The Common Agricultural Policy (Direct Payments etc.) (Scotland) Regulations 2015

Made: 13th February 2015

Laid before the Scottish Parliament: 13th February 2015

Coming into force: 16th March 2015

The Scottish Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2(2) of, and paragraph 1A of Schedule 2 to, the European Communities Act 1972 and all other powers enabling them to do so.

These Regulations make provision for a purpose mentioned in section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 and it appears to the Scottish Ministers that it is expedient for references to the European Regulations (as defined in regulation 2) to be construed as references to those instruments as amended from time to time.

Citation, commencement and extent

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• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Common Agricultural Policy (Direct Payments etc.) (Scotland) Regulations 2015 and come into force on 16th March 2015.

• (2) These Regulations extend to Scotland only.

Interpretation

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• (1) In these Regulations—

• “2009 Council Regulation” means Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 establishing common rules for direct support schemes for farmers under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers, amending Regulations (EC) No 1290/2005, (EC) No 247/2006, (EC) No 378/2007 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 ;

• “arable land” means land mentioned in Article 4(1)(h) of the Direct Payments Regulation and includes parcels of land which prior to 1st January 2018 were lying fallow and, subject to regulation 5(2)(c), continue to lie fallow on or after that date;

• “area-related aid schemes” has the same meaning as in point (20) of Article 2(1) of the Horizontal Delegated Regulation;

• “authorised person” means any person authorised by the Scottish Ministers to act in matters arising under these Regulations or the European Regulations;

• “Bank Holiday” means a day specified in paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 to the Banking and Financial Dealing Act 1971 ;

• “claim year” has the meaning given in section 1(7) of the Direct Payments to Farmers (Legislative Continuity) Act 2020 ;

• “direct payments” means direct payments within the meaning of Article 1 of the Direct Payments Regulation;

• “Direct Payments Delegated Regulation” means Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 639/2014 supplementing 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 and amending Annex X to that Regulation, as amended from time to time ;

• “Direct Payments Implementing Regulation” means Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 641/2014 laying down rules for the application of 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, as amended from time to time ;

• “Direct Payments Regulation” 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 and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 637/2008 and Council Regulation (EC) 73/2009, as amended from time to time ;

• “European Regulations” means the Direct Payments Regulation, the Direct Payments Delegated Regulation, the Direct Payments Implementing Regulation, the Horizontal Regulation, the Horizontal Delegated Regulation and the Horizontal Implementing Regulation;

• “farmer” has the same meaning as in Article 4(1)(a) of the Direct Payments Regulation;

• “holding” has the same meaning as in Article 4(1)(b) of the Direct Payments Regulation;

• “Horizontal Delegated Regulation” 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, as amended from time to time ;

• “Horizontal Implementing Regulation” 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, as amended from time to time ;

• “Horizontal Regulation” 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 and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 352/78, (EC) No 165/94, (EC) No 2799/98, (EC) No 814/2000, (EC) No 1290/2005 and (EC) No 485/2008, as amended from time to time ;

• “permanent grassland” has the same meaning as in Article 4(1)(h) of the Direct Payments Regulation, as construed in accordance with regulation 5;

• “region 2” means the region applied by the Scottish Ministers under and in accordance with Article 23(1) of the Direct Payments Regulation as region 2 of Scotland and comprising parcels of rough grazing land located in either—an area that is not a less favoured area; oran area that is a less favoured area and in respect of which a grazing category of B, C or D has been attributed to it for the purposes of the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2010 (“the 2010 Regulations”), and “less favoured area” is to be construed in accordance with regulation 2(1) of those Regulations;

• “region 3” means the region applied by the Scottish Ministers under and in accordance with Article 23(1) of the Direct Payments Regulation as region 3 of Scotland and comprising parcels of rough grazing land located in an area that is a less favoured area and which does not have a grazing category of B, C or D attributed to it for the purposes of the 2010 Regulations;

• “rough grazing land” means low yielding herbaceous forage or areas of mixed herbaceous and non-herbaceous forage on low quality soil, unimproved by fertiliser, cultivation or reseeding (or, where it has previously been improved, has reverted to an unimproved state) and used only for extensive grazing;

• “single application” means an application for direct payments in relation to any of the area-related aid schemes; and

• “working day” means a day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, Bank Holiday or other public holiday.

