Financial management
Article 9
1. Support shall be paid once it is ascertained that either a single operation or all the operations covered by the support application, according to the choice made by the Member State for the management of the measure, have been implemented and controlled on-the-spot. Where support is normally payable only after implementation of all the operations, support shall nevertheless be paid for single operations implemented if the remaining operations could not be carried out due to force majeure or exceptional circumstances within the meaning of Article 40(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 ( 11 ) . If checks show that an overall operation covered by the support application has not been fully implemented for reasons other than force majeure or exceptional circumstances within the meaning of Article 40(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, and where support has been paid after single operations which are part of the overall operation covered by the support application, Member States shall decide to recover the aid paid. 2. As an exception to paragraph 1, the Member States may provide for support for a given operation, or for all the operations covered by the support application, to be advanced to producers before that any operation has been implemented, provided that implementation has begun and the beneficiary has lodged a security. For the purposes of Regulation (EEC) No 2220/85 ( 12 ) , the obligation shall be to implement the operations concerned by the end of the second wine year following payment of the advance. That period may be adjusted by the Member State in cases where: (a) areas concerned are part of an area which has suffered a natural disaster recognised by the competent authorities of the Member State concerned; (b) planned operations cannot be implemented because the plant material suffers health problems which have been certified by a body recognised by the Member State concerned. In order for support to be paid in advance, any previous operation carried out on the same area, for which the producer also received support in advance, must have been fully implemented. If checks show that the measure covered by the aid application, and for which an advance has been paid, has not been fully implemented, the Member States may decide to apply a penalty.