# The Organic Farming Regulations 1999, Regulation 13: Payment under these Regulations in lieu of the 1994 Regulations


(1) A person who after 1st April 1998 gives or has given a prior undertaking may make a request to the Minister to be treated as entitled to aid under these Regulations in respect of the land to which that undertaking relates, in so far as it is situated in England, in lieu of his entitlement under the 1994 Regulations.
(2) For the purposes of these Regulations, in so far as they apply in relation to land to which a request under paragraph (1) relates–
(a) all the land subject to any given conversion period under the previous scheme shall be treated as an organic parcel;
(b) the conversion period in question under the previous scheme shall be treated as the conversion period applicable in relation to such land;
(c) the organic unit comprising land to which a request under paragraph (1) relates shall be taken to be the aggregate of the areas referred to in regulation 5(1)(a)(ii) and (iii) of the 1994 Regulations;
(d) the specified period, in relation to land comprised in an application accepted under the 1994 Regulations, shall be taken to be the period beginning with the effective date with respect to the first organic parcel and ending on the expiry of the period of five years from the date on which the first payment becomes payable in respect of the last organic parcel which is the subject of that application;
(e) in the definition of “first organic parcel” in regulation 2(1), “application” shall be taken to mean an application accepted under the 1994 Regulations;
(f) in the definition of “first year” in regulation 2(1), for sub-paragraph (a) there shall be substituted–
“(a) in relation to an organic parcel–
(i) in a case where the effective date is no later than the relevant date, the year beginning with the effective date; and
(ii) in any other case, the year beginning the commencement of the conversion period relating to the organic parcel in question; and”;
(g) in the definition of “grazing year” in regulation 2(1), for “the date of receipt” there shall be substituted “the effective date”; and
(h) in regulation 4(1), for sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) there shall be substituted–
“(a) in respect of an organic parcel, five years–
(i) in a case where the effective date is no later than the relevant date, beginning with the effective date; and
(ii) in any other case, beginning with the commencement of the conversion period relating to the organic parcel in question; and
(b) in respect of an organic unit, three years beginning with the commencement of the first specified period applicable in relation to land comprised in that organic unit.”.
(3) The Minister shall not accept a request under paragraph (1) unless the person making the request has before 6th April 2000 given undertakings in the terms of sub-paragraphs (a) to (c) of regulation 5(2), with the modification that, in sub-paragraphs (b)(ii) and (v), for “application” there shall be substituted “request under regulation 13(1)”.
(4) Where the Minister accepts a request under paragraph (1)–
(a) the beneficiary shall be entitled to be paid in accordance with Schedule 1 to these Regulations in lieu of his entitlement to payment in accordance with the 1994 Regulations, save that in relation to land in respect of which the effective date is earlier than the date of acceptance–
(i) the beneficiary shall not be so entitled in respect of the first year; and
(ii) there shall be deducted from any amount payable under these Regulations in respect of any subsequent year any amount already paid in respect of the same period under the 1994 Regulations; and
(b) the prior undertaking in question shall be treated as given by the beneficiary in an application under these Regulations.
(5) Nothing in paragraph (4)(b) shall–
(a) require the prior undertaking to be treated as having been given on any date later than the date on which it was given, or
(b) affect any amount to which the beneficiary is or was entitled under the 1994 Regulations in respect of the first year.
(6) In this regulation–
(a) “the conversion period under the previous scheme” means the conversion period, within the meaning of the 1994 Regulations, applicable with respect to the organic parcel in question in respect of which the prior undertaking was given;
(b) “the effective date”, in relation to an organic parcel, means the date on which the conversion period under the previous scheme began;
(c) “the first specified period”, in relation to an organic unit, means the specified period applicable with respect to the first application under the 1994 Regulations made in relation to land comprised in that organic unit;
(d) “prior undertaking” means an undertaking given for the purposes of an application under the 1994 Regulations; and
(e) “the relevant date” means the date on which a request under paragraph 13(1) in accordance with regulation 9 was received by the Minister.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/590/regulation/13 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/organic-farming-regulations-1999/regulation-13
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.