The Common Agricultural Policy (Integrated Administration and Control System and Enforcement and Cross Compliance) (Wales) Regulations 2014

PART 1 U.K.INTRODUCTION

Title, application and commencementU.K.

1.—(1) The title of these Regulations is the Common Agricultural Policy (Integrated Administration and Control System and Enforcement and Cross Compliance) (Wales) Regulations 2014.

(2) These Regulations apply in relation to Wales.

(3) These Regulations come into force on 1^st January 2015.

InterpretationU.K.

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“the Direct Payments Delegated Regulation” (“y Rheoliad Dirprwyedig Taliadau Uniongyrchol”) means Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No. 639/2014 supplementing the Direct Payments Regulation M1;

“the Direct Payments Implementing Regulation” (“y Rheoliad Gweithredu Taliadau Uniongyrchol”) means Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 641/2014 laying down rules for the application of the Direct Payments Regulation M2;

“the Direct Payments Regulation” (“y Rheoliad Taliadau Uniongyrchol”) means Regulation (EU) No. 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing rules for direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy M3;

“the European Regulations” (“y Rheoliadau Ewropeaidd”) means—

“the Horizontal Delegated Regulation” (“y Rheoliad Dirprwyedig Llorweddol”) means Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No. 640/2014 supplementing Regulation (EU) No. 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the integrated administration and control system and conditions for refusal or withdrawal of payments and administrative penalties applicable to direct payments, rural development support and cross compliance M4;

“the Horizontal Finance Implementing Regulation” (“y Rheoliad Gweithredu Cyllid Llorweddol”) means Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 908/2014 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No. 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy M5;

“the Horizontal Implementing Regulation” (“y Rheoliad Gweithredu Llorweddol”) means Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 809/2014 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No. 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the integrated administration and control system, rural development measures and cross compliance M6;

“the Horizontal Regulation” (“y Rheoliad Llorweddol”) means Regulation (EU) No. 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy M7;

“the Rural Development Regulation” (“y Rheoliad Datblygu Gwledig”) means Regulation (EU) No. 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development M8;

“the Rural Development Delegated Regulation” (“y Rheoliad Dirprwyedig Datblygu Gwledig”) means Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No. 807/2014 supplementing the Rural Development Regulation M9;

“the Rural Development Implementing Regulation” (“y Rheoliad Gweithredu Datblygu Gwledig”) means Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 808/2014 laying down rules for the application of the Rural Development Regulation M10;

“Regulation 1698/2005” (“Rheoliad 1698/2005”) means Council Regulation (EC) No. 1698/2005 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) etc M11;

“area-related aid schemes” (“cynlluniau cymorth ar sail arwynebedd”) has the meaning given by point (20) of the second sub-paragraph of Article 2(1) of the Horizontal Delegated Regulation;

“authorised person” (“person awdurdodedig”) means any person who is authorised by the Welsh Ministers, either generally or specifically, to act in relation to matters arising under these Regulations;

“beneficiary” (“buddiolwr”), unless the context otherwise requires, has the meaning given by sub-paragraph (2) of Article 2(1) of the Horizontal Delegated Regulation except that in Part 3 and Schedule 1 it means a beneficiary to whom Article 91 of the Horizontal Regulation applies;

[F1“direct payments” (“taliadau uniongyrchol”) has the meaning given by Article 1 of the Direct Payments Regulation;]

“farmer” (“ffermwr”) has the meaning given by Article 4(1)(a) of the Direct Payments Regulation;

“non-compliance” (“methiant i gydymffurfio”) has the meaning given by point (2)(b) of the second sub-paragraph of Article 2(1) of the Horizontal Delegated Regulation;

“single application” (“cais sengl”) means an application for direct payments in relation to area-related aid schemes.

F2(1A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2) Other terms used in these Regulations that are also used in any of the European Regulations have the meaning they bear in those Regulations.

(3) Any reference in these Regulations to any of the European Regulations is a reference to those Regulations as amended from time to time.

PART 2 U.K.INTEGRATED ADMINISTRATION AND CONTROL SYSTEM AND ENFORCEMENT

ApplicationsU.K.

3.—(1) For the purposes of Article 13(1) of the Horizontal Implementing Regulation and Article 12 of the Horizontal Delegated Regulation, the final date on which a single application, aid application or payment claim may be submitted to the Welsh Ministers is 15^th May or, if 15^th May is a Saturday, Sunday, Bank Holiday or other public holiday, the next working day.

(2) In paragraph (1)—

(a)“Bank Holiday” (“Gŵyl Banc”) means a day specified in paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 M12;

(b)“payment claim” (“hawliad am daliad”) means a claim for support under the integrated system as provided by Article 67(2) of the Horizontal Regulation;

(c)“working day” (“diwrnod gwaith”) means a day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, Bank Holiday or other public holiday.

Minimum size of agricultural areaU.K.

4.  For the purposes of Article 72(1) of the Horizontal Regulation, the minimum size of an agricultural parcel in respect of which a single application may be made is 0.1 hectare.

Recovery of undue paymentsU.K.

5.—(1) Where a beneficiary is liable to repay all or part of a direct payment in accordance with Article 7(1) of the Horizontal Implementing Regulation, the amount of the repayment, together with the interest on that amount calculated in accordance with regulation 6, is recoverable as a debt.

(2) In any legal proceedings brought pursuant to paragraph (1), a certificate of the Welsh Ministers which—

(a)sets out the London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) applicable during a specified period; and

[F3(b)includes a statement by the Welsh Ministers of the rate for that period;]

(c)is evidence of the rate applicable during that period.

F4(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

InterestU.K.

6.—(1) Interest may be charged in respect of each day of the period referred to in Article 7(2) of the Horizontal Implementing Regulation and for this purpose the rate of interest applicable on any day is one percentage point above the sterling three month London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) on [F5the first working day of each calendar month].

Powers of entryU.K.

7.—(1) An authorised person may exercise any of the powers specified in this regulation and regulations 8 and 9 for the purpose of—

(a)enforcing—

(i)the European Regulations except Chapters III and IV of Title V of the Horizontal Regulation; or

(ii)these Regulations;

(b)providing a control report in accordance with Article 54(1) of the Horizontal Regulation;

(c)determining whether there has been a non-compliance.

(2) An authorised person, on producing, if so required, a duly authenticated document showing that person's authority, may at any reasonable hour enter any land or premises other than premises used wholly or mainly as a private dwelling.

(3) Paragraph (2) does not affect any right of entry conferred by a warrant issued in accordance with paragraph (4).

(4) A justice of the peace may by signed warrant permit an authorised person to enter any land or premises, if necessary by reasonable force, if the justice, sworn on information in writing, is satisfied that—

(a)there are reasonable grounds for an authorised person to enter the land or premises for any purpose mentioned in paragraph (1); and

(b)one of the conditions in paragraph (5) is met.

(5) The conditions are that—

(a)entry to the land or premises has been refused, or is likely to be refused, and—

(i)notice of the intention to apply for a warrant has been served on the occupier, or

(ii)no such notice has been served on the occupier because serving such a notice would interfere with the purpose or effectiveness of the entry;

(b)entry is required urgently; or

(c)the premises are unoccupied or the occupier is temporarily absent.

(6) A warrant is valid for three months.

[F6(7) An authorised person entering any land or premises by virtue of this regulation may be accompanied by such other persons as the authorised person considers necessary for any purpose mentioned in paragraph (1).]

(8) An authorised person who enters any unoccupied premises must leave them as effectively secured as they were before entry.

Powers of inspection etcU.K.

8.—(1) An authorised person who has entered any land or premises in exercise of a power conferred by regulation 7 may—

(a)carry out any inquiries, checks, examinations, measurements and tests;

(b)take samples;

(c)inspect all or any part of the land, whether it is farmed or is withdrawn from agricultural production, or premises;

(d)inspect any livestock, crops, machinery or equipment;

(e)mark any animal or other thing for identification purposes;

(f)have access to, inspect, copy and print any documents or records (in whatever form they are held) or remove such documents to enable them to be copied or retained as evidence;

(g)have access to, inspect and check the operation of, any computer and any associated apparatus or material which is or has been in use in connection with the documents or records;

(h)take a photograph of, or record in digital form, anything on the land;

(i)remove anything reasonably believed to be evidence of any non-compliance;

(j)remove a carcase on the land or premises for the purpose of carrying out a post-mortem examination on it.

(2) An authorised person who enters any land or premises under a power under other legislation may exercise any of the powers specified in this regulation for the purposes of enforcing these Regulations.

[F7(3) Paragraph (1) applies in relation to a person referred to in regulation 7(7) when such a person is acting under the instruction of an authorised person, as if such person were an authorised person.]

Assistance to authorised personsU.K.

9.  The beneficiary in respect of any land or premises entered by an authorised person in exercise of a power conferred by regulation 7 and any employee, servant or agent of that beneficiary, must give an authorised person (“AP”) such assistance as AP may reasonably request so as to enable AP to exercise any power conferred on AP by regulation 7 or 8.

Offences and penaltiesU.K.

10.—(1) It is an offence for any person to—

(a)intentionally obstruct any person acting in execution of these Regulations;

(b)without reasonable cause, proof of which lies with that person, fail to give any person acting in execution of these Regulations any assistance or information that that person may reasonably require under these Regulations; or

(c)knowingly or recklessly furnish to any person acting in execution of these Regulations any information that is false or misleading in any material particular.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under paragraph 1(a) or (b) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(3) A person guilty of an offence under paragraph (1)(c) is liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or both; or

(b)on conviction on indictment, to a fine, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or both.

(4) Subject to paragraph (5), for an offence under paragraph (1) proceedings must be brought within the period of six months from the date on which evidence sufficient in the opinion of the prosecutor to justify proceedings came to the prosecutor's knowledge.

(5) No proceedings for an offence under paragraph (1) may begin more than two years after the date of the commission of the offence.

(6) For the purposes of this regulation, a certificate signed by or on behalf of the prosecutor and stating the date on which evidence sufficient, in the opinion of the prosecutor, to justify the proceedings came to their knowledge is conclusive of that fact.

Liability of directors etcU.K.

11.—(1) If an offence under regulation 10 committed by a body corporate is proved—

(a)to have been committed with the consent or connivance of an officer, or

(b)to be attributable to any neglect on the part of an officer,

the officer, as well as the body corporate, is guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(2) In paragraph (1), “officer” (“swyddog”) means—

(a)a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body, or

(b)a person purporting to act in any such capacity.

(3) If the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, paragraph (1) applies in relation to the acts and omissions of a member in connection with the member's functions of management as it applies to an officer of a body corporate.

Offences by bodies corporate, partnerships and unincorporated associationsU.K.

12.—(1) Proceedings for an offence under regulation 10 alleged to have been committed by a partnership or unincorporated association may be brought against the partnership or association in the name of the partnership or association.

(2) For the purposes of such proceedings—

(a)rules of court relating to the service of documents have effect as if the partnership or unincorporated association were a body corporate, and

(b)section 33 of the Criminal Justice Act 1925 M13 (procedure on charge of offence against corporation) and Schedule 3 to the Magistrates Courts' Act 1980 M14 (corporations),

apply in relation to the partnership or association as they apply in relation to a body corporate.

(3) A fine imposed on a partnership or association on its conviction of an offence under these Regulations is to be paid out of the funds of the partnership or association.

(4) If an offence under regulation 10 committed by a partnership is proved—

(a)to have been committed with the consent or connivance of a partner, or

(b)to be attributable to the negligence of a partner,

that partner, as well as the partnership, is guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(5) If an offence under regulation 10 committed by a body corporate is proved—

(a)to have been committed with the consent of an officer, or

(b)to be attributable to the negligence of an officer,

that officer, as well as the body corporate, is guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(6) If an offence under regulation 10 committed by an unincorporated association (other than a partnership) is proved—

(a)to have been committed with the consent or connivance of an officer of the association or member of its governing body, or

(b)to be attributable to the negligence of that officer or member,

that officer or member, as well as the association, is guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(7) In paragraphs (4), (5) and (6), any reference to an officer, partner or member, as the case may be, includes any person purporting to act in such capacity.

(8) In this regulation—

(a)“partnership” (“partneriaeth”) does not include a limited liability partnership;

(b)“unincorporated association” (“cymdeithas anghorfforedig”) does not include a partnership.

PART 3 U.K.CROSS COMPLIANCE

Standards for good agricultural and environmental conditionU.K.

13.—(1) The standards for good agricultural and environmental condition set out in Schedule 1 apply as minimum requirements for the purposes of Article 94 of, and Annex II to, the Horizontal Regulation.

(2) But the provisions of Schedule 2 set out the circumstances in which a breach of a provision of Schedule 1 does not constitute a non-compliance.

Competent control authoritiesU.K.

14.—(1) The Welsh Ministers are the competent control authority for the purposes of Article 67 of the Horizontal Implementing Regulation except as otherwise specified in this regulation.

(2) For the purposes of Article 67(1)(a) of the Horizontal Implementing Regulation, the Secretary of State is the specialised control body who bears the responsibility of carrying out the controls in respect of statutory management requirements under numbers 5 and 11 to 13 of Annex II to the Horizontal Regulation.

(3) The Welsh Ministers and the Secretary of State may, in respect of the standards for which they are responsible, require a relevant authority to carry out controls or checks for the purposes of Article 65, Chapter I of Title III and Chapter II of Title IV of the Horizontal Implementing Regulation.

(4) A relevant authority, if required by the Welsh Ministers or the Secretary of State to carry out the controls referred to in paragraph (3), must—

(a)send a provisional control report, in relation to the controls carried out, to the Welsh Ministers or Secretary of State (as the case may be);

(b)where, in the course of its other activities, it considers that there has been a non-compliance, notify the person or body responsible under paragraph (1) or (2) of this regulation for carrying out the controls in relation to that non-compliance.

(5) In this regulation, “a relevant authority” (“awdurdod perthnasol”) means—

(a)Natural Resources Wales;

(b)Animal and Plant Health Authority; or

(c)Veterinary Medicines Directorate.

(6) The Welsh Ministers enforce this Part of the Regulations, and the Welsh Ministers may authorise in writing persons to enforce this Part of these Regulations.

PART 4 U.K.FINAL PROVISIONS

Revocations and savingsU.K.

15.—(1) The instruments listed in Schedule 3 are revoked subject to the following savings.

(2) The Single Payment Regulations continue to apply in relation to a single application as defined in regulation 2(1) of the IACS Regulations.

(3) Regulations 1 to 13 of the Rural Development Regulations continue to apply in relation to any financial assistance as referred to in regulation 2(1) of those Regulations.

(4) Any appointment of an authorised person for the purposes of the Rural Development Regulations or the Cross Compliance Regulations in effect immediately before 1^st January 2015 shall continue to have effect as if it were an appointment of that person as an authorised person by the Welsh Ministers or the Secretary of State (as the case may be) for the purposes of these Regulations.

(5) In this regulation—

“the Cross Compliance Regulations” (“y Rheoliadau Trawsgydymffurfio”) means the Common Agricultural Policy Single Payment and Support Schemes (Cross Compliance) (Wales) Regulations 2004 M15;

“the Rural Development Regulations” (“y Rheoliadau Datblygu Gwledig”) means the Rural Development Programmes (Wales) Regulations 2006 M16;

“the IACS Regulations” (“y Rheoliadau IACS”) means the Common Agricultural Policy Single Payment and Support Schemes (Integrated Administration and Control System) Regulations 2009 M17;

“the Single Payment Regulations” (“y Rheoliadau Taliadau Sengl”) means the Common Agricultural Policy Single Payment and Support Schemes (Wales) Regulations 2010 M18.