Regulation 10 Withholding and recovery of grant

Where any person, with a view to obtaining the payment of grant under these Regulations to himself or any other person, makes any statement or furnishes any information which is false or misleading, the Minister may withhold the whole or part of any payments of grant payable thereunder to that person or such other person and may, subject to the provisions of Article 20 of the Commission Regulation (which provides for recovery of wrongful payments with interest, a penalty system and exclusion for false declarations), recover the whole or part of any sums already paid by way of grant thereunder to that person or such other person.

Where an agreement holder—

the Minister may withhold the whole or any part of any grant payable to that agreement holder under these Regulations and may recover the whole or any part of any grant already paid to him.

Any dispute in any particular case as to the withholding or recovery of grant by reference to paragraph (1) or (2) above shall be referred to and determined by a single arbitrator to be agreed between the parties or in default of agreement to be appointed by the President of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and in accordance with the provisions of the Arbitration Act 1996^f1 or any statutory modification or re-enactment thereof for the time being in force.

Where the Minister withholds or recovers grant under paragraph (2) above, he may also, in so far as is consequent upon Article 20(2) of the Commission Regulation (which requires member States to determine a system of penalties which are effective, commensurate with their purpose and of adequate deterrent effect to be imposed for breaches of undertakings), require the agreement holder to pay to the Minister a sum equal to no more than 10% of the grant paid or payable to the agreement holder under these Regulations.

Where the Minister takes any steps specified in paragraph (1), (2) or (4) above, he may also terminate the agreement referred to therein by giving notice of such termination to the agreement holder.

Where under paragraph (5) above the Minister terminates an agreement in connection with any step taken under paragraph (2) above, he may also, in so far as is consequent upon Article 20(2) of the Commission Regulation, by notice in writing to the agreement holder prohibit him from providing a new undertaking or entering a new agreement under an agri-environment scheme for such period (not exceeding two years) from the date of that termination as is specified in the notice.