January 2021.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