• (1A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (2) Except where the context otherwise requires, other expressions used in these Regulations have the meaning they bear in the European Regulations.

Minimum size of agricultural area

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For the purposes of the second sub-paragraph 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.

Minimum eligible area of holding

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For the purposes of Article 10(1) ... of the Direct Payments Regulation, the minimum eligible area of the holding is 3 hectares.

Definition of permanent grassland

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• (1) For the purposes of—

• (a) the following provisions of the Direct Payments Regulation—

• (i) Article 4(1)(h);

• (ii) Article 4(2), second sub-paragraph; and

• (iii) Article 4(2), point (a) of the third sub-paragraph; and

• (b) Article 7 of the Direct Payments Delegated Regulation,

permanent grassland includes land to which paragraph (2) applies.

• (2) This paragraph applies to—

• (a) land which can be grazed and forms part of established local practices where grasses and other herbaceous forage are traditionally not predominant in grazing areas;

• (b) other than land to which sub-paragraph (c) applies, land which has not been ploughed up for 5 years or more, provided it is used to grow grasses or other herbaceous forage naturally (self-seeded) or through cultivation (sown) and has not been included in the crop rotation for five years or more; or

• (c) land which, in accordance with the second sentence of the second sub-paragraph of Article 4(1) of the Direct Payments Regulation—

• (i) constitutes parcels of land lying fallow prior to 1st January 2018; and

• (ii) on or after 1st January 2023 meets the conditions for permanent grassland as set out in Article 4(1)(h) of that Regulation.

• (3) In paragraph (2)(a), “established local practices” means the practice of grazing by livestock of non-herbaceous plants (excluding algae).

Applications and date on which land must be at farmer's disposal

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• (1) Subject to paragraphs (1A) and (1B), for the purposes of Article 12 of the Horizontal Delegated Regulation and Article 13(1) of the Horizontal Implementing Regulation, the final date on which a single application, aid application or payment claim may be submitted to the Scottish Ministers is 15th May or, if that date is a Saturday, Sunday, Bank Holiday or other public holiday, the next working day.

• (1A) For the purposes of Article 13(1) of the Horizontal Implementing Regulation and Article 1 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/747 derogating from Implementing Regulation (EU) No 809/2014 as regards the final date of submission of the single application, aid applications or payment claims, the final date for notification of amendments to the single application or payment claim and the final date for applications for allocation of payment entitlements or the increase of the value of payment entitlements under the basic payment scheme for the year 2015, the final date on which a single application, aid application or payment claim may be submitted to the Scottish Ministers in respect of calendar year 2015, is 15th June 2015.

• (1B) For the purposes of Article 13(1) of the Horizontal Implementing Regulation and Article 1 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/761 derogating from Implementing Regulation (EU) No 809/2014 as regards the final date of submission of the single application, aid applications or payment claims, the final date for notification of amendments to the single application or payment claim and the final date for applications for allocation of payment entitlements or the increase of the value of payment entitlements under the basic payment scheme for the year 2016, the final date by which a single application, aid application or payment claim may be submitted to the Scottish Ministers in respect of calendar year 2016, is 15th June 2016.

• (2) In relation to any year in which a farmer makes a declaration in respect of parcels pursuant to Article 33(1) of the Direct Payments Regulation, the date on which those parcels must be at the farmer's disposal is the date specified in paragraph (1).

Short rotation coppice

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For the purposes of Article 4(1)(k) ... of the Direct Payments Regulation—

• (a) the list of planted tree species is—

• Cricket Bat Willow (Salix alba ‘Caerulea’)

• Poplar (Populus spp);

• Willow (Salix spp); and

• (b) the maximum harvest cycle for these species is 20 years.

Reductions

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• (1) This regulation applies for the purposes of Article 11(1) of the Direct Payments Regulation in respect of direct payments to a farmer pursuant to Chapter 1 of Title III of that Regulation for a given calendar year.

• (2) Where the direct payments to be granted exceed EUR 150,000 for a given calendar year, the sum in excess of that amount must be reduced by the Scottish Ministers by 5 per cent.

