Regulation 8 Amendment of the principal Regulations

For regulation 11 (Withholding and recovery of aid) there shall be substituted the following regulation—

“Withholding and recovery of aid, termination and exclusion

11

(1)

Where any person, with a view to obtaining the payment of aid under these Regulations to himself or any other person, makes any statement or furnishes any information which is false or misleading, the Department may withhold the whole or any part of any aid payable to that person or to 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 any part of any aid already paid to that person or to such other person.

(2)

Where a beneficiary—

(a)

fails to comply with any of the undertakings set out in regulation 5;

(b)

fails without reasonable excuse to permit entry and inspection by an authorised person or to render all reasonable assistance to such authorised person as required by regulation 10; or

(c)

fails to comply with any other requirement of these Regulations,

the Department may withhold the whole or any part of any aid payable to that beneficiary and may recover the whole or any part of any aid already paid to him and may also, in so far as is permitted by 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 him to pay to the Department a sum equal to no more than 10% of the aid paid or payable to the beneficiary.

(3)

Where the Department takes any step specified in paragraph (1) or (2) it may also treat as terminated the undertakings given by the beneficiary under these Regulations.

(4)

Where under paragraph (3) the Department treats the undertakings given by the beneficiary as terminated, in connection with any step taken under paragraph (1) or (2) it may also insofar as is consequent upon Article 20(2) of the Commission Regulation, by notice in writing to the beneficiary 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.

(5)

The Department may treat the undertakings given by any beneficiary as terminated where the beneficiary receives or is entitled to receive any assistance out of moneys provided by or under any statutory provision or by the European Community and the Department is satisfied that such assistance would duplicate the payment of aid under these Regulations.

(6)

Subject to Article 10 of the Commission Regulation (which applies to undertakings given after 1st January 1997 and, inter alia, prohibits duplication of aid for an undertaking) and Article 20(1) of the Commission Regulation (which requires wrongful payments to be reimbursed with interest), nothing in paragraph (5) entitles the Department to withhold any aid payable or to recover any aid already paid in respect of a period before the Department acted under that paragraph.

(7)

Before taking any step specified in paragraph (2), (3) or (4) by reference to paragraph (2)(a) or any step specified in paragraph (5) the Department shall—

(a)

give to the beneficiary a written explanation of the reasons for the step proposed to be taken;

(b)

afford the beneficiary the opportunity of appearing before and being heard by a person appointed for that purpose by the Department; and

(c)

consider the report by the person so appointed and supply a copy of the report to the beneficiary”.