On-the-spot checks by the Commission
Article 47
1. Without prejudice to the checks carried out by Member States under national law, regulations and administrative provisions or Article 287 TFEU or to any check organised under Article 322 TFEU or based on Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 ( 30 ) , the Commission may organise on-the-spot checks in Member States with a view to verifying in particular: (a) compliance of administrative practices with Union rules; (b) the existence of the requisite supporting documents and their correlation with the operations financed by the EAGF or the EAFRD; (c) the terms on which the operations financed by the EAGF or the EAFRD were undertaken and checked. (d) whether a paying agency complies with the accreditation criteria laid down in Article 7(2) and whether the Member State correctly applies the provisions of Article 7(5). Persons authorised by the Commission to carry out on-the-spot checks on its behalf, or Commission agents acting within the scope of the powers conferred on them, shall have access to the books and all other documents, including documents and metadata drawn up or received and recorded on an electronic medium, relating to expenditure financed by the EAGF or the EAFRD. The powers to carry out on-the-spot checks shall not affect the application of national provisions which reserve certain acts for agents specifically designated by national law. Without prejudice to the specific provisions of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 ( 31 ) of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96, persons authorised by the Commission to act on its behalf shall not take part, inter alia, in home visits or the formal questioning of persons on the basis of law of the Member State concerned. However, they shall have access to information thus obtained. 2. The Commission shall give sufficient prior notice of an on-the-spot check to the Member State concerned or to the Member State within whose territory the check is to take place, taking into account the administrative impact on paying agencies when organising checks. Agents from the Member State concerned may take part in such checks. At the request of the Commission and with the agreement of the Member State, additional checks or inquiries into the operations covered by this Regulation shall be undertaken by the competent bodies of that Member State. Commission agents or persons authorised by the Commission to act on its behalf may take part in such checks. In order to improve checks, the Commission may, with the agreement of the Member States concerned, request the assistance of the authorities of those Member States for certain checks or inquiries.