• (3) In addition to the reduction applied in accordance with paragraph (2), where the direct payments to be granted exceed EUR 600,000 for calendar year 2018 or any subsequent calendar year, the sum in excess of that amount must be reduced by the Scottish Ministers by 100 per cent.

Transfer of payment entitlements

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• (1) For the purposes of Article 8(1) of the Direct Payments Implementing Regulation, the transferor of payment entitlements must notify the Scottish Ministers of a transfer within the notification period.

• (2) In this regulation, “the notification period” means the period—

• (a) beginning 16th May of the calendar year preceding the first year in which the transferee may include those entitlements in the transferee's application for direct payments, and

• (b) ending on 2nd April in the first calendar year in which the transferee may include those entitlements in the transferee's application for direct payments,

or if either of those dates is a Saturday, Sunday, Bank Holiday or other public holiday, the next working day.

• (3) Subject to paragraph (3A), for the purposes of Article 22(1) of the Horizontal Implementing Regulation and Article 3 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/747 derogating from Implementing Regulation (EU) No 809/2014 as regards the final date of submission of the single application, aid applications or payment claims, the final date for notification of amendments to the single application or payment claim and the final date for applications for allocation of payment entitlements or the increase of the value of payment entitlements under the basic payment scheme for the year 2015, applications for the allocation of, or the increase of the value of, payment entitlements must be submitted—

• (a) in respect of calendar year 2015, on or before 15th June 2015; or

• (b) in any other calendar year, on or before 15th May, or if that date is a Saturday, Sunday, Bank Holiday or other public holiday, the next working day.

• (3A) For the purposes of Article 3 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/761 derogating from Implementing Regulation (EU) No 809/2014 as regards the final date of submission of the single application, aid applications or payment claims, the final date for notification of amendments to the single application or payment claim and the final date for applications for allocation of payment entitlements or the increase of the value of payment entitlements under the basic payment scheme for the year 2016, an application for the allocation of, or the increase of the value of, payment entitlements must be submitted, in respect of calendar year 2016, not later than 15th June 2016.

• (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Young farmers

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• (1) For the purposes of the second sub-paragraph of Article 50(5) of the Direct Payments Regulation, where a young farmer has set up in accordance with Article 50(2)(a) of that Regulation during the relevant period, the five-year payment period referred to in the first sub-paragraph of Article 50(5) of that Regulation is to be reduced by the number of complete calendar years which have elapsed between the date of set up and the first submission of an application for a payment for young farmers.

• (2) For the purposes of the payment calculation required by Article 50(6) of the Direct Payments Regulation, the number of entitlements a young farmer has activated in accordance with Article 32(1) of that Regulation must be multiplied by 25 per cent of the average value of the owned or leased-in payment entitlements held by the farmer.

• (3) For the purposes of Article 50(9) of the Direct Payments Regulation, a single maximum limit of 90 hectares is applicable to the number of payment entitlements activated by a young farmer.

• (4) In paragraph (1) “relevant period” means the period beginning 1st January 2010 and ending 31st December 2013.

Agricultural activity

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• (1) For the purposes of point (ii) of Article 4(1)(c) of the Direct Payments Regulation and in accordance with Article 4 of the Direct Payments Delegated Regulation, agricultural areas are deemed to be maintained in a state suitable for grazing or cultivation where a farmer meets the criteria set out in Part 1 of Schedule 1.

• (2) For the purposes of point (iii) of Article 4(1)(c) of the Direct Payments Regulation and in accordance with Article 5 of the Direct Payments Delegated Regulation, the minimum activity requirement is met if either of the activities set out in paragraph 2(1) of Part 2 of Schedule 1 is carried out on agricultural areas naturally kept in a state suitable for grazing or cultivation.

• (3) In paragraph (2) and in Part 1 of Schedule 1, “agricultural areas naturally kept in a state suitable for grazing or cultivation” means agricultural areas comprising parcels of land in region 2 or 3.

Active farmers

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Reduction coefficient

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• (1) For the purposes of Article 24(6) of the Direct Payments Regulation, the Scottish Ministers must apply a reduction coefficient of 10 per cent when establishing the number of payment entitlements to be allocated to a farmer in respect of areas with difficult climate conditions.

• (2) In paragraph (1), “areas with difficult climate conditions” means areas comprising parcels of permanent grassland in region 2 or 3.

Windfall profit

